A3640 rev3.1 68040@25mhz CPU Amiga

[boinger]

how much faster would this make aa a3000 desktop '030 50 mhz does anyone have one installed in an a3000 desktop what issues were encountered

any info appreciated.

[Chrome]

double the cpu-speed in tests and cpu-intensive programs. Speed difference in real life? maybe...

[Darrin]

I replaced the A3640 in my A4000 with a GVP 68040 40MHz & 64MB RAM.  I took the A3640 and put it in my A3000 desktop and according to SysInfo there's a big speed increase.  Unfortunately I can't really tell you how it "feels" as I haven't put it to much use apart from testing some floppy disks created using a Catweasel.

One thing you will need to do is to modify the heat sink on the CPU.  The one fitted is too tall to put the floppy drive housing back on, so you'll need to find a low profile one.  I got one off an old Intel processor and it works a treat.

Also, don't forget to move the two jumpers on the mobo so that the A3000 knows to use the card in the CPU slot.

[Matt_H]

The memory access speed on the 3640 is pretty bad - even the 3630 is better - but you probably will have a net increase in speed.

There are some issues to be aware of when using one in a 3000. Keep an eye out for heat-related issues as well. Commodore supposedly never officially sanctioned it for desktop use for that reason.

[alexh]

Dont listen to them. The A3640 offers a BIG speed boost over the 25MHz 030 inside an A3000.

BUT:

In an A3000D they get very hot (unless you can find an L88M chip) and really require you cut vent holes in the floppy disk mount plate.

I would always recommend getting a Cyberstorm 060 with Rev6 if you can afford one.

[Darrin]

BUT:

In an A3000D they get very hot (unless you can find an L88M chip) and really require you cut vent holes in the floppy disk mount plate.

Nice tip, I'll give that a go when I have some spare time.

[560SL]

I've never had any heat problems with my A3640 in the A3000, although mine may be rev 3.2.

Yes, the existing CPU sink is to tall to fit under the plate, I replaced mine with a low profile sink. No other mods to increase the venting, but no problems so far. Though I have to admit I havent used it for any CPU intensive work recently. It's been in the A3000 for a couple of years.

Absolutley no noticable increase of speed in everyday work...   :crazy:

[Ilwrath]

Absolutley no noticable increase of speed in everyday work...

Yeah, same here.  I ran a Rev 3.2 3640 in my A3000D for a while.  For actual real-world usage, really, very little change over the 25mhz '030/'882 combo.  The only time you'll notice any change is if you're running specific '040 optimized binaries.  (Or a benchmark.  The benchmark numbers look pretty.  They're apples and oranges comparing a '030 with an '040, though...)

And, as others have stated, the memory accessing on the 3640 is terrible.  

I ended up pulling the 3640 and selling it to a guy from a BBS who wanted it.  

Any card with memory on-board is a better choice than a 3640.

[alexh]

Sounds like you were either not running a well patched AmigaOS. Or all you did was load WB and open a folder marked WHDownload ;-)

With patches to move as much stuff as you can to FastRAM, to use the CPU instead of the Blitter, SFS etc. the speed increase is noticeable. (or at least I thought that it was)

560SL wrote:
I've never had any heat problems with my A3640 in the A3000, although mine may be rev 3.2.

Card revision has nothing to do with heat production. It's all down to the revision of 040 CPU you have.

(D43B, D50D, D98D, E31F) : (E42k) : (K63H) : (L88M)

HOT -> COLD

[Ilwrath]

Sounds like you were either not running a well patched AmigaOS. Or all you did was load WB and open a folder marked WHDownload

With patches to move as much stuff as you can to FastRAM, to use the CPU instead of the Blitter, SFS etc. the speed increase is noticeable.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but FastRAM and CPUBlit utilities work with '030, as well.  And, since the 3640 offers no on-board memory, there is no speed advantage using a 3640 for these vs. using the standard '030.

Admittedly, I did not test SFS (it wasn't out back then -- this is back in AmigaOS 3.1 days)...  FFS performance was not changed, though.  

The A3000D in question was primarily a backup and general-use machine.  The 3640 did offer better render times for software tuned to use '040 optimizations, but all other general-use operations (desktop/video/word processing) ran about the same.  

Nothing very noteworthy, compared to the amazing improvement a Warp Engine or CyberStorm '040 offers.

[alexh]

Ilwrath wrote:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but FastRAM and CPUBlit utilities work with '030, as well.

No correction required.

Ilwrath wrote:
And, since the 3640 offers no on-board memory, there is no speed advantage using a 3640 for these vs. using the standard '030.

A faster speed of execution and better caches helps. Things like LHA extraction, running a TCP/IP, were all faster with an A3640 in my old A3000. Maybe you had caches switched off or something?

Ilwrath wrote:
Admittedly, I did not test SFS (it wasn't out back then -- this is back in AmigaOS 3.1 days)...

SFS has been around as long as I can remember but yeah.

[T3000]

This will solve the ram problem with A3640s. X-Calibur.  If you can find one. Major modification of the floppy/powersupply sled is needed for desk top use. This card sets on top of the A3640 and the ram is vertical. Intended for A3k/4k tower systems. There are other modifications needed such as cutting, soldering and crystal replacement.

With A3640s failing at a steady rate due to the capacitor snafu, a WarpEngine is the better route as it has SCSI II interface and it's pretty much plug and play. Even then, the floppy/powersupply sled needs some drilling for the fan and heatsink to breath. Also, only one HD installed helps keep the heat down by having some air space inside the case.

laterz

[DoogUK]

He did state in his original post will it run better than an 030 @50mhz....not the stock 25 mhz 030.....

[alexh]

I just assumed that was a typo. I dont think you can get an 030@50MHz card for the A3000 can you?

[Crisisdog]

I've had two desktop A3000s running CybergraphX on a GVP Spectrun 24 board.  The stock 25MHz '030 definitely got a noticeable speed boost in rendering screen redraws and pulling up JPEG images with the A3640 installed.  It was even more noticeable after you get used to it and then yank out the board.  I had no overheating issues, but the original heatsink will be too big to fit under the floppy drive bays.  You'll either need to cut a hole in the sheet metal, or find a lower profile heatsink.  I was lucky enough at the time to find a low profile heatsink that fit and extended off to the sides to allow for more surface area cooling.

I have no comparison for an Amiga 3000 with a 50 MHz '030 chip as originally mentioned, but I did have an A1200 with that chip for a short time, only to still think that the A3000 with the 040 was still faster.