Zorro 2 vs Zorro 3?

[runequester]

so if one was to build up two machines to be pretty expanded, and with the same processor and amount of ram, how much of a difference would zorro 2 make versus zorro 3 speed-wise for ram? (A2000 vs 3000 basically)

Are there significant differences in terms of what hardware is available for either?

To what extent are expansions interchangeable?

[MelbourneBen]

I'm no expert in the field but Zorro 2 is 16 bit and Zorro 3 is 32bit, therefore zorro 3 has a larger address bus allowing more instructions, therefore it should run a little faster. Thats why I'm guessing my A2000 with a 25mhz A26030 shows as running slightly slower than an A3000 with the same processor on sysinfo.

Somebody else may be able to give you a more technical answer ??

[orb85750]

Zorro III is 32-bit (much better); Zorro II is 16-bit.  But if I recall, virtually all older Zorro II cards will work on III -- and not necessarily vice-versa!

[runequester]

How much of a difference are we looking at? I guess thats kind of an open ended question but can anyone give some estimates or examples?

Thanks guys

[orb85750]

See this thread for Zorro II vs. III speeds:

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=28865

[runequester]

See this thread for Zorro II vs. III speeds:

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=28865

That was useful for some basic ideas thank you.
So it looks like there is a pretty decent difference indeed.

[bbond007]

so if one was to build up two machines to be pretty expanded, and with the same processor and amount of ram, how much of a difference would zorro 2 make versus zorro 3 speed-wise for ram? (A2000 vs 3000 basically)

Are there significant differences in terms of what hardware is available for either?

To what extent are expansions interchangeable?

It really depends on the configuration of the 2000's accelerator. If you have a nice 040 or 060 with onboard 32BIT ram and SCSI, using the Z2 just for your graphics card will still make for a pretty snappy machine.

[runequester]

Possibly dumb question but would it have to be an 040 or 060?

[ElPolloDiabl]

CPU Memory speed would be a bigger factor. The stock 3000 would be using the faster static rams. The same that cache memory uses.

[bbond007]

Possibly dumb question but would it have to be an 040 or 060?

You are right - Any accelerator that supports 32bit ram and has SCSI.

[Zac67]

The stock 3000 would be using the faster static rams. The same that cache memory uses.

A 3000 can use static column RAM, but only with the original '030. '040 or '060 cards won't burst. While it's slightly faster than FPM (theoretically up to 10%) it doesn't make too much of a difference in real life. Just like all main memory types, SC RAM is still dynamic RAM (DRAM).

Cache memory is made up of static RAM (SRAM) which is an entirely different type - faster, much more expensive and without refresh requirements.

You use DRAM in the megabytes, SRAM in the kilobytes. (External SRAM hasn't been used since the Pentium era in mainstream computing.)

[Tension]

Zorro III is 32-bit (much better); Zorro II is 16-bit.  But if I recall, virtually all older Zorro II cards will work on III -- and not necessarily vice-versa!

Definitely not vice-versa would be another way to put it

[Tenacious]

It really depends on the configuration of the 2000's accelerator. If you have a nice 040 or 060 with onboard 32BIT ram and SCSI, using the Z2 just for your graphics card will still make for a pretty snappy machine.

Very true, even with 030, too.  Ethernet, USB, and sound can all function with Z2.  Having a built-in spot for a CD-Rom or writer is handy, also (2000 vs 3000).

OTOH, the new ZorRam suddenly makes Z3 more attractive.