Amiga 4000 with 030 for 3d games

[lassie]

Hey i am new to this forum so hope i put this right.
I am going to get a Amiga 4000 with 030 cpu and 18 mb ram and hard disk, but do you know if that is good engugh for playing 3d games? like Doom and other games like that? i have found a place where i can buy 128 mb ram, but does the extre ram make a faster amiga for demanding games, or should i upgrade to 040 cpu?

Greetings here from Denmark

[Delta]

From what I remember of my 4000/030 it was not fit at all for any 3D games.  I had to get an 060 to have any pleasure playing those few games.

[lassie]

hey thanks for your answer :-)

[Christian Johansson]

If you're not so much into applications and just want to run games, i'd say 32MB should be enough. And for 3D games you'll probably want a faster CPU than 030.

Try to find a 40MHz 040 board, they are usually pretty "cheap" at least a lot cheaper than 060 boards.

[matthey]

Hey i am new to this forum so hope i put this right.
I am going to get a Amiga 4000 with 030 cpu and 18 mb ram and hard disk, but do you know if that is good engugh for playing 3d games? like Doom and other games like that?

A high end 030 setup can be more than 2x as fast as a low end 030 setup. The low end is barely acceptable for 3D games while the high end can be better than a low end 040 setup in performance. What can make a high end 030 setup? High clock speed, fast memory, chunky gfx display (2D gfx card) and/or 3D hardware support (3D gfx card). A stock 4000 030 would be:

high clocked 030 CPU: no (25 MHz)
fast memory access: no (slow SIMMs on the motherboard, no burst)
2D gfx card: no (slow 2D AGA only needing chunky to planar and stealing CPU cycles)
3D gfx card: no (no 3D hardware, no FPU needed for 3D)

A stock 4000 030 Amiga isn't good for 3D games. It's strong point would be good backward compatibility with AGA and CD32 games but it's slow.

i have found a place where i can buy 128 mb ram, but does the extre ram make a faster amiga for demanding games, or should i upgrade to 040 cpu?

More memory isn't going to help the speed unless it's faster (Zorro ram expansions are not faster). An accelerator would likely increase the CPU speed and memory speed but is expensive. You should probably compare an fpgaArcade to the price of an accelerator for the 4000 as it's likely to offer improved CPU speed, memory speed and 2D gfx speed so may give more bang for the buck. The 4000 offers more expansion possibilities but at a higher price.

[utri007]

Low end 040 is twice as fast than 030 50mhz. So 040 is allways faster than 030.

Cytadela is only 3d game with texture mapping that plays acceptable speed with 030 25mhz.

http://hol.abime.net/3027

Doom is almost playable with 030 50mhz, but quit playable with 040 25mhz. All Amiga only 3D games are playable with 040 cpu.

[runequester]

An 030 will be fine for Fears, Alien Breed 3D and Gloom.

Games like Breathless and Doom will run but be a lot more playable on an 040 fof sure.

[lassie]

Low end 040 is twice as fast than 030 50mhz. So 040 is allways faster than 030.

Cytadela is only 3d game with texture mapping that plays acceptable speed with 030 25mhz.

http://hol.abime.net/3027

Doom is almost playable with 030 50mhz, but quit playable with 040 25mhz. All Amiga only 3D games are playable with 040 cpu.

thanks for your answer :-) i have had a look at 040 cpu complete. it is hard to find one cheap. they always seems to cost around 200 dollars.

Are there any chance to change the inside with motorola 040 instead of a full 040 board? as they seem to be to a fair price. or can that not be done?

[yssing]

Where in denmark? As for 3d games, there are plenty you can play on that setup but not with texturemapping. But games like wings, robocop 3 and gunship 2000 plays well on that machine.

[duga]

Try get a Commodore 3640 (040/25 MHz) or Blizzard 4030 (030/50 MHz) and you should be able to play Doom.

[bbond007]

Hey i am new to this forum so hope i put this right.
I am going to get a Amiga 4000 with 030 cpu and 18 mb ram and hard disk, but do you know if that is good engugh for playing 3d games? like Doom and other games like that? i have found a place where i can buy 128 mb ram, but does the extre ram make a faster amiga for demanding games, or should i upgrade to 040 cpu?

Greetings here from Denmark

You can play Frontier Elite.

probably the best 3D you are going to see on an 030

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbegNmKRZUM

[spirantho]

The 3640 should be avoided unless it's very cheap - it doesn't have local RAM, which means the memory access is much slower than other accelerators.

If you want to play 3D games you basically need as fast as possible a computer, at least if you're texture mapped ones. Let's not forget that a 68030/25 is about equivalent to a 386DX25 or so, which is too low a spec for any PC textured game apart from Wolfenstein 3D, which is ...er... rather basic. If you want to just play 3D games like Gunship and Elite/Elite II, then a 68030 will be fine.

The Amiga was never made for 3D graphics, though - or at least, it kind of was, as the blitter I believe has basic 3D functions, but they're very basic and were surpassed by CPUs at about 68020 level or so, I believe. Could be wrong, though.

Either way, if you want to play a 3D game the Amiga isn't really the right platform for it, but if it has to be done get the fastest accelerator you can afford.

[lassie]

Where in denmark? As for 3d games, there are plenty you can play on that setup but not with texturemapping. But games like wings, robocop 3 and gunship 2000 plays well on that machine.

hello i live in skive :-) and yes you are right there are many games there work very well on that setup

[Speelgoedmannetje]

The 3640 should be avoided unless it's very cheap - it doesn't have local RAM, which means the memory access is much slower than other accelerators.

If you want to play 3D games you basically need as fast as possible a computer, at least if you're texture mapped ones. Let's not forget that a 68030/25 is about equivalent to a 386DX25 or so, which is too low a spec for any PC textured game apart from Wolfenstein 3D, which is ...er... rather basic. If you want to just play 3D games like Gunship and Elite/Elite II, then a 68030 will be fine.

The Amiga was never made for 3D graphics, though - or at least, it kind of was, as the blitter I believe has basic 3D functions, but they're very basic and were surpassed by CPUs at about 68020 level or so, I believe. Could be wrong, though.

Either way, if you want to play a 3D game the Amiga isn't really the right platform for it, but if it has to be done get the fastest accelerator you can afford.

The pc was neither. My 486sx 33mhz. with 8mb. ram could barely run Doom. Doom crawled as well on a 486dx 66mhz with 4mb of a friend of mine.

[lassie]

hey you are right the Amiga is not a 3d machine. So mayby i will let it stay with 030 cpu and 18 mb ram. i know that all the cd32 games and amiga 500 games work flawless on it. :-)