Amiga 2000 Chip Ram as Fast Ram?

[DiskChris]

I put a 1 MB agnus in my A2000 and now I'm getting a bunch of "out of memory" errors, like in ProTracker.  Right now I only have the stock 1 mb of ram.  Is there any way I can split it so there's 512k chip ram and 512k fast ram like how it used to be?  I tried using Degrader, but it didn't seem to do anything and I tried to install AnyMem but I get a software error.  Im running WB 2.0.

[Tenacious]

You have taken the tiniest step forward.  Rather than stepping backward, I would recommend another step (tiny or large) forward.

The 2000 is easy and relatively inexpensive to expand modestly.  If you already have a HD controller, say an A2091, you could simply add 2 MB of fast ram to that card.  Going from 512k of CHIP & 512k of FAST ram to 1MB of CHIP & 2 MB of FAST would be a substantial improvement in your machine.

If you don't have a HD controller (you're booting from floppy?), you could find a fast ram expansion on eBay.  Supra made an excellent one that can add upto 8 MB.  Other companies made more comprehensive expansions that include HD controller, FAST ram expansion, and 32 bit accelerator on 1 card.  The are many possibilities from your beginning.

What do you want to do with this machine?  What expansions do you have already?  What is your budget?

[DiskChris]

I have a 68030 accelerator card with ram on it, but its missing a crystal and it might be awhile before I get it going, so Im trying to find something in the meantime.

[Tenacious]

So, you do have a HD controller?  Which one?

[DiskChris]

Yeah its an Octagon 2001. The Acelerator is a GVP. I think the hard drive is a SCSI 1 and the GVP uses SCSI 2 hence why two HD controllers...It was like that when I got it off ebay.

[Tenacious]

Not familiar with Oktagon 2001.     The Oktagon 2000 doesn't seem to have FAST ram expansion, but, the 2008 model does.

I'm not certain if 16-bit FAST ram, when mounted directly on the controller, improves HD access   IF   a 32-bit accelerator is present in the system, also.  Anyone know?

I guess it all depends on how long it will take to find the correct crystal and if you can repair the GVP.  If not, I might be tempted to trade the Oktagon for a better controller.

[Tenacious]

Yeah its an Octagon 2001. The Acelerator is a GVP. I think the hard drive is a SCSI 1 and the GVP uses SCSI 2 hence why two HD controllers...It was like that when I got it off ebay.

After thought, I think a SCSI 2 controller will interface to a SCSI 1 HD.

[DiskChris]

Yeah actually it is a 2008 cause it has the ram expansion:laughing:

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

You should also look for a MegaChip - they typically run around $100 on Amibay or ebay, and come up pretty often - also you can find them in old systems.  Bump yourself up to 2MB of chip and max out as much ram as you can on your HD controller and accelerator, when you get it working.  More is always better.  

[Matt_H]

1MB of RAM is 1MB of RAM whether it's in a full chunk or 2 512K chunks. In fact, splitting it will probably be worse for Protracker since it will have access to only half as much chip RAM.

At any rate, depending on your motherboard revision, I believe there's a jumper to configure the RAM as half chip/half fast, or all chip, depending on how the jumper is set.

[Tenacious]

Yeah actually it is a 2008 cause it has the ram expansion:laughing:

The 2008 looks like a much better card.  I found specs here:  http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/oktagon2000.   You probably have his info already.

With 2, 4, or 8 MB of Fast memory added to your Oktagon, the A2000 will be improved (a very spacious ram disk, more capable apps and a modest increase in CPU speed).  This should still be compatible with the GVP when you can bring it back into service.  If the GVP is borked, the 2000 is still very usable.