Path: menudo.uh.edu!menudo.uh.edu!usenet From: Chris_Pappe@edtng.kenosha.wi.us (Chris Pappe) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Subject: REVIEW: Derringer accelerator board for A500/A2000 Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.hardware Date: 10 Dec 1992 17:08:25 GMT Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett Lines: 284 Sender: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu (comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator) Distribution: world Message-ID: <1g7ti9INNsmq@menudo.uh.edu> Reply-To: Chris_Pappe@edtng.kenosha.wi.us NNTP-Posting-Host: karazm.math.uh.edu Keywords: accelerator, 68030, hardware, A500, A2000, commercial PRODUCT NAME Derringer accelerator board BRIEF DESCRIPTION Accelerator board for Amiga 500 & 2000. Uses a 68030 CPU running at 25MHz with optional FPU at 25MHZ or 50MHz. Allows expansion to 32Mb of 32bit RAM using a 72 pin SIMM. COMPANY INFORMATION Name: Computer Systems Associates (CSA) Address: 7564 Trade St. San Diego, CA 92121 USA Telephone: (619) 566-3911 Tech Hotline: (619) 566-3923 LIST PRICE (all prices in US dollars) Derringer 68030 @ 25MHz No FPU or RAM: $249.95 * Derringer 68030/882 @ 25MHz + 4Mb 3bit RAM: $589.00 Derringer 68030/882 @ 25/50MHz + 4Mb 32bit RAM: $664.00 * Note: CSA does not sell the Derringer board without RAM. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS A500 or A2000 computer. (Can be made to work in A1000) SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS None. HARDWARE/SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY The Derringer was designed to run in A500 & A2000 computers using Commodore hardware and software. Most third party hardware and software that conforms to Commodore's guidelines should be compatible. CSA has a Technical Hotline (above) where you can ask questions regarding the compatibility of specific third party hardware and software. Since the Derringer plugs in to the 64 pin DIP socket where the 68000 would normally reside, it would seem that other devices that plug into the 68000 socket (ATOnce etc) would be incompatible, if only from a physical standpoint. Kickstart versions 1.2, 1.3 and 2.0 will all work with the Derringer. COPY PROTECTION None. REVIEW SYSTEM The Derringer is installed in an A500 configured as follows: o Rev5 motherboard w/SupraRAM500 & 1Mb Agnes o GrandSlam500 w/Quantum105 & 8Mb Fast RAM o Derringer 030/882 @ 25/25MHz & 8Mb 32bit Fast RAM o Kickstart 1.3, Workbench 1.3 REVIEW I received my Derringer the first week of November 1992. I had heard about it while I was looking for an accelerator, so I called CSA. They directed me to their sole distributor, where a dozen or so advance issues of the board had been sent. I was in luck and obtained an early Derringer. It came in a static-proof plastic bag with 6 pages of installation and operating instructions. The board itself looks very well made, utilizing 6 layers and surface mount technology. It measures 6" deep by 6 1/2" wide. With a SIMM installed, its width increases by 1/2" to 7" wide. The processor and math chips are socketed, and the only crystal on the board is clocked at 50MHz. There is, however, a place for a second crystal to be installed. CSA says it is for future expansion. It could be used to drive the FPU at a different speed than the processor. There are five jumpers in various locations on the board, and they serve the following functions: JP1 Select 50MHz or 25MHz Math Co-Processor. JP2 Select 68030 or 68000 for next boot. (External switch can be installed here.) JP3 E-Clock source. (68000 installed or not) JP4 Hardware Cache Disable (Development Use) JP5 Hardware MMU Disable (Development Use) One of the best features of the Derringer is the 72 pin SIMM socket on the right edge of the board, toward the back. This socket will accept the industry standard PS2 style 72 pin SIMM, available in 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 megabyte sizes. Current mail order prices are US$14 for 4Mb, US$310 for 8Mb and US$620 for 16Mb. Prices for the 32Mb SIMM were not available yet. Installing the Derringer was a breeze! Simply remove the 68000 and re-install it on the Derringer in the empty socket provided. Then plug the Derringer into the 68000 socket on the motherboard. The DIP header for plugging in to the 68000 socket is located on the left edge of the board towards the front. [MODERATOR'S NOTE: Although Chris says that installing the board is easy ("a breeze"), it does involve opening up your Amiga and removing the processor. If you are not comfortable doing this kind of installation yourself, you should have it done by a trained technician. - Dan] The diskette that accompanies the Derringer contains software to configure the 32 bit RAM expansion and move system routines into faster 32 bit RAM. Simply add some commands to your startup-sequence [or your user-startup under 2.0], and the software will allow you to copy the Kickstart ROM to 32 bit RAM, and move exception vectors and supervisor stacks from chip RAM to 32 bit RAM. Also, a memory resident option allows you to re-boot your machine and have all system code, drivers, libraries, etc., reside in 32 bit RAM. This makes for a significant increase in the speed of the operating system. Since the Kickstart ROM image in 32bit RAM is accessed using special hardware, the MMU is available for use with other software that utilizes an MMU, such as Gigamem. Another program on the disk allows you to control the data and instruction caches on the 68030. Caches may be turned on or off and burst mode enabled or disabled. The cache utility is not needed under WB2.0 since the c:CPU command is available. BOOT68000 is the name of the other utility program. Although you can install a switch on the jumpers JP2 and select 68000 or 68030 that way, a more convenient way for most will be to boot into 68030 all the time, and then when you need 68000 compatibility just run BOOT68000. Executable from the CLI or Workbench, this program causes the machine to reset and boot up using the 68000 installed on the Derringer. The next step, turning the computer back on, had me wondering which of the numerous libraries, drivers and resident programs that I use was going to cause a crash. To my surprise, it booted up normally and presented me with my usual Workbench screen. I ran every program on my hard drive without a hitch but I didn't see that much of a speed increase. A quick check with SysInfo showed me running at 1.67 times the speed of a standard machine. This is the kind of performance you can expect when you don't have any 32bit RAM. Adding CSA's software to my startup-sequence and re-booting showed the kind of speed I was expecting, Sysinfo now showed 7.25 times the speed of a stock A500. I was expecting to have to completely redo my startup-sequence, but the only change I had to make was the addition of the two CSA utility programs. All programs that I use run perfectly with the Derringer, only much faster. Those programs that offer FPU versions gain the most noticeable speed improvement. Some games ill also run in 68030 mode, although most of them require the 68000 mode. Since installing it, my Derringer has been running almost 24 hours a day, rendering stuff that would have taken weeks to do on my stock A500. The A500 case above the board is only very slightly warm, so heat generation is not a big problem. For the bottom line on speed increase, I rely on AIBB v5.0 to test all aspects of processor speed thoroughly. If you are not familiar with AIBB, it is a good benchmark program that tests many aspects of Integer, Graphics and Floating Point operations. It then averages all the tests in each category and provides results that compare the system being tested with known standard systems. Higher numbered results = better performance, with "1.0" indicating equal performance levels. AIBB (Version 5.0) Test Results For CSA Derringer 030 ===================================================== Compared System INTEGER GRAPHICS FPU AVERAGE =================== ======= ======== ===== ======= A500 (No Fast RAM) 6.47 4.07 13.76 810 % A2000 (w/Fast RAM) 6.31 2.89 9.20 613 % A3000 (25 MHz) 0.99 0.53 0.96 82.7 % A4000 (25 MHz) 0.49 0.25 0.33 35.7 % Here are the results from SysInfo, a popular system analysis and benchmarking program: SysInfo V3.01 by Nic Wilson --------------------------- CopyBack Mode.................................. N/A Instruction Cache.............................. ON Instruction Burst.............................. ON Data Cache..................................... ON Data Burst..................................... ON Central Processing Unit Type................... 68030(OFF) Memory Management Unit Type.................... 68030(OFF(OFF) Floating PointUnit Type........................ 68882 Vector Base Register (VBR) Address............. $08CD44A8 Ramsey Chip Revision (A3000)................... N/A Gary Chip Revision (A3000)..................... N/A DMAC Chip Type (A3000)......................... N/A Agnus Type..................................... ECS 1 MEG Display Mode................................... NTSC Denise Type.................................... STD 8362 VBlank Frequency in Hz......................... 60 Power Supply Frequency in Hz................... 60 Horizontal Frequency in KHz.................... 15.72 Card Slot Installed............................ NO Total Memory available......................... 17817320 Free Chip Memory............................... 833776 Free 16 Bit Fast Memory........................ 8388544 Free 32 Bit Fast Memory........................ 7139320 Total Free Memory available.................... 16361640 Hardware Clock installed....................... FOUND EClockFrequency in Hz.......................... 715909 Fast Ram Speed increase vs Chip Ram............ +57% SPEED COMPARISONS AGAINST KNOWN MODELS & PERIPHERALS A500 512k or A600 with 1MB CHIP ONLY........... 7.25 B2000, A2000, A1000 or A500 with fast ram...... 6.09 B2000 GVP A3001 28MHZ ALL CACHES & BURSTS..... 0.71 A2500 A2620 68020 14MHZ card.................. 2.07 A3000/25 SCRAM ICACHE IBURST DCACHE NODBURST... 0.92 A3000 PP&S Mercury ICACHE DCACHE COPYBACK..... 0.21 CPU Million Instructions per Second............ 4.44 FPU Million Floating Operations per Second...... 0.71 Speed of Chip Memory vs A3000 Chip Memory...... 0.56 Dhrystones per second.......................... 4260 CPU speed in MHZ............................... 25.00 LIKES AND DISLIKES I like the Derringer board. It is well made, installs easily and performs flawlessly. I have no complaints. COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS None. BUGS None SUPPORT None needed yet; however, when I called the Tech Hotline, helpful people were there to answer the phone. WARRANTY The Derringer is covered for one year against defects in materials or workmanship. It covers the original purchaser only. CONCLUSIONS According to AIBB's results, my A500 now runs at approximately 82% the speed of an A3000-25. I would say that this is a very fair estimate of the Derringer's effect on an A500 or A2000. I would recommend this board to anyone who needs an inexpensive accelerator that gives close to A3000 performance. If you have a stock Amiga, then: DON'T HESITATE, ACCELERATE! COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright 1992 Chris Pappe. All rights reserved. UUCP Address: Chris_Pappe@EDTNG.Kenosha.WI.US --- Daniel Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews Send reviews to: amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu Request information: amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu General discussion: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu