Mediator/Radeon as FestMem (HowTo)

Ratte · 11 July 2009, 14:14

This guide is for ZIII-Amigas (A3000/4000) only !!!
http://www.a1k.org/forum/showthread....ewpost&t=17108 (org. german-guide)

Even before I bought a Mediator for my A4k (Mediator4000Di) I thought about the idea to add some of the gfxmemory from a radeon to the amiga memorypool.
Last night I had some time to try it out.
(If there is allready a guide or tool out there ... i didnt found it.)

My current setup is a A4k (Blizzard4030/50Mhz) with 2 mb chipmem & 16MB fastmem (onboard) and a Mediator4000Di with a 64MB Radeon 9250.

How to ...
First open/create the file "sys: prefs/env-archive/mediator/radeonmem" and replace/insert the comment "15 MB" direct at the begining of the file.
Save the setting and reboot to activate it.
Now your radeon as "only" 16MB graphicsmem (doublesize of a cvppc).
1 MB is reserved for PCI-communication ( thats the reason why we used "15 MB" ).
All other memory is unused (64MB Radeon = 48MB unused / 256MB Radeon= 240MB unused)

Next step:
Start the tool "CheckBoards" from the Picasso96-archiv (its inside of the "debug"-directory).
CheckBoards should find a gfx-board named Radeon with ? 3dfx Chipset (driver-bug) ? and a memorysize of 15712256 bytes if you dont made any mistakes.
If you own more than one pci-card, keep the "MemoryBase" of the gfxboard in mind!

With the Mediator-Software you received a tool named "pciinfo" in your c:-directory.
If you call "pciinfo" you´ll get a full list of all installed pci-cards including the used memoryareas.
Compare your "MemoryBase" from CheckBoards with the MemoryAreas from pciinfo.
If you found the correct pci-card keep also the end of its memoryarea in mind.
My 64MB Radeon is (for example) at $5000.0000 - $53ff.ffff.
Our current setting is using only the first 16MB for gfx ... $5100.0000 - $53ff.ffff are unused and free!!!

Last step is to add the memory to the memorypool:
Download the "addmem" tool from aminet.
And add the following line to the end of your "user-startup" inside of the sys:s-directory:
addmem 51000000 to 53ffffff pri 10 name pci-memory
The memoryareas could be differ from my example, it depends on your setup.
A "avail flush" could be nice behind the addmem-command,but it is not really needed.
Reboot and ...
... Done.

Have fun with your cheap memexpansion.
(btw. os4-research cant be done, as long as iam waiting for my repaired csppc from a german reseller)

regards
Ratte / a1k.org

AlfaRomeo · 12 July 2009, 02:45

Great work Ratte, thanks for post your guide

Zetr0 · 12 July 2009, 04:49

WOW impressive!!!

rkauer · 12 November 2009, 04:04

Excellent idea, Ratte!

ancalimon · 11 December 2009, 12:58

Would this solution allow CStorm PPC users with only 128mb ram to use Owb properly? (since it needs huge amount Ram)

alexh · 11 December 2009, 13:03

I was of the understanding that Owb for OS3.x was unusable outside WinUAE + JIT?

ancalimon · 11 December 2009, 13:08

is it unusable with OS4 classic as well?

alexh · 11 December 2009, 13:21

Don't have a PPC so I cannot comment. The OS4 version is a different codebase. Possibly more optimised and more importantly still maintained. http://strohmayer.org/owb/

It is much easier / faster on 060 OS3.x if you have another computer (such as a PC or Mac) on your network to open a web-browser on that platform and display/ctrl the window on the Amiga screen (Using VNC or Remote desktop) and save anything downloaded to an Amiga networked drive.

It feels like a native web-browser but 100% compliant and usually faster.

ancalimon · 11 December 2009, 15:23

alexh: that's a good idea. I'll definetely need to put my A4000T on my network. I just hope I can find a wireless solution.

alexh · 11 December 2009, 16:36

Cheapest wireless solution for A4000T is I think :

Deneb USB 2.0 Host + Wireless ethernet USB dongle

You might be able to do it cheaper with an X-Surf and a local external wireless ethernet router

Ratte · 23 December 2010, 01:39

Since PCI.LIB V9.0 the memhack is added to the radeon-driver.
New .. since V9.6 *beta at elbox-hp* it works on a1200 systems as well.

11 July 2009, 14:14	#1
Ratte Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Germany Posts: 331	Mediator/Radeon as FestMem (HowTo) This guide is for ZIII-Amigas (A3000/4000) only !!! http://www.a1k.org/forum/showthread....ewpost&t=17108 (org. german-guide) Even before I bought a Mediator for my A4k (Mediator4000Di) I thought about the idea to add some of the gfxmemory from a radeon to the amiga memorypool. Last night I had some time to try it out. (If there is allready a guide or tool out there ... i didnt found it.) My current setup is a A4k (Blizzard4030/50Mhz) with 2 mb chipmem & 16MB fastmem (onboard) and a Mediator4000Di with a 64MB Radeon 9250. How to ... First open/create the file "sys: prefs/env-archive/mediator/radeonmem" and replace/insert the comment "15 MB" direct at the begining of the file. Save the setting and reboot to activate it. Now your radeon as "only" 16MB graphicsmem (doublesize of a cvppc). 1 MB is reserved for PCI-communication ( thats the reason why we used "15 MB" ). All other memory is unused (64MB Radeon = 48MB unused / 256MB Radeon= 240MB unused) Next step: Start the tool "CheckBoards" from the Picasso96-archiv (its inside of the "debug"-directory). CheckBoards should find a gfx-board named Radeon with ? 3dfx Chipset (driver-bug) ? and a memorysize of 15712256 bytes if you dont made any mistakes. If you own more than one pci-card, keep the "MemoryBase" of the gfxboard in mind! With the Mediator-Software you received a tool named "pciinfo" in your c:-directory. If you call "pciinfo" you´ll get a full list of all installed pci-cards including the used memoryareas. Compare your "MemoryBase" from CheckBoards with the MemoryAreas from pciinfo. If you found the correct pci-card keep also the end of its memoryarea in mind. My 64MB Radeon is (for example) at $5000.0000 - $53ff.ffff. Our current setting is using only the first 16MB for gfx ... $5100.0000 - $53ff.ffff are unused and free!!! Last step is to add the memory to the memorypool: Download the "addmem" tool from aminet. And add the following line to the end of your "user-startup" inside of the sys:s-directory: addmem 51000000 to 53ffffff pri 10 name pci-memory The memoryareas could be differ from my example, it depends on your setup. A "avail flush" could be nice behind the addmem-command,but it is not really needed. Reboot and ... ... Done. Have fun with your cheap memexpansion. (btw. os4-research cant be done, as long as iam waiting for my repaired csppc from a german reseller) regards Ratte / a1k.org

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12 July 2009, 02:45	#2
AlfaRomeo A1200 040 SAM440EP 667 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Lisbon / Portugal Posts: 873	Great work Ratte, thanks for post your guide

12 July 2009, 04:49	#3
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	WOW impressive!!!

12 November 2009, 04:04	#4
rkauer I hate potatos and shirts Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Sao Leopoldo / Brazil Age: 58 Posts: 3,482	Excellent idea, Ratte!

11 December 2009, 12:58	#5
ancalimon Supernormal Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Istanbul / Turkey Age: 43 Posts: 1,414	Would this solution allow CStorm PPC users with only 128mb ram to use Owb properly? (since it needs huge amount Ram)

11 December 2009, 13:03	#6
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,409	I was of the understanding that Owb for OS3.x was unusable outside WinUAE + JIT?

11 December 2009, 13:08	#7
ancalimon Supernormal Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Istanbul / Turkey Age: 43 Posts: 1,414	is it unusable with OS4 classic as well?

11 December 2009, 13:21	#8
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,409	Don't have a PPC so I cannot comment. The OS4 version is a different codebase. Possibly more optimised and more importantly still maintained. http://strohmayer.org/owb/ It is much easier / faster on 060 OS3.x if you have another computer (such as a PC or Mac) on your network to open a web-browser on that platform and display/ctrl the window on the Amiga screen (Using VNC or Remote desktop) and save anything downloaded to an Amiga networked drive. It feels like a native web-browser but 100% compliant and usually faster.

11 December 2009, 15:23	#9
ancalimon Supernormal Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Istanbul / Turkey Age: 43 Posts: 1,414	alexh: that's a good idea. I'll definetely need to put my A4000T on my network. I just hope I can find a wireless solution.

11 December 2009, 16:36	#10
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,409	Cheapest wireless solution for A4000T is I think : Deneb USB 2.0 Host + Wireless ethernet USB dongle You might be able to do it cheaper with an X-Surf and a local external wireless ethernet router

23 December 2010, 01:39	#11
Ratte Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Germany Posts: 331	Since PCI.LIB V9.0 the memhack is added to the radeon-driver. New .. since V9.6 beta at elbox-hp it works on a1200 systems as well.

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