Accelerating!

Mick_AKA · 28 July 2003, 00:52

I have recently aquired an 030 50mhz Turbo 1230 card with fpu and extra, ram slot, it has two dimms installed eack is 32meg.
The problem is im not sure who made this card, the only identifying marks on it are the words "Turbo 1230" on one side.

I havent got a clue how much ram I can put into this thing, any ideas??

scaf · 28 July 2003, 03:06

did you looked on http://www.amiga-hardware.com/ ?

Unknown_K · 28 July 2003, 05:40

Out of curiosity how much was it?

Miggy2TheMax · 28 July 2003, 07:03

if you have a digital camera you could always post a picture of it and see if anyone recognises it.

Mick_AKA · 28 July 2003, 10:30

Quote:

Originally posted by Unknown_K
Out of curiosity how much was it?

I got it off a friend for £30 with a set of 3.1 roms and 3.1 disks

Cant take a pic at the moment as my scanner has packed up and my digi cam is out on loan.

I have looked on the above mentioned site and there does not seem to be anything that matches my card.

ant512 · 28 July 2003, 11:33

Cards with two SIMM slots (72-pin "PS/2" modules, *not* DIMMs, which are completely different) are fairly rare. It might be a DCE 030, or a Viper 030 (also made by DCE).

Alex · 30 July 2003, 13:27

Must be an Apollo 1230 Turbo Mk2 made by ACT.
(There are two Amiga companies called ATC, the other made the Prelude sound cards.)

Mick_AKA · 02 August 2003, 12:59

Quote:

Originally posted by ant512
Cards with two SIMM slots (72-pin "PS/2" modules, *not* DIMMs, which are completely different) are fairly rare.

That sounds like the bugger, It has a simm slot on top of the card and one on the bottom, in workbench it tells me that its:
CPU:68030
FPU:68882
MMU:68030

I am however having some problems with it, sometimes when I turn on the amiga 1200 with the card in it does not boot or gives me a software failure screen, when on occasion it boots into WB the mouse arrow moves eratically and workbench usually crashes.
There are two jumpers on the board, one to disable the ram and one to disable the scsi, with both disabled I see the same problems, before it dies the power light tends to flicker!

Im using a 60w A500 supply with my A1200 which has 3.0 roms and is running WB 3.0 a buffered IDE interface, 1.5gig 2.5 HDD (internal) and a Surf Squirrel interface.

Anyn ideas? my first time with an accelerator so im stuck on this one!

Below is a scan of the card:

ant512 · 03 August 2003, 23:29

It isn't a DCE card - they have both SIMM slots on the same side of the card. It has the same round battery (white, in the top right corner) as my Apollo 060, so I think Alex must be right.

This opens up some interesting possible causes for your problem. First of all, I'd suggest power. Try unplugging the Squirrel and see if the problem goes away or is reduced. A dim power light usually suggests power consumption issues, unless it's the usual bright-dim-bright-dim crash sequence.

It could also be an overheating problem - my Apollo 060 overheated fairly regularly. If this is the case, the crashes will become more frequent the longer the machine is switched on.

More probably, Apollo may have used cheap CPUs and fitted the board with a 40MHz (or, more likely, 28MHz) CPU and overclocked it. In this case, you'll experience a combination of overheating-induced crashes and timing-related crashes as the CPU struggles to keep up with the board's clock speed. There are two measures you can take to reduce this problem. First of all, increase the amount of air flowing around the card to cool it down. You can remove the trapdoor cover and raise the computer above your desk slightly to achieve this.

Secondly, reduce the strain on the CPU by changing one of the lines in your "startup-sequence", which is found in the "S:" directory of Workbench. Find the line that says "C:SetPatch QUIET" and replace it with this:

C:SetPatch QUIET NOCACHES

That will slow down the CPU, and hopefully decrease (but not eliminate) the number of crashes.

Finally, the cause could be a dodgy SIMM. Try removing one SIMM and see if the computer works better without it. If not, swap SIMMs and try again.

Syko · 05 August 2003, 13:55

Quote:

C:SetPatch QUIET NOCACHES

Did this with my Cyberstorm 040 on the A4K and it fixed guru's agogo - couldn't even get the startup-sequence running passed the version check! I'd tried everything including new CPU with no joy.

Also it don't look like your 030's got a fan on, I'd try and get hold of a 486 slimline fan and fix it on there, as the 030's run hotter than the 040's, and mine's cooking breakfast with no fan (and a pentium grade heatsink...). I'd try simm swapping as well, but give it a good work out, as it might be intermitant...

ant512 · 05 August 2003, 15:10

Quote:

Originally posted by Syko
Also it don't look like your 030's got a fan on, I'd try and get hold of a 486 slimline fan and fix it on there, as the 030's run hotter than the 040's

!!!

The 030 is one of the coolest-running 68k chips. The 040 is the hottest, hence *all* 040s have fans attached (even 1200 cards, which only fit in towers due to the heat dissipation requirements) and *all* 1200 030 cards having neither heatsink nor fan.

Syko · 05 August 2003, 15:32

I can well belive it!

I knew the 060's were cooler than 040's, but the only 030 I've seen was hotter than my 040, but that was on a Mac I was checking for a mate... I'd still slap a fan on though, the only reson I don't have one on the A4K is to get it as quiet as poss. The loudest thing in it at the mo is the HD...

Mick_AKA · 05 August 2003, 16:39

lol im not bothered about noise, I have 6 case fans im my p4 system and I think it sounds wicked whurring up when you turn it on

Syko · 05 August 2003, 18:01

Yea, I used to have four case fans, the thermaltake mini-orb chipset cooler, thermalright V50 on the XP1800, arctic silver on the V8200 and a server rated PSU which meant I could get 35% better performance in games than with the std stuff....

now it's my media server and I'm underclocking the GFX card to get the temp down, quiet fan on the CPU, old cooler back on the chipset. Still got Arctic silver on all of 'em though

Overclocking, been there, done that, don't need to any more. Loadest thing on the pc is the PSU fan and the two 80GB drives - might put them in acoustic covers to get it quieter...

Mick_AKA · 05 August 2003, 20:49

My Geforce 4 Ti4600 gets VERRY HOT! thats the main reason for all the case fans! my P4 temp is fime as the fan & heatsing on it are HUGE!!!

Syko · 05 August 2003, 21:15

yea, they need to be

Unknown_K · 05 August 2003, 22:08

My ati 9000 just has a nice big heatsink, no fan.
The xp1500 has a huge all copper heat sink and fan (cant win them all)

RetroMan · 05 August 2003, 22:28

Looks like a MTec Accelerator Card

Slayer · 06 August 2003, 15:01

In my experience most accelerated problems of this nature
are related to setpatch version and/or incompatiable
maths libraries/libraries or lack thereof ,)

I know this because 9.99 out of 10 if I take said card
and implant it in another Amiga even with similair
config it operates fine

Always suspect software
failure first, ya know as well as I do too much mucking
around with installing and reinstalling is only going
to lead to you indirectly smashing the card ,)

Then of course, you were right to suspect hardware
weaknesses ,)

That reminds me, I have a 68030 50 Mhz with a 128 meg
simm on it, had it running a copy of a mud I was
operating some time back in the lounge. Nice but
too slow

Enjoy ya acceleratored Ami!

adios!

28 July 2003, 00:52	#1
Mick_AKA crusader of light Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Stone, Staffordshire. Posts: 1,151	Accelerating! I have recently aquired an 030 50mhz Turbo 1230 card with fpu and extra, ram slot, it has two dimms installed eack is 32meg. The problem is im not sure who made this card, the only identifying marks on it are the words "Turbo 1230" on one side. I havent got a clue how much ram I can put into this thing, any ideas??

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28 July 2003, 03:06	#2
scaf Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: france Age: 48 Posts: 116	did you looked on http://www.amiga-hardware.com/ ?

28 July 2003, 05:40	#3
Unknown_K Registered User Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio/USA Age: 55 Posts: 1,380	Out of curiosity how much was it?

28 July 2003, 07:03	#4
Miggy2TheMax Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Australia Age: 45 Posts: 381	if you have a digital camera you could always post a picture of it and see if anyone recognises it.

28 July 2003, 11:33	#6
ant512 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: California Posts: 965	Cards with two SIMM slots (72-pin "PS/2" modules, not DIMMs, which are completely different) are fairly rare. It might be a DCE 030, or a Viper 030 (also made by DCE).

30 July 2003, 13:27	#7
Alex Amiga Hardware Database Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Budapest / Hungary Posts: 23	Must be an Apollo 1230 Turbo Mk2 made by ACT. (There are two Amiga companies called ATC, the other made the Prelude sound cards.)

03 August 2003, 23:29	#9
ant512 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: California Posts: 965	It isn't a DCE card - they have both SIMM slots on the same side of the card. It has the same round battery (white, in the top right corner) as my Apollo 060, so I think Alex must be right. This opens up some interesting possible causes for your problem. First of all, I'd suggest power. Try unplugging the Squirrel and see if the problem goes away or is reduced. A dim power light usually suggests power consumption issues, unless it's the usual bright-dim-bright-dim crash sequence. It could also be an overheating problem - my Apollo 060 overheated fairly regularly. If this is the case, the crashes will become more frequent the longer the machine is switched on. More probably, Apollo may have used cheap CPUs and fitted the board with a 40MHz (or, more likely, 28MHz) CPU and overclocked it. In this case, you'll experience a combination of overheating-induced crashes and timing-related crashes as the CPU struggles to keep up with the board's clock speed. There are two measures you can take to reduce this problem. First of all, increase the amount of air flowing around the card to cool it down. You can remove the trapdoor cover and raise the computer above your desk slightly to achieve this. Secondly, reduce the strain on the CPU by changing one of the lines in your "startup-sequence", which is found in the "S:" directory of Workbench. Find the line that says "C:SetPatch QUIET" and replace it with this: C:SetPatch QUIET NOCACHES That will slow down the CPU, and hopefully decrease (but not eliminate) the number of crashes. Finally, the cause could be a dodgy SIMM. Try removing one SIMM and see if the computer works better without it. If not, swap SIMMs and try again.

05 August 2003, 15:32	#12
Syko Now got GSX750F :)) Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Halifax UK Age: 60 Posts: 584	I can well belive it! I knew the 060's were cooler than 040's, but the only 030 I've seen was hotter than my 040, but that was on a Mac I was checking for a mate... I'd still slap a fan on though, the only reson I don't have one on the A4K is to get it as quiet as poss. The loudest thing in it at the mo is the HD...

05 August 2003, 16:39	#13
Mick_AKA crusader of light Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Stone, Staffordshire. Posts: 1,151	lol im not bothered about noise, I have 6 case fans im my p4 system and I think it sounds wicked whurring up when you turn it on

05 August 2003, 18:01	#14
Syko Now got GSX750F :)) Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Halifax UK Age: 60 Posts: 584	Yea, I used to have four case fans, the thermaltake mini-orb chipset cooler, thermalright V50 on the XP1800, arctic silver on the V8200 and a server rated PSU which meant I could get 35% better performance in games than with the std stuff.... now it's my media server and I'm underclocking the GFX card to get the temp down, quiet fan on the CPU, old cooler back on the chipset. Still got Arctic silver on all of 'em though Overclocking, been there, done that, don't need to any more. Loadest thing on the pc is the PSU fan and the two 80GB drives - might put them in acoustic covers to get it quieter...

05 August 2003, 20:49	#15
Mick_AKA crusader of light Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Stone, Staffordshire. Posts: 1,151	My Geforce 4 Ti4600 gets VERRY HOT! thats the main reason for all the case fans! my P4 temp is fime as the fan & heatsing on it are HUGE!!!

05 August 2003, 21:15	#16
Syko Now got GSX750F :)) Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Halifax UK Age: 60 Posts: 584	yea, they need to be

05 August 2003, 22:08	#17
Unknown_K Registered User Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio/USA Age: 55 Posts: 1,380	My ati 9000 just has a nice big heatsink, no fan. The xp1500 has a huge all copper heat sink and fan (cant win them all)

05 August 2003, 22:28	#18
RetroMan Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 3,704	Looks like a MTec Accelerator Card

06 August 2003, 15:01	#19
Slayer Amiga Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: New Zealand Age: 56 Posts: 695	In my experience most accelerated problems of this nature are related to setpatch version and/or incompatiable maths libraries/libraries or lack thereof ,) I know this because 9.99 out of 10 if I take said card and implant it in another Amiga even with similair config it operates fine Always suspect software failure first, ya know as well as I do too much mucking around with installing and reinstalling is only going to lead to you indirectly smashing the card ,) Then of course, you were right to suspect hardware weaknesses ,) That reminds me, I have a 68030 50 Mhz with a 128 meg simm on it, had it running a copy of a mud I was operating some time back in the lounge. Nice but too slow Enjoy ya acceleratored Ami! adios!

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