Sonnet 7200 PCI programming

[Cego]

can somebody tell me what the optimal MMU configuration is, for a A3640 setup?
68k apps are pretty slow, even slower than before without Sonnet/Mediator. I guess the 68k apps are using the Ram on the Sonnet card? Is there a way to tell the system that 68k apps should prefer the onboard Ram and PPC software the Sonnet ones? Onboard FastRAM should be faster for the 040 than Sonnet one right?

I have 32MB installed on the Sonnet and 16MB on the motherboard.

this is my MuScan result:

Memory map:
0x00000000 - 0x001FFFFF CacheInhibit Imprecise NonSerial
0x00200000 - 0x00BBFFFF Blank
0x00BC0000 - 0x00BFFFFF CacheInhibit I/O space
0x00C00000 - 0x00D7FFFF Blank
0x00D80000 - 0x00DFFFFF CacheInhibit I/O space
0x00E00000 - 0x00EFFFFF Blank
0x00F00000 - 0x00F7FFFF CacheInhibit
0x00F80000 - 0x00FFFFFF ROM CopyBack Remapped to 0x07F68000
0x01000000 - 0x06FFFFFF Blank
0x07000000 - 0x07F67FFF CopyBack
0x07F68000 - 0x07FE7FFF ROM CopyBack
0x08000000 - 0x3FFFFFFF Blank
0x40000000 - 0x60FFFFFF CacheInhibit I/O space
0x61000000 - 0xFFFFFFFF Blank

[Cego]

after booting up and running Genesis+AmIRC i have 200 time DSI Emulation... so that means i have a lot of context switches right? and when i start IBrowse on top of that, it goes up to 14000 DSI Emulation

[trixster]

It is rather unlikely that 68k apps and games will prefer sonnet ram as your motherboard ram will/should have a much higher priority than the sonnet's ram. I guess it should not be until mb ram has been used up that sonnet ram starts to be used.

Use showconfig to determine where the sonnet's ram address space starts. This is what you put into mmu-configuration. The mmu page on the wiki provides more information.

[grelbfarlk]

Yeah with only 16MB of 68k mem when you're out of that the Sonnet will be the next highest priority which will be really really slow. Most of us using a Sonnet have an accelerator with 128MB, though at one point I used an A3640 (with 060) that had the 64MB motherboard mod, which worked fine.

Really we need a PPC port of Netsurf...

[Hedeon]

Use a program like Scout to see the memory priorities.

Should be something like this (memory ranges are fictional) and seeing you don't have accelerator memory 1) will not be there:

1) expansion memory $08000020-0ff80000 priority 40
2) expansion memory $07000020-0800000 priority 30
3) Sonnet memory $60480000-60efffff priority 1
4) PCI DMA memory $62d00000-62d20000 priority 0
5) chip memory $00004020-00200000 priority -10

Anyway, my background picture alone uses 5MB RAM. You really should up both Amiga FAST RAM and Sonnet RAM.

Sonnet RAM is only used for 68K when other FAST RAM has been depleted.

The MMU config is correct. Just don't forget to check it again if you add memory to the system.

DSI emulations is the amount of times the PPC had to fetch data outside Sonnet RAM. Like original 68K stack or CHIP RAM.

Originally Posted by Cego

can somebody tell me what the optimal MMU configuration is, for a A3640 setup?
68k apps are pretty slow, even slower than before without Sonnet/Mediator. I guess the 68k apps are using the Ram on the Sonnet card? Is there a way to tell the system that 68k apps should prefer the onboard Ram and PPC software the Sonnet ones? Onboard FastRAM should be faster for the 040 than Sonnet one right?

I have 32MB installed on the Sonnet and 16MB on the motherboard.

[Cego]

thanks guys for the help! I'll have a look at the stuff tomorrow.
Modifying my A4000 MoBo to support 64MB is out of question, so i'll have to look for an 060 accelerator. CS MKII should be fine i guess. I hope i'll find one. They're hard to find these days

[drluking]

Could be a solution use a BigRamPlus or ZorRAM ?

[Hedeon]

Zorro ram is as almost as slow as the memory on the sonnet, I think. Besides, Zorro ram takes up valuable Zorro space that then no longer is available for sonnet memory. 128 mb should work with a voodoo 3. The sonnet itself then will be limited to 128 mb

[grelbfarlk]

Sonnet memory is far slower than a Zorro 3 RAM card from the 68k. I think Trixster has a BigRAMPlus ZorRAM in his tricked out system.

Don't know about BigRAMPlus or that other one from E3B since I've never used them, but a DKB 3128 is about 80% of the speed of A4000 motherboard memory and a Fastlane (in 60ns mode) is about ~90% of the speed of A4000 motherboard memory. Those also have the benefit if you use a Z3 SCSI card of making the SCSI card much faster when the A4000 motherboard memory is used up... but I don't know if this configuration works with the Sonnet.

I had thought Zorro-3 address space was 2GB 1792MB and the Mediator just used a 512MB window of that for reasons.

4x ZorRAM at least has been advertised as working with A3640 and 4060DT. *DISCLAIMER* Again, nobody has said this works with the Mediator/Sonnet.

https://amigakit.amiga.store/images/4xzorram-4060t.jpg

[trixster]

The 256mb zorram has been moved to my new A3000!

Zorram manages about 9mb/s read and 5MB/s write, I think. Could be the other way round but the numbers are correct.

[nexus]

why is 64MB mod out the question? its the cheap thing you can do and not hard to DIY just fyi to desolder pins like that you cut them first with a xato blade at the top as in cut parallel to the pcb towards the chip so that way you dont slip or use to much force and cut into the motherboard then just desolder each pin 1 by 1 with a 15watt iron

there is kits on ebay i think selling pio etc gal/pals

if not i can sell you some

http://members.iinet.net.au/~davem2/...k/A4000MB.html
http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php...our-A4000-mobo

[trixster]

Or just send the mb to someone who can do it for you. Bebek did the mod for my a4000, he said it was easy to do.

[grelbfarlk]

The 64MB mod is not without its downsides. Unless someone has updated their software softkickers stop working. Also it is a little more sensitive to 5V issues. Also Ramsey skip mode mostly doesn't work or is terribly unreliable. It's a hack that happens to work alright for a basic system.

But some people probably don't want to tear their system apart and ship out the motherboard when they could just slap in a new accelerator or Z3 card.

If someone has a Sonnet in their system, they should really think about other general performance improvements first, like at least an 060 adapter, or just get a different Accelerator-ANY of them are so much better. The only one I can't recommend is the GVP Trex-2, the awesome onboard SCSI is not reliable with the Sonnet, or wasn't about a year ago.

Also, since I can't stop talking, the Mediator does not tolerate overclocking the A4000 bus. Overclocking an A3640 to 33MHz (or 66MHz with 060) will cause the Mediator to stop working. Asynchronous accelerator overclocking is fine like Warpengine, CS-MK2, MK3, PPC.

[Hedeon]

If you look at the 1.73 GB Zorro space.... Which is I think 0x10000000 to 0x80000000.... Then expansion library limits it to 0x40000000 to 0x80000000 which can hold.... 4 Zorro ram cards of 256 MB.

As you need alignment... The 16 MB mediator Zorro slot takes away 1 256MB slot. The 512 mb mediator slot takes away two more. Ending up which max 1 256 Zorro card with a mediator in 512 mb mode.

IF that Zorro card is compatible with the mediator Zorro slots.

[grelbfarlk]

Trixster had three Zorro slots filled, maybe he just never turned the system on.

[trixster]

The machine was nearly never turned off!

Just two zorro cards in there now - Prisma and deneb - but the system seemed to work fine with the 256mb zorram too.

[Hedeon]

I'm just saying the manufacturers of both ZorRAM and BigRAM don't support their cards when put in a mediator, only in genuine Zorro. Or so I've read.

[grelbfarlk]

Amigakit advertised the Zorram as "Tested OK with Mediator 4000Di and Mediator 4000D." no mention about BigRAMPlus.

It was a common disclaimer among manufacturers "Only tested as working with original Commodore busboards." Since many of them had various issues and the board manufacturers couldn't be arsed to track down every busboard and test/fix issues with all of them. I have an Elbox Zorro/ISA busboard in another tower that doesn't work with Zorro-3 DMA cards at all.

Similarly the people making busboards didn't test every Zorro card that ever existed either.

Too bad the hardware hoarders don't actually test their 500 different combinations they have available.

[nexus]

why i bought all my HW thats the fun part

[nexus]

like trying a a500+ with a micronik z3-i with a cpu accel with a rapture and mediator bus bridge lol really all these combinations could have been documented someone showing compatibility/issues and speed benches of such FUN

lol seeing a a1200/a500 etc running a G4 just be amazing