19 June 2015, 15:35 | #1 |
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RamseyConfig released!
RamseyConfig 1.5 ©SpeedGeek 2022
INTRODUCTION: RamseyConfig allows you to view and change the config options of the custom chip "Ramsey". This chip controls the Fast RAM in A3000 & A4000 Amiga's. The other programs "SetRamsey" and "Ramsey" have been around for sometime now, but with no bug fixes, missing features or just supporting one version of Ramsey these programs have serious limitations. FEATURES: - Small, fast and pretty reliable¹ - Shows Ramsey version² and config settings - Config settings can be changed - Dynamically manages Page mode setting for all users REQUIREMENTS: - Amiga 3000 or 4000 - OS2.0+ (maybe it works under OS1.3, but please no bug reports) DISCLAIMER: Use at your own risk. No warranty expressed or implied, etc. NOTES: ¹Reliable IMHO means the program should not crash or mess up the Ramsey config register because of bugs which can be prevented (e.g. Page mode is invalid on version $D even for A3000 users). But it's certainly OK for the user to enter a valid config option which may not be supported on a certain system (see WARNINGS) thereby, possibly causing any or all of the above to happen. RamseyConfig's argument list has the safest options at the beginning of the list and the more risky options at the end of the list so nobody should use them by accident! ²RamseyConfig simply reports the version register verbatim so if this doesn't match the expected, official or chip printed version number please don't send me version related bug reports! UPDATE INFO: The new ReadArgs() parsing code (since v1.2) now accepts up to 4 arguments but you must use the full argument name. Also, delimiters must be spaces. HISTORY: v1.0 First release v1.1 Some useful improvements - Added code to parse multiple arguments - Simplified argument message code v1.2 RamseyConfig now works more like a "Standard" Shell tool! - Replaced custom argument parsing code with ReadArgs() - Replaced paired SuperState()/UserState() calls with single Supervisor() calls v1.3 Added code to disable Burst and Page mode for A4000 users since they can't use either of them. - New feature, added (version dependent) code to show Ram width or Skip mode. v1.4 A4000 Bug Fix - Replaced SDMAC test with A3000 bonus code test. v1.5 Replaced A3000 bonus code test with Lisa test. In most cases, hardware model detection should be more reliable than software model detection. Last edited by SpeedGeek; 01 August 2022 at 16:32. |
19 June 2015, 17:33 | #2 |
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nice one.. what about the bit for 4/5 cycle selection?
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19 June 2015, 17:48 | #3 | |
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Quote:
Neat! So, why would someone want to twiddle Ramsey? |
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19 June 2015, 20:36 | #4 |
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I assume your asking about the skip bit on version $F(G?) or -07 Ramsey. IIRC this is the bit set by "SpeedRamsey" and similar programs. The reason it's not supported in this release is simply because it's pretty "Unreliable" and would conflict with one of the main features of RamseyConfig.
There are just to many cases where it can fail... You need 60ns DRAM installed, but even you have 60ns DRAM it still may not work with all banks fully populated... It won't work if the mobo is overclocked... It may be unstable or not work if the +5 Volt supply is low or the RAM sockets are in poor condition, etc. If there are many requests, I may reconsider it for the next release but it's a profoundly different situation than supporting Page or Burst mode which do work reliably with the correct type of RAM installed. Apparently, you didn't RTFM the docs of RamseyConfig or any of it's predecessor programs (or search on the many Amiga forums where this topic has been discussed in greater detail). But the simple answer is, you might be able to improve your Fast RAM performance if you twiddle Ramsey (just understand there may be some risk in doing that). Last edited by SpeedGeek; 19 June 2015 at 20:41. |
20 June 2015, 10:31 | #5 |
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Hi SpeedGeek, it's awesome to have a new and up-to date program to play with Ramsey. I am not an expert at all. However, as fortunate coincidence, in these days I am playing with the skip mode (4/5 cycles) in my 4000D.
Currently I am able to use it with 3 populated slot. Unfortunately I don't have a a fourth 60ns SIMM. I use SpeedRamsey and Memutil to see if the RAM access is reliable. I would love to see this setting supported also by your program, and it would be nice to integrate in your program a ram test tool. Maybe you could implement in your program a "reliable mode" and a "dangerous " one which enable the setting. Whatever you decide to do, well done and I will test your program ASAP |
20 June 2015, 21:56 | #6 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
I don't think adding a RAM test is really practical for this type of program. The only really useful RAM test is to determine if Page or Static column RAM is installed (and that's exactly what the Bonus code in your Kickstart ROMs is supposed to do). The best time to do this test is in early startup before any Fast RAM is added to the system or in use by other programs. The are 4 possible banks of Fast RAM and they should all be tested before either Page or Burst mode is enabled. That's problematic at best in a post boot scenario (expecting some RAM to be available in all 4 banks and then to disable all interrupts and other tasks while the test is being performed). Another problem is Ramsey version $D doesn't support Page mode so the test can't be done anyway. As far as testing if the skip mode is working reliably, there are quite a number of programs available to do a standard RAM test already. Last edited by SpeedGeek; 21 June 2015 at 14:33. |
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25 June 2015, 17:08 | #7 |
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** NEWS UPDATE **
v1.1 Released! Some useful improvements - Added code to parse multiple arguments - Simplified argument message code UPDATE INFO: The new multiple argument parsing code (since v1.1) has the following limitations: - Delimiters must be either spaces or commas - The maximum number of arguments accepted is 4 - The first invalid argument terminates the argument search |
11 April 2018, 13:46 | #8 |
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** 2ND NEWS UPDATE **
v1.2 Released! RamseyConfig now works more like a "Standard" Shell tool! - Replaced custom argument parsing code with ReadArgs() - Replaced paired SuperState()/UserState() calls with single Supervisor() calls UPDATE INFO: The new ReadArgs() parsing code (since v1.2) now accepts up to 4 arguments but you must use the full argument name. Also, delimiters must be spaces. |
05 October 2018, 17:33 | #9 | |
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Quote:
It appears you have already obtained the most significant performance improvement for the A3000 with Burst enabled (Static Column) RAM. This performance improvement is unfortunately NOT supported by nearly all 040/060 accelerator cards so there is some question if the cost can be justified for 68030 use only. You can usually increase the refresh mode to the next higher refresh mode for a small performance tweak. There is no practical performance difference between 60-70 ns RAM unless you are willing to "Risk" skip mode as previously explained on this thread. Best regards, Kevin Last edited by SpeedGeek; 05 October 2018 at 17:39. |
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05 October 2018, 20:33 | #10 |
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Great, thanks for the detailed explanation.
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07 June 2022, 18:54 | #11 |
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Okay, RamseyConfig is due for an update (Thanks to macce2 for helping me realize this).
PAGE mode will absolutely crash the machine for A4000 users. Therefore, this option should be disabled permanently in this case. However, BURST mode will not always crash the machine for A4000 users (even though they won't be able to use it). This is a situation which IMO, requires user feedback. So, I will wait a while to see what kind of feedback is given before releasing the next update. |
08 June 2022, 18:19 | #12 |
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Very nice to hear that !
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29 June 2022, 01:19 | #13 |
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** 3RD NEWS UPDATE **
RamseyConfig 1.3 released! Added code to disable Burst and Page mode for A4000 users since they can't use either of them. - New feature, added (version dependent) code to show Ram width or Skip mode. |
26 July 2022, 20:07 | #14 |
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The new version of RamseyConfig immediately crashes my machine !
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27 July 2022, 00:59 | #15 |
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** 4TH NEWS UPDATE **
RamseyConfig 1.4 released! v1.4 A4000 Bug Fix - Replaced SDMAC test with A3000 bonus code test. Thanks again to macce2 for the bug report! |
31 July 2022, 20:50 | #16 |
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The new version seems to work.
Should the higher refresh mode necessarily improve general system speed ?! If so, on what kind of operations should one especially notice the (marginal !?) improvement ..?! (If it is even noticeable ) |
01 August 2022, 16:30 | #17 |
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** 5TH NEWS UPDATE **
RamseyConfig 1.5 released! v1.5 Replaced A3000 bonus code test with Lisa test. In most cases, hardware model detection should be more reliable than software model detection. @macce2 If you check the AIBB memory latency result you might see a decrease by .1. As previously posted, the refresh rate increase is a small tweak. |
14 August 2022, 19:42 | #18 |
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It seems running RamseyConfig with SKIP mode, WRAP and/or higher refresh mode
makes my system to crash after a while. So, maybe this ain't bug report, per se. I assume the default value of refresh mode to be R248 !? |
15 March 2023, 04:32 | #19 |
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Just reporting in the system config, no issues, using v1.5.
Base System: A4000D with 16MB 70ns DRAM SIMMs, RAMSEY-07 GVP T-Rex I 68040/40MHz, 8MB OS 3.2 ROM, OS 3.2.1 update after SetPatch (no library), reports: RamseyConfig 1.5 ?SpeedGeek 2022 Ramsey version = $F Page mode = 0 Burst mode = 0 Wrap mode = 0 Ram width = 0 Refresh rate = 238 Putting the v44 68040.library in, refresh rate adjusts to 380 after SetPatch is called. Only other option to modify is Wrap. BusTest speeds do not vary against the Ramsey memory. Also tested on an A3000/25 with 16MB 60ns SCRAM, Ramsey-04 ($D)/DMAC-02, with a BFG-9060/50MHz. Refresh was set optimally to 380 after CPU library load. RAM width was reporting 1. Adjusting Burst or Wrap had no measurable effect in speed or stability. Last edited by thebajaguy; 15 March 2023 at 04:37. |
27 May 2023, 04:04 | #20 |
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Just updated from 1.1 to 1.5 and having issues with it.
I have a 3000D with DMAC04 and Ramsey07. With 1.1 I could set PAGE BURST R380 and all worked perfectly. With 1.5 the system locks most times on a boot, I have to turn it off to get it to boot. It always ignores the R380 and doesn't set it on boot. I can turn it on if I just run the program from a shell specifying R380. The skip mode can't be set and won't turn on. Happy to provide any other info to fix it. |
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