030 - 040 upgrade, worth it?

fitzsteve · 07 April 2010, 11:36

Thinking ahead again to the A1200 Tower I'm putting together. It will have my 030 in it but I'm thinking I'd like a little more power.

I've seen the prices of 060's like the Cyberstorm, one of those would be amazing but not on my budget

The Micronik busboard has a slot for an A3000/A4000 CPU so I'm thinking about a cheaper 040 out of a A4000 or something, what do you think, is it worth it?

I bet people have these spare from upgrading as well so maybe I can get a trade with my M-Tec 1230 + some cash or something?

I guess I'd need Ram, but Amigakits Z3 Ram upgrade looks interesting

Any advice appreciated. Thanks guys for all your patience with my Noobishness, I am, learning though!

Steve.

Philophus · 07 April 2010, 11:53

Totaly, even the 040 running at 25mhz doubles the speed over an 030 running at 50mhz.

fitzsteve · 07 April 2010, 11:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philophus

Totaly, even the 040 running at 25mhz doubles the speed over an 030 running at 50mhz.

Thats what I want to hear

Thanks...

Out of interest, what is an 040 out of a 3000 or 4000 worth so I can make a fair offer should something crop up?

Steve.

Philophus · 07 April 2010, 12:37

Well the a3640 is by far the cheapest route, i've seen them go for anywhere between £30 and £70 but these offer no way to add fast ram.

After that comes warpengines and such..these fetch good money but are worth every penny.

Failing that you still have the a1200 expansion slot to use and can go the Blizzard/Apollo 1240/60 route.

fitzsteve · 07 April 2010, 12:53

Thanks again Philophus.

I guess a straight swap for an A3040 for the M-Tec would be fair then and grab one of Amigakits Z3 Ram expansions when they are ready

Coolio.

Steve.

Philophus · 07 April 2010, 12:58

The mtec is worth way more than a3640.

Angus · 07 April 2010, 13:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

Thats what I want to hear

Thanks...

On the downside the 040 is less compatible than the 030 and seemingly less than the 060, and they run hotter than both. I gather a few WHDLoad users have problems with 040's too.

So while I'm sure they will be great for some applications, its not all good news.

fitzsteve · 07 April 2010, 14:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angus

On the downside the 040 is less compatible than the 030 and seemingly less than the 060, and they run hotter than both. I gather a few WHDLoad users have problems with 040's too.

So while I'm sure they will be great for some applications, its not all good news.

Thanks Angus, I've got the Desktop A1200 and my A600 as WHDLoad machines so I can cope with that downside. I'm going to be using a Cybervision 64/3D so I think a faster CPU will outweigh any disadvantage.

I just can't spend £400 on a Cyberstorm 060 although I'd love to lol

Steve.

Angus · 07 April 2010, 15:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

Thanks Angus, I've got the Desktop A1200 and my A600 as WHDLoad machines so I can cope with that downside. I'm going to be using a Cybervision 64/3D so I think a faster CPU will outweigh any disadvantage.

I just can't spend £400 on a Cyberstorm 060 although I'd love to lol

Steve.

Great stuff - all the best with it. In fairness I'm sure there wouldn't be heat problems in a tower, but people were putting them in 1200 desktops.

alexh · 07 April 2010, 16:27

I have regularly bought A3640's for well under £35. They have almost no material value as almost all A4000 owners has one in a cupboard. Only one which has had the delay line mod done which enables overclocking to 33MHz has any value.

Surely an A3640 is not practical as you'll have no local Fast RAM?? A Z3 RAM card will be MUCH slower than accelerator RAM.

If you can find yourself an MC68040RC40A L88M you can fit them in a desktop A1200 as they produce almost no heat at all.

fitzsteve · 07 April 2010, 16:40

I appreciate your advice Alexh, but if I was to pick up one of those £35 and 128mb Z3 Ram for £86 or whatever it sells at, surely thats going to be a good value upgrade against the 68030 with 64mb Ram (My Typhoon Mk2) which I was going to use in the Tower.

Or maybe a 1240 accelerator would be an idea, but I think one of those will be more expensive and since I have the A4000 CPU slot I was exploring all avenues.

Steve.

alexh · 07 April 2010, 18:01

I'd still recommend looking for an 040 accelerator which can take RAM.

i.e. An Apollo 4040. I got one with 128Mbytes of RAM, 2 years ago for something like £65 from someone on this forum.

I think it had been bought by the previous owner with the intention of being upgraded cheaply to a 4060 but turned out to have the MACH130 chips. (Although I still might try to do an upgrade at some point as it has yet to be proved they are not upgradable)

alexh · 07 April 2010, 18:26

Two months ago there was one for sale in USA for $150

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=51419

fitzsteve · 07 April 2010, 18:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

Two months ago there was one for sale in USA for $150

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=51419

Thanks again Alexh, sounds like thats the way forward!

I really appreciate your input here

Steve.

asm1 · 08 April 2010, 15:40

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Amiga-1200-Apo...item35a86d6f64

Canada might be your friend

Yes I know its an Apollo for an A1200 BUT..... (worth watching at any rate)

alexh · 08 April 2010, 16:36

This guy tried to sell this on Amibay. It has MACH130 chips and so possibly cannot be upgraded.

fitzsteve · 08 April 2010, 16:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by asm1

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Amiga-1200-Apo...item35a86d6f64

Canada might be your friend

Yes I know its an Apollo for an A1200 BUT..... (worth watching at any rate)

Its in my watch list already

One day a bargain will come up... And the the last of my bits should be here soon so I can get started!

DyLucke · 08 April 2010, 23:53

I've got a 040 33mhz from Gavilan some months ago. I have to say that compared to my other A1200 with a Blizzard IV 030 50mhz, this Apollo board has more than twice the power that performs my Bliz.

However as it's said before, 040 is usually a CPU that runs quite hot, my 040 is a
68040XC33 that means one of the worst masks because it gets hot easilly.

However, i have this accelerator installed into a desktop case, BUT running with
a thin heatsink and an 3cm fan.

It runs quite well, no stability problems. So if you ask if upgrading from a 030 to a 040
is worth some bucks and some effort...I will say YES.

You clearly can run stuff you wouldn't be able with a 030.
You can even run some demos that aim to the 060, of course if you don't
mind the choppy framerate. XD

But in overall it's worthy, i got mine and i don't regret about it.

fitzsteve · 09 April 2010, 00:06

@DyLucke

Thanks for your advice

I think I'll be keeping an eye out for an Apollo 4040 as suggested by Alexh as that will best suit my needs I think.

Anyway going to get the tower built and working first with the 030 then look at upgrading

I imagine setting up the CV64/3D will be a bit tricky for a Noob

so want to get that working first...

Thanks again to everyone who's replied

Steve.

Philophus · 09 April 2010, 01:30

All put aside it's realy like asking if you should upgrade from a Pentium 3 to a Pentium 4...definitive realy.

07 April 2010, 11:36	#1
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 44 Posts: 6,685	030 - 040 upgrade, worth it? Thinking ahead again to the A1200 Tower I'm putting together. It will have my 030 in it but I'm thinking I'd like a little more power. I've seen the prices of 060's like the Cyberstorm, one of those would be amazing but not on my budget The Micronik busboard has a slot for an A3000/A4000 CPU so I'm thinking about a cheaper 040 out of a A4000 or something, what do you think, is it worth it? I bet people have these spare from upgrading as well so maybe I can get a trade with my M-Tec 1230 + some cash or something? I guess I'd need Ram, but Amigakits Z3 Ram upgrade looks interesting Any advice appreciated. Thanks guys for all your patience with my Noobishness, I am, learning though! Steve.

07 April 2010, 16:27	#10
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,472	I have regularly bought A3640's for well under £35. They have almost no material value as almost all A4000 owners has one in a cupboard. Only one which has had the delay line mod done which enables overclocking to 33MHz has any value. Surely an A3640 is not practical as you'll have no local Fast RAM?? A Z3 RAM card will be MUCH slower than accelerator RAM. If you can find yourself an MC68040RC40A L88M you can fit them in a desktop A1200 as they produce almost no heat at all. Last edited by alexh; 07 April 2010 at 16:32.

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07 April 2010, 11:53	#2
Philophus Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Hampshire Posts: 151	Totaly, even the 040 running at 25mhz doubles the speed over an 030 running at 50mhz.

07 April 2010, 12:37	#4
Philophus Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Hampshire Posts: 151	Well the a3640 is by far the cheapest route, i've seen them go for anywhere between £30 and £70 but these offer no way to add fast ram. After that comes warpengines and such..these fetch good money but are worth every penny. Failing that you still have the a1200 expansion slot to use and can go the Blizzard/Apollo 1240/60 route.

07 April 2010, 12:53	#5
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 44 Posts: 6,685	Thanks again Philophus. I guess a straight swap for an A3040 for the M-Tec would be fair then and grab one of Amigakits Z3 Ram expansions when they are ready Coolio. Steve.

07 April 2010, 12:58	#6
Philophus Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Hampshire Posts: 151	The mtec is worth way more than a3640.

07 April 2010, 16:40	#11
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 44 Posts: 6,685	I appreciate your advice Alexh, but if I was to pick up one of those £35 and 128mb Z3 Ram for £86 or whatever it sells at, surely thats going to be a good value upgrade against the 68030 with 64mb Ram (My Typhoon Mk2) which I was going to use in the Tower. Or maybe a 1240 accelerator would be an idea, but I think one of those will be more expensive and since I have the A4000 CPU slot I was exploring all avenues. Steve.

07 April 2010, 18:01	#12
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,472	I'd still recommend looking for an 040 accelerator which can take RAM. i.e. An Apollo 4040. I got one with 128Mbytes of RAM, 2 years ago for something like £65 from someone on this forum. I think it had been bought by the previous owner with the intention of being upgraded cheaply to a 4060 but turned out to have the MACH130 chips. (Although I still might try to do an upgrade at some point as it has yet to be proved they are not upgradable)

07 April 2010, 18:26	#13
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,472	Two months ago there was one for sale in USA for $150 http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=51419

08 April 2010, 15:40	#15
asm1 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Age: 44 Posts: 637	http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Amiga-1200-Apo...item35a86d6f64 Canada might be your friend Yes I know its an Apollo for an A1200 BUT..... (worth watching at any rate)

08 April 2010, 16:36	#16
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,472	This guy tried to sell this on Amibay. It has MACH130 chips and so possibly cannot be upgraded.

08 April 2010, 23:53	#18
DyLucke Cookie Muncher Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Spain Age: 49 Posts: 239	I've got a 040 33mhz from Gavilan some months ago. I have to say that compared to my other A1200 with a Blizzard IV 030 50mhz, this Apollo board has more than twice the power that performs my Bliz. However as it's said before, 040 is usually a CPU that runs quite hot, my 040 is a 68040XC33 that means one of the worst masks because it gets hot easilly. However, i have this accelerator installed into a desktop case, BUT running with a thin heatsink and an 3cm fan. It runs quite well, no stability problems. So if you ask if upgrading from a 030 to a 040 is worth some bucks and some effort...I will say YES. You clearly can run stuff you wouldn't be able with a 030. You can even run some demos that aim to the 060, of course if you don't mind the choppy framerate. XD But in overall it's worthy, i got mine and i don't regret about it.

09 April 2010, 00:06	#19
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 44 Posts: 6,685	@DyLucke Thanks for your advice I think I'll be keeping an eye out for an Apollo 4040 as suggested by Alexh as that will best suit my needs I think. Anyway going to get the tower built and working first with the 030 then look at upgrading I imagine setting up the CV64/3D will be a bit tricky for a Noob so want to get that working first... Thanks again to everyone who's replied Steve.

09 April 2010, 01:30	#20
Philophus Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Hampshire Posts: 151	All put aside it's realy like asking if you should upgrade from a Pentium 3 to a Pentium 4...definitive realy.

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