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Conference hydra::amiga_v1

Title:AMIGA NOTES
Notice:Join us in the *NEW* conference - HYDRA::AMIGA_V2
Moderator:HYDRA::MOORE
Created:Sat Apr 26 1986
Last Modified:Wed Feb 05 1992
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5378
Total number of notes:38326

4596.0. "Chip or Fast Memory expansion Help please" by UFHIS::JMASLEN (The wheels fallen off your day yet?!) Mon Mar 18 1991 11:19

    A question: Should I add more chip memory (I already have 1 Meg - 501
    addon) or fastmemory (I already have 2 Megs in the 590harddisk)? 
    
    I ask as I am doing mainly animation work and run out of memory a lot.
    I have read the notes about the 2 types of memory and how they get
    addressed but am unsure if expanding the chip memory would be an
    advantage over the external bus fast memory. I have a Fatter Agnus chip
    waiting to go in the 500 but I am waiting to find the limits of DPaint
    III in my present setup before invalidation of my warranty with the
    Fatter Agnus installation. I have crashed so often until now but want
    to know my problems before possibly creating more for myself and being
    unsure if it was my 'hotrod' Agnus install or whatever.
    
    So which type of memory is going to give me longer or more complex
    animations with crashing?
    
    cheers and thanks fjeff
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4596.12-meg of chip ram...ARRODS::GOLDSTEINSteve G DTN: 847-5416/5455Mon Mar 18 1991 11:4816
    
    
    	Amination need CHIP mem...But you have the most! that the A500 can 
    have (BUT ) Have you seen the  Postscript file on Tape for
    2-meg-chip-for-A2000 .
    
    This board is available in the U.K from Byte and Pieces on 0778 36752
    In the U.S it avail from Grapevine group (see previous note)
     
    Is contains the Super Agnus from the A3000...to give you 2-megs of
    CHIP Ram....
    
    
    	Steve G
    
    
4596.2CHIP RAM is the culpritULTRA::KINDELBill Kindel @ LTN1Mon Mar 18 1991 11:5235
    Re .0:             
    
>   A question: Should I add more chip memory (I already have 1 Meg - 501
>   addon) or fastmemory (I already have 2 Megs in the 590harddisk)?
    
    The short answer is, "Yes -- but!"  (see below 8^)
    
>   I ask as I am doing mainly animation work and run out of memory a lot.
>   I have read the notes about the 2 types of memory and how they get
>   addressed but am unsure if expanding the chip memory would be an
>   advantage over the external bus fast memory. I have a Fatter Agnus chip
>   waiting to go in the 500 but I am waiting to find the limits of DPaint
>   III in my present setup before invalidation of my warranty with the
>   Fatter Agnus installation. I have crashed so often until now but want
>   to know my problems before possibly creating more for myself and being
>   unsure if it was my 'hotrod' Agnus install or whatever.
    
    I've become dependent upon ClockDJ's continuous display of available
    CHIP and Fast RAM on my own 3MB A500.  The 512KB CHIP RAM constraint is
    the one that bites me EVERY time, so I've become very careful about the
    applications (such as DPaint III and DMCS) that tend to gobble it up.
    
    My A500 has a version 5 motherboard, which means I won't be able to put
    the obese lady in without rendering the board "unswappable".  I am,
    therefore, sitting at the same decision point that you are.
    
>   So which type of memory is going to give me longer or more complex
>   animations with crashing?
    
    More Fast RAM won't help.  The problem is exhaustion/fragmentation of
    CHIP RAM.  The only cure is the 1MB Fat Agnus, at the expense of your
    warranty.  If you have a version 6 motherboard, you may already have
    the 1MB Fat Agnus (inactivated) and the means (with careful bending of
    one of Gary's legs) of putting it to work without doing anything
    irreversable to the motherboard.
4596.3Go ahead, make CBM's day!GOBAMA::WILSONTLLead Trumpet (Read that...LEED!)Mon Mar 18 1991 14:598
    I took the plunge and put in the Fat Agnus (1 meg) version.  I've never
    regretted it.  A local store did the job in 24 hours.  This include any
    board clad cuts and/or jumpers required.
    
    Tony
    
    
    P.S., you definitely need more CHIP.
4596.4BAGELS::BRANNONDave BrannonMon Mar 18 1991 19:388
    actually, I suspect the real fix is to get programs that handle
    chip vs. fast memory better.  It doesn't take very long
    to copy from fast memory into chip memory - why does it need
    so much chip memory?  It's a finite resource shared by everything
    on the system, why should an animation program assume that it
    can grab lots of it?
    
    Dave
4596.5So chipmemory is better than fastmemory?!UFHIS::JMASLENThe wheels fallen off your day yet?!Tue Mar 19 1991 04:1916
    Thanks for the replies so far folks!
    
    If I have understood the gameplay so far.....1).Do install the 1Meg
    Fatter Agnus chip
    						 2).I would be better off
    adding more chip memory like the BAseboard expansion of up to 6MB(goes
    into the Gary chip socket with the RAM card going into the 501 socket)
    and it supports the Fatter Agnus.
    						 3).Adding more FastMemory
    will not help me much in my DeluxePaint work.
    BTW the last sentence in my base note should have read "WITHOUT
    crashing".
    
    cheers and thanks 
    
    fjeff
4596.6Director version 2SALEM::LEIMBERGERTue Mar 19 1991 06:0111
    	The "Director Version 2" will go a long way in resolving your
    problem. It automatically loads your animations into fast ram,and then
    copies them to chip when required. you can also tell it to load all
    your IFF files to fastram,and then issue a "copy" command to move the
    desired buffer to Chip. It is not as nice as expanding chip memory but
    even if you do expand it is good practice to follow the recommendation
    given in the earlier note. Use programs that deal with memory better.
    	In the case of say DpaintIII where you run out of memory while 
    building the animation you may need to Break the animation up,an then
    chain the anims together with the Director. 
    							bill