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Conference 7.286::atarist

Title:	Atari ST, TT, & Falcon
Notice:	Please read note 1.0 and its replies before posting!
Moderator:	FUNYET::ANDERSON

Created:	Mon Apr 04 1988
Last Modified:	Tue May 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1433
Total number of notes:	10312

1065.0. "33 meghz STFM...." by EARRTH::POLLAN () Wed Feb 06 1991 16:18

    
    
    Just thought we might bring up some things that David Small is doing
    in his last Spectre GCR mailing update.  
    
    
        1.  A memory upgrade of 4 meg for about $300.
        2.  A daughter expander board that makes the 68000 a 68030.
            Running the speed at up to 33 meghertz for $600.
        3.  The new GCR mac sac that needs no separate format on drives.
        4.  1.4 TOS  
    
    Discussion:  This all has Atari's blessing and support according to Dave.
    
     2. Is PC speed good enough to warrant spending this much on this ST?
     4. What will the latest GemDos do for me?
     
    
    Maybe someone has been a beta site for SMALL and has some info.
    Or should I bail out and get a clone.....
    
    Ken P

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1065.1	33MHz 68030 ST ??	UFHIS::BFALKENSTEIN		`Thu Feb 07 1991 02:54`	16
	About PCspeed: why not use the ATspeed or the ATonce? Both of them have a 80286 on the board and are really worth every cent if you want do work with MS-DOS. A friend has the ATonce which cost 390.-DM (280.-$ according to the low exchange rate) and runs MS-DOS 4.01 with Windows 3.0 with excellent results. Norton Utilities claims ATonce to be 7.x the speed of a XT, not bad for an 8 MHz Atari. 33 MHz 68030: for sure an valuable increase of speed in calculating, but really effective? I mean, all the other chips still are designed to work with 8 MHz, the results are memory wait states a.s.o. I'd better go for the TT which dropped in price so much the last month than to customize a 6 year old machine so heavily. Bernd
1065.2	It'll work	UPWARD::SANDERSB	I install with ease	`Thu Feb 07 1991 17:14`	25
	The way Small gets the speed up to 33 MHz is to do it through ram cache. The way its's described is - The module can contain up to 8 MB of fast ram - 32-bit ram, so it uses that as both program storage and write through cache. It also comes with TOS 2.x which supports this option and was done with Atari's help. The board will support 16 MHz roms or the standard 8 MHz roms. It comes in three speed ranges - 16 MHz, 24 MHz and 33 MHz. Any software that loads into fast ram will execute at the speed of the processor installed, thus providing a screaming speed up. In regular ram, up to 4 MB, most things are faster, much like installing one of the 16 MHz 68000 addons. The other thing that Small's board does is bring the buss out to the rear of the machineto a connector. Rumor has it that someone has or is working on a video adapter. Also, this current addon is for Mega's only. One is in the works for the 520/1040 STs. Bob
1065.3	To good to be true ?	HLFS00::SINKE_A		`Mon Feb 11 1991 06:51`	10
	Sounds to good to be true. But, What is really included for $600 ? Is it possible to upgrade any ST ? When will it be available ? Arthur.
1065.4	It's available now.	PNO::SANDERSB	I install with ease	`Mon Feb 11 1991 11:58`	7
	As I recall, the price was US$799. It included the module, ROM upgrade, 16 MHz 68030, no memory and misc. items. You would need at least 2 mB of memory - 4 simm modules, due to the 32-bit wide bus.
1065.5	more info (tech and $$)	BERN01::RUGGIERO	Markus Ruggiero, EIS/PS, Z�rich/Switzerland	`Tue Feb 12 1991 02:56`	60
	Here is more (right from the Gadgets by Small News-Herald) 68030 SST (requires option A, B, or C to operate) $599 options A: 16MHz 68030 $200 B: 16MHz 68030 + 4 1MB SIMMs (80ns) $460 C: 33MHz 68030, 68882, 4 1MB SIMMs (80ns) $800 D: 4 additional 1MB SIMMs (80ns) for B and C $260 Available: April 91 Some quotes from the news herald: "However we can add our own memory past that 4 megabyte speedlimit area. If we do this, the Atari hardware won't force the new memory to 8MHz; we can run it just as fast as we decide." "Atari has committed to licensing us a modified TOS 1.6 to ship with our 68030 SST, so our customers won't have to buy their own ROMs." "Our 68030 board design is asynchronous. This means it runs at whatever speed the speed of the components we plug into it. [...] In all honesty we have not yet maxed out our board. We don't know it's top speed limit past 33MHz. I point out that Mac superusers have already gone to 50MHz in their 68030's..." "The current configuration is only for the Mega ST. [...] By the way, we are planning configurations for smaller ST's [...] We are not planning on leaving out 520/1040 owners" "We are planning to sell the basic package with 3 options: With NO 68030, or a 16MHz, or 33 MHz 68030." "The SST also has a socket for a 68881/2 floating point chip..." "The board also features a nice expansion slot that we have a few devious ideas planned for." "The board also has 8 IMM sockets." "This means, all your favorite ST programs can now have up to 12 highspeed megabytes to work wtih." "So we will provide a few utilities to help you make sure yur programs are runnig in fastRAM if you have..." "...we also plan to include 64-pin socket, a spare 68000, TOS 1.6, a manual, a floppy and a couple of other miscellaneous items. And since 8 Meg of SIMMs pull lots and lots of power, we may also end up including a power supply to handle the increased demand, but we don't know for sure yet." "Installation requires the removal of the 68000 in your machine, soldering in a socket (which we'll include), and plugging our board into that socket where the 68000 was. You can go back by removing the board and putting the 68000 back in (which we'll also include)."
1065.6	SST Update	OPS5::HUTCHINSON	Hutch	`Thu May 09 1991 16:57`	28
	An update on the SST 68030 board... Gadgets by Small (Dave & Sandy Small & George Richardson) hosted an RTC (Real Time Conference on GEnie last night (8 May 91) which was well attended but plagued by GEnie crashes. The entire conference dealt with the SST 68030 upgrade board. They even GAVE one away to a conference attendee! Unfortunately, it wasn't me but I did get in on a $100 discount deal for last night only. Prices from previous note seem to be holding steady, except that Gadgets wants to ship all boards sans RAM so you can buy your own. Its still possible to buy 1 Mb SIMMs for $39. You must buy 4 of them, not 2 as previous notes said. The SST is shipping with a licensed version of TOS 2.0 from Atari. Amazing! Yes, it is for Megas only for now (no room in other machines) but they promise to work on it. George will be fitting an SST to a MegaSTe this weekend so that should also be available soon. Spectre GCR runs very well on an SST equipped Mega. So fast that the PD util "Speedometer" rates it faster than a MacIIci (that's the second fastest Mac currently available). Like Dave says, though... "Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?" A bare minimum SST setup will cost you $799 + 4 1Mb SIMMs (app. $160 - $200). Then again, check out the cost of that IIci or TT! Hutch
1065.7	Mega space limitations?	POWDML::STEIL		`Thu May 09 1991 17:28`	7
	I suppose that since my Mega has a Viking monitor controller board installed in it, that there is no room for the SST upgrade board. True? Gil
1065.8	SST is a big board	OPS5::HUTCHINSON	Hutch	`Fri May 10 1991 13:19`	8
	re .7 I don't know how large your Viking monitor controller board is so I could not say for sure if the SST would fit in there as well. Does your board cover the 68000 at all? That's the main issue as the SST plugs into a socket that goes where your 68000 was. Other issues might be compatibility problems. The only way to know for sure is to contact Gadgets by Small directly via GEnie, fax, US mail, or as a last resort, voice phone.