TF1260-time for a new Alpha firmware update & lets compare results with my Cyberstorm MKIII !!!

Been enjoying my TF1260 with the Beta firmware update (see Dec27-21 post below) so let's look at what the latest Alpha firmware update brings to the table!

All tests carried out running AmigaOS 3.2.1with SysSpeed v2.6.

Note: On my Rev1 68060 I unfortunately couldn't over clock it to 62.5Mhz (like I did with the Beta firmware) or even 58 or 55Mhz so testing done only at base 50Mhz. That being said, in testing some intense 060 specific demos I honestly saw no difference in performance? Perhaps this is because of the big jump in chip ram speed or other internal changes?
Stability wise the Alpha firmware update is solid on my system.

Results at 50 Mhz with Alpha firmware:

Comparing to Beta firmware Results at 50 Mhz:

MIPS/ MFLOPS: +1.17 / +0.52

DRIVE SPEED: +1.47 MB/s (ReadFile)

MEMORY: +187.69 MB/s (CacheRead)

                  +22.11 MB/s (ReadROMb)

                  +40.98         (ReadROMw)

                  +51.76         (ReadRoml)

                  +0.49          (ReadFastb)

                  +0.51          (ReadFastw)

                  +0.67          (ReadFastl)

                  +0.35          (WriteFastb)

                  +0.56          (WriteFastw)

                  -1.56           (WriteFastl)

                  +0.22          (Fast2Fastb)

                  +0.3            (Fast2Fastw)

                  -5.53           (Fast2Fastl)

                  +0.03          (Fast2Fastm)

                  +25.74        (Fast2Fast16)- no result with Beta?

                  +0.06          (ReadChipb)

                  +0.12          (ReadChipw)

                  +0.24          (ReadChipl) 

                  +0.44          (WriteChipb)

                  +0.87          (WriteChipw)

                  +1.73          (WriteChipl)

                  +0.19          (Chip2Chipb)

                  +0.38          (Chip2Chipw)

                  +0.75          (Chip2Chipl)

                  +0.41          (Chip2Chipm)

                 +2.55           (Chip2Chip16)- no result with Beta?

                 +0.41           (Fast2Chipb)

                 +0.79           (Fast2Chipw)

                 +1.62           (Fast2Chipl)

                 +1.36           (Fast2Chipm)

                 +4.95           (Fast2Chip16)-no result with Beta?

 

Phew ok there you have it so there's alot of +'s there so basically almost every item improved with the best results being Fast Ram, ReadROM and especially Cache Read.

It's too bad I couldn't get my Rev1 060 to overclock with this latest firmware update so I could compare the 62.5Mhz results as well but I'm hoping future updates will bring back 62.5 Mhz as my system was humming quite reliably at 62.5 :-)

And now for fun sake & yes I know it's not Apples to Apples but below are my Cyberstorm MKIII results in my Amiga 4000 also running AmigaOS3.2.1 with Rev1(same mask)68060:

and the obligatory view of only the NorthEast corner of the mancave as it is at this time:

 Screechy noise and very low sound in my Amiga 4000

And of course I know I know .......'it's the caps..replace THE CAPS!' ..how many times have we heard/ read that in the Amiga forums over the past 10 or more years since our original Amiga hardware is reaching the age where the original capacitors are failing and that unsightly acid spews all over our precious motherboards damaging traces and other components....BUT this time it might not be the caps or maybe it is....let me explain. 

I replaced all the caps on my MB and original power supply 2 years ago and all was fine until one day last year I decided to try one of the ATX PSU's out on my A4000...don't ask me why because I had replaced the original noisy fan in the PSU and it was running as silent as ever but such is the way my head goes many times in my man cave!? I purchased the ATX adapter tried the 1st ATX PSU and nothing happened so tried another older PSU and pfft bang boom a loud noise and the magic smoke came out of the PSU!%^#@?! Turned off the power to my A4000 and my adrenaline was through the roof with worry about destroying a perfectly great system for the sake of trying out this darn ATX adapter !!! Then the real hysteria came in .....what if my beloved Cyberstorm MKIII was fried too !#@#!@#$%! oh Lord I had a migraine just thinking about it so started immediately taking out my CS-MKIII to inspect it for any obvious damage and it passed the visual, touch, and more importantly smell testing so next step was to plug my original PSU in and try to boot her up without my CS-MKIII and voila thank God and all that is good that she booted up just fine !!!! ALELULIA !!! Plug my CS-MKIII back in again and all good except I got to look at some of my fav demos to celebrate and when I turn on my amp all I hear is a loud high pitched screeching noise and when the demo starts I could barely hear it in the background of the screeching. Unplug the amp, check the cables, have a quick look inside the case and all ok so this is where I'm at and here's a few pics before I take her all apart and have a good luck at the MB

 

 

 

 ..more to follow on this issue hopefully sometime soon but ya never know what goes on inside & more importantly outside the mancave but more importantly I hope everyone is managing ok with this Covid-19 virus pandemic still going on and supposedly stronger this fall then it first was discovered last February so please stay safe !

 

 

 

 

Amiga 1000- The godfather of the man cave in pieces !

Man Cave NG :-)

Absolutely LOVE IT when my kids want to play in the man cave and drop their tablets and DS's for a while...

Getting my X1000 quieter & cooler !

Been a while since I started a thread over at amigans/ amigaworld.net over concerns of CPU temp and noisy CPU fan that came standard with my X1000 but luckily mainly due to a new great custom solution for our X1K's from Marcus Computer called MagmaBreath my problems have been solved :-)

The installation is clear and straight forward as noted below. You'll need 45 minutes, basic tools and a clear workspace:

The payment and delivery from Marcus Computer was pain free and the CPU heatsink and fan came safely bundled in a well protected package.

 View of package & contenets when open

Case panel off and view of Nemo's top face (since I had the case open already lol my old Radeon HD 6750 was removed so I can install a newer Radeon HD7750 single slot card to enjoy the new Warp3D driver update BUT that's another post for another day :-)

To start I removed the fan above the heatsink with a small philips screw driver.

4 screws fully loosened & power connector disconnected from Nemo (aka motherboard)

Fan removed and view of top of heatsink

Now time to remove underside case cover to access plastic screws securing heatsink to CPU

close up view

After almost scratching Nemo with a longer flat head screw driver I dug up a smaller screw driver which gave me much more control and precision while holding the CPU steady on the top side with my right hand and remove the plastic screws with my left hand.

The small plastic screws are quite slippery so attention is needed to slowly apply pressure without the screw driver head slipping and possibly damaging Nemo (aka DON'T RUSH lol)

OK all screws removed with no surprises and heatsink easily removed with my right hand making sure to not drop it onto Nemo.

Voila the top side of the infamous PA6T ! The heatsink came off clean with no residue at all from the thermal paste/sticker which left me quite surprised based on my mnay other experiences with thermal pads/tapes etc.

although pratctically like new I  wipe clean the top of the PA6T with the included alcohol wipe to make sure all is prestine for the new heatsink application (note my anti static wrist strap)

As per the instructions on the Marcus Computer website you have a choice of which orientation you would like to mount the new heatsink/fan combo.  I chose to install it with the heatsink fins facing towards the two separate 2GB ram modules for maximum cooling on CPU & ram sticks.

don't forget to remove the protective plastic over the thermal pad!

TRICKY PART! with my right hand lining up the MagmaBreath and my left hand lining up one of the included screws (don't forget to add the enclosed lock tight washer!) I carefully line up/insert the first screw and immediately the second one diagaonally opposite from the first.

It goes without saying that we're dealing with very delicate substrates SO be gentle with the torque on the small philips screw heads and don't exceed the 0.82N.m torque as per the instructions.

Tricky part over the remaining 2 screws go in efforelessly & voila you can plug in the power connector to the fan and enjoy the view from the top side :-)

Conclusion:

I'm very happy with the reduction in sound from the stock heatsink/fan combo as it's quite the difference and for the effectiveness of MagmaBreath the numbers from X1Temp docky speak for themselves!

Prior to the upgrade after 48 hours of constant use numbers were:
CPU-  47 deg.C
Core1-52
Core2-50

with MagmaBreath installed after 48 hrs I was pleased to see a significant decrease:

CPU-  38 deg.C
Core1-43
Core2-40

Clean up time before Spring gets here !

Well this is what the mancave looks like after a long winter and glad I got a few projects that were in pieces back up n running before the nice weather come along- my 1200T & 1200 wedge!

Getting my Radeon9250 with 256Mb video ram working happily with Picasso96 and my Mediator 1200 LT4 was slightlly short of agonizing but alas it was a defective Mediator that was the majority of the problem and luckily Elbox is still around to do the necessary repairs (actually a big thanks to Drewlio77 from amigaworld.net  for selling me his spare board while Elbox carried out the repiars).  So far my Apollo 060@50 with 32MB Ram, Elbox Fast ATA Mk2, SB128, and Spider2 USB with modded front face plate on my Infitiv case is working nicely with the exception of the usual amigan fiddling to get Workbench feeling  just right :-)

My 1200 wedge has a basic 3.1 install with Magic Workbench, Indivision AGA Mkcr2, M-Tec 030@50 with 32MB, and Subway USB working nicely for a very stable WHDLoad machine.  More fiddling as usual

Alas there's more to do and talk about but not enough spare time so I leave you with yet another snapshot of the mancave cave and wish everyone a great start to the spring season!