Overview Features Coding ApolloOS Performance Forum Downloads Products Order Contact

Welcome to the Apollo Forum

This forum is for people interested in the APOLLO CPU.
Please read the forum usage manual.
Please visit our Apollo-Discord Server for support.



All TopicsNewsPerformanceGamesDemosApolloVampireAROSWorkbenchATARIReleases
Documentation about the Vampire hardware

V4SA After the 2020 August Updatepage  1 2 

Zeus SH

Posts 22
11 Aug 2020 13:01


Yesterday I installed the new core to my V4SA.

Has Vampire 4 been slowed down?
If I remember correctly, Sysinfo measured 204 MIPS using the previous core.
After installing the new core, only 153 MIPS is the result.
Why did lose a quarter of its performance the Vampire? Where are my 50 MIPS?

Also, I noticed a strange loading of kick.rom from the microsd card.
I see it only loads when I enter the early startup menu the first time I turn it on.
Otherwise, you have to wait forty (!) seconds every boot for the remap kickstart function from startup-sequcence, then comes the normal boot.

The 1280x720 screen mode is lost. I think the 1280x720 resolution would be a basic thing for daily use.

Sometimes tiny weird display errors appear on the Workbench.

Okay, i see, the Amiga mouse works.
Okay, i see, AGA compatibility has improved.
Okay, i see, more demos runs.

But overall, I feel lost a bit in the usability of the Vampire
I'm sad. :(


Willem Drijver
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 127
11 Aug 2020 14:20


Hi Laszio,

Welcome to V4SA.

Latest Core is beta/release candidate and there will be some issues.

Resolution is fixed to 960x540 to steamline AGA/RTG interaction and scaling on 1920x1080p displays.

Kick.rom is only loaded from SD if you press right mouse button on coldboot. Otherwise the AROS builtin ROM is used.

Please join our Discord channels as this will surely help you enjoying your new toy :-)

EXTERNAL LINK 




Zeus SH

Posts 22
11 Aug 2020 15:15


I'm very sad about this kick.rom thing.
So far, a great feature has been the placement of the kick.rom on the microsd card.
If I wanted, I copied it there and the Vampire always use this kickstart.
If I didn’t want this, I deleted it or renamed it.
This allowed me to fix my own favorite kickstart setting.
Now this opportunity has been taken away from me.

As I look, the users being forced to use Apollo OS.
This is not sympathetic.
As a owner, I want to decide what operating system I use.
Now Apollo OS enjoys an unfair advantage.
Because it gives you two options if you want using standard AmigaOS:
-waiting long time (40 sec! foooorty seconds! crazy...) to remap the Amiga kickstart file from CF
-or always remind yourself this problem, and press the right mouse at every cold start.
Both causes inconvenience to the user if does not want to use Apollo OS.
In short, I am not happy about this unnecessary change.


Willem Drijver
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 127
11 Aug 2020 15:38


The BootSD version of the latest core will soon be available.



Zeus SH

Posts 22
11 Aug 2020 16:10


Willem Drijver wrote:

The BootSD version of the latest core will soon be available.
 

It's a great news, thank you! :)
(When arrive the new core? I want to know: I can assemble the Vampire, or not... :D )

What improvements are expected in screen resolution and performance?Is there any more serious progress expected?

Is it expected that Vampire will have a built-in kickstart selector?


Smartroad 78

Posts 116
11 Aug 2020 17:39


"Resolution is fixed to 960x540 to steamline AGA/RTG interaction and scaling on 1920x1080p displays"

I really don't understand that decision. Ok it removes the need for the delay while the monitor re-syncs between resolution changes, but how often are people changing for that to be better then not having common resolutions for general use (as originally mentioned loosing 1280x720 resolution)?

If nothing else it should be something that is optional. Given the user the choice, do they want fast switching but limited resolution, or slower switching my more resolution options.


Willem Drijver
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 127
11 Aug 2020 17:42


I think that all options are still open for hi-res RTG resolutions, but the choice of the team is now to focus on stability and for that a fixed resolution and pixelclock is a good thing.


Zeus SH

Posts 22
11 Aug 2020 19:10


This restriction a little reminds me the mentality of Apple’s.
They say, "I'll tell you what's good for you, you don't need to choose anything."
And of course it's true, because it's good.
Most of the time.
But there is someone who wants to decide for themselves what is good for them.
Fast screen changes and lower resolution or higher resolution slower screen switching.
I want to decide what is good for me.
I hope we get back to the possibility of higher resolutions.
... and the lost 50 MIPS ... :D :D


Willem Drijver
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 127
11 Aug 2020 21:16


Time will tell, but I personally do not believe that Apollo team will abandon support on Amiga OS 3.x distros or on hi-res RTG.
   


Ray Couzens

Posts 93
11 Aug 2020 21:47


I can't speak for the Apollo team, but I think @Willem Drijver is correct.  Apollo Team have released a much more stable system which probably most of us can use whilst they work on further improvements which are going to be coming in the next few months.

Working on an Operating System is a big, big task.


Gunnar von Boehn
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 6207
12 Aug 2020 08:52


Laszlo Hegyi wrote:

... and the lost 50 MIPS ... :D :D

 
Please note that the V4 always had 154 Mips.
Every V4 core did had exactly 154 Mips (sometimes 153 with measurement bias)
To clearly say this : You did not loose anything.
 
Please note, also there is NO NEW release.
The only release that there is - is a BETA Test release to be used together with the new ApolloOS.
If you want to test this release then go to our V4 support channel and test it only together with the new ApolloOS.

Thanks
 


Zeus SH

Posts 22
12 Aug 2020 09:02


Hmm. Strange, for some reason I remembered 204.
  But I'm certainly wrong,
  I'm sorry.
  I’m embarrassed now because I was absolutely sure of this value.
  I don't even understand where this data might have come from ...


Zeus SH

Posts 22
12 Aug 2020 10:07


Gunnar von Boehn wrote:

  To clearly say this : You did not loose anything.
 

 
  Overall I knew that I did not lose the performance.
  I thought of a reduction in MIPS maybe as a kind of resource reallocation.
  I just couldn’t really put it well. (sorry again)
  So I wanted to hear: the perceived performance drop is due to compatibility resource requirements or similar.
 
  Now it turns out he didn’t even lose performance. This is great news, even if I was wrong.
 
  I was afraid that further fixes would take away additional resources from the main cpu. I was worried that after a while it would be in bad proportion to each other.
 
  But luckily I was wrong.
  Thanks for the correction, Gunnar. :)


Ray Couzens

Posts 93
12 Aug 2020 10:07


Laszlo Hegyi wrote:

Hmm. Strange, for some reason I remembered 204.
  But I'm certainly wrong,
  I'm sorry.
  I’m embarrassed now because I was absolutely sure of this value.
  I don't even understand where this data might have come from ...

Don't worry, we all make mistakes. I had a red face recently when I thought I had updated with the latest beta core, but as it turned out I had put the same version back in and was wondering why I had a strange display! 


Kamelito Loveless

Posts 260
12 Aug 2020 12:33


The Vampire AFAIK do have a licence at least at one point for AmigaOS. I guess that it is included in the final price. Now that ApolloOS is replacing it I suppose that the price of the licence will be devoted to ApolloOS development right?


Stefano Briccolani

Posts 586
12 Aug 2020 12:42


Laszlo Hegyi wrote:

Hmm. Strange, for some reason I remembered 204.
  But I'm certainly wrong,
  I'm sorry.
  I’m embarrassed now because I was absolutely sure of this value.
  I don't even understand where this data might have come from ...

There was an x15 super-core for v4 circulating many months ago, but was a test core, not a public one. Maybe you still used that core.



Willem Drijver
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 127
12 Aug 2020 14:27


The V4 never was sold (as far as I know) with an AmigaOS Kickstart license.



Zeus SH

Posts 22
12 Aug 2020 17:20


Stefano Briccolani wrote:

 
  There was an x15 super-core for v4 circulating many months ago, but was a test core, not a public one. Maybe you still used that core.
   
 

 
  Strange, but it is possible that this core was on my Vampire.
  Perhaps this explains why I was so sure of the above data.
  But now I lost my ye oldie super-core.
  Damn. I basically liked it.
  Does anyone have this core? Maybe flash back to the Vampire.
  I want a higher resolution Workbench and I don’t like the "hold-right-mouse-at-cold-startup-or-wait-forty-seconds-every-boot".


Zeus SH

Posts 22
12 Aug 2020 17:59


Kamelito Loveless wrote:

The Vampire AFAIK do have a licence at least at one point for AmigaOS. I guess that it is included in the final price. Now that ApolloOS is replacing it I suppose that the price of the licence will be devoted to ApolloOS development right?

I remember being asked if users wanted AROS or AmigaOS.
However, if users choose AmigaOS, its fee will be added to the final price.
Eventually, AROS became the winner and the user decides whether to purchase AmigaOS or not.
So Vampire is not included in the price of AmigaOS at this moment. We have to buy this ourselves, from Cloanto, from Hyperion, or presumably because we can use it right because of our own real Amiga hardware.


Willem Drijver
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 127
12 Aug 2020 19:50


Correct. If you buy V4 and want to Use AmigaOS 3.x you have to obtain a "legal" (there is some story to ell about this :-)) license from either Cloanto (3.1) or Hyperion (3.1.4.1). AmigaOS 3.9 doesn't seem to be available by any "legal" channel...

posts 23page  1 2