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Mini-FAQ: upgrading TransWarp GS or Zip Chip GS (modified 7/8/94)
- Subject: Mini-FAQ: upgrading TransWarp GS or Zip Chip GS (modified 7/8/94)
- From: fmlin@netcom.com (Frank M. Lin)
- Date: Mon, 11 Jul 1994 23:56:32 GMT
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2, comp.sys.apple2.marketplace
- Organization: EMG
- Xref: bga.com comp.sys.apple2:7994 comp.sys.apple2.marketplace:1729
I haven't posted this in a while, so here it is. I am cross posting it to
marketplace because I just saw few couple of posts asking where to get the
cache SRAM. Enjoy.
--
Mini-FAQ (frequently asked questions) for upgrading TransWarp GS or Zip GS
Last updated: 07-08-94 updated/checked prices on osciallators and SRAM,
and some minor changes which hopefully made it
easier to read
06-24-94 AE is dead now, so GALs are probably not available
anymore. Parts like 32 KB cache should still be
obtainable from resellers.
03-14-94 replaced all mHz with MHz
01-22-94 included which 74HC00 to get for the zip (~~13)
12-22-93 minor appearence update, and some new test results
12-11-93 finally cleaned it up!
12-09-93 update the crystal oscillators, SRAM, & RAM prices
??-??-93 first version...
:::::::::: disclaimer
Feel free to distribute this anywhere you think it might be of help.
I make no guarantee about any of the information provided below. If you
choose to do any part of the upgrade, you are taking the risk. I will
not responsible for anything.
Let me know if any information is incorrect and/or misleading.
Internet: fmlin@netcom.com, fmlin@winternet.com, fmlin@grind.isca.uiowa.edu
FutureNet: Capsule, user #9 @ Boycot BBS (#9@#8)
IRC: PoTTy
:::::::::: table of contents
Search for next topic by scanning for ~~, or ~~number. last updated:
1. Where can I buy the 32 KB cache for Transwarp GS? (07-08-94)
2. Should I buy the Sanyo chips? Or WDC ones? (12-22-93)
3. Where can I buy the high-speed 65816? (12-22-93)
4. What GALs version do I need for my TWGS? (12-22-93)
5. Where can I buy the GALs? (06-24-94)
6. Where can I buy crystal oscillators? (07-08-94)
7. What speed of static cache RAMs do I need? (12-22-93)
8. Where can I buy the SRAMs? (07-08-94)
9. Do I really need to increase the voltage? (12-22-93)
10. How do I increase the voltage? (12-22-93)
11. Where can I buy the heavy duty power supply? (12-22-93)
12. Is it true that Zip can only go about 12.5 MHz? (12-22-93)
13. Where can I get replacement 7400 for my Zip? (07-08-94)
14. What kind of performance increase can one expect? (12-22-93)
15. Is it reliable? (07-08-94)
:::::::::: common questions & answers
~~1. Where can I buy the 32 KB cache for Transwarp GS?
LRO Computer Sales (800) ASK-4LRO
TMS Peripherals does not carry any AE stuff.
It costs about $80. You can also buy it from AE, but prepare
to pay retail.
It requires you to cut two little traces at the back of TWGS.
Cut it _lightly_, it's fairly easy to cut too deep. So just
take it easy.
Note: Not too sure if LRO nor TMS exists anymore...
{}
~~2. Should I buy the Sanyo chips? Or WDC ones?
Sanyo re-engineered the 816, but WDC sells them.
{}
~~3. Where can I buy the high-speed 65816?
The Western Design Center, Inc.
2166 East Brown Road
Mesa, Arizona 85213
(602) 962-4545 voice
(602) 835-6442 fax
I'm told they don't require you to get a copy of the article
anymore. If they still have it, I still recommend you to read
it through carefully. It provided me useful informations.
price: should be $95 each. NAUG (National AppleWorks Users
Group) members should be able to buy at $71.25 each.
If you're a NAUG member, be sure to ask if they still
honor it.
{}
~~4. What GALs version do I need for my TWGS?
Basically, you have to have the following GALs to go over
10 MHz:
1A, 2B, 3E, 4B, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8B
All TWGS should have the A GALs. So you need:
2B - DMA fix
3E - for above 10 MHz operation
4B - dunno
8B - dunno
2B DMA fix was available for free. You need to call AE's
900 number and ask for it. You might need to pay shipping.
Couple of people say it's no longer free. But it's worth
asking though. Hint: be persistent!
{}
~~5. Where can I buy the GALs?
You can order the GALs only though AE's technical support line.
AE Technical Support
(900) 884-0123
$1.50 per minute
9 AM to 5 PM (CST) Monday through Friday
It's $20 for _each_ GAL you order.
---
AE Technical Support BBS (214) 241-6677
24 hours, 7 days a week
I would guess the BBS functions the same. But I never called
it before.
Note: as recent as July of '93, somebody was able to order one
or more of the GALs from the technical support. However, some
one else also reported they don't have it. I guess you should
ask for someone who's familiar with the TWGS.
NOTE!!! AE is gone, completely (no more Macintosh products
neither). You can not get GALs from AE anymore. If
you get lucky, you might find used TWGS with the
correct GAL revisions.
{}
~~6. Where can I buy crystal oscillators?
Digi-Key Corporation
(800) 344-4539 voice
(218) 681-3380 fax
From May/June 1994 catalog:
Epson America, Inc.: 1/2 TTL for TWGS
Part No. Frequency Price ($) TWGS speed
SE1101 32 MHz 3.60 8 MHz
SE1102 33.3333 3.60 8.3333
SE1103 36 3.60 9
SE1104 40 3.60 10
SE1105 42 3.60 10.5
SE1106 46 3.60 11.5
SE1107 48 3.60 12
SE1108 50 3.60 12.5
SE1109 55 3.60 13.75
SE1110 60 4.35 15
They have new half size oscillators from CTS. Looks like it's
compatible with the above ones. But if you order, you're
responsible to confirm compatability. The only reason I'm
mentioning these new CTS ones is because they have over 60 MHz
frequency. Just in case you want to try beyond 15 MHz.
CTS Clock Oscillators: 1/2 TTL for TWGS
Part No. Frequency Price ($) TWGS speed
CTX174 32 MHz 3.25 8 MHz
CTX175 40 3.25 10
CTX176 50 3.25 12.5
CTX177 64 4.45 16
CTX178 66.6666 4.45 16.6667
CTX179 80 10.01 20
Orders under $25 costs $5 to ship, over $25 is free..
My understanding is that, if you over clock a CPU. It just won't
function. You can't damage it. As the disclaimer said, do it at
your own risk.
for Zip you need: (by Long)
The Zip can use three types of crystals including the common
4-pin full TTL crystal oscillator, 4-pin 1/2 TTL crystal
oscillator (also used on TWGS) and 2-pin crystal (little metal
canister about 1/4 the size of 1/2 TTL). To be able to use a
2-pin crystal, your Zip must have a resistor at R1 and capacitors
at C13 and C14. I've found these three parts to be missing from
current Zips. No big loss since 2-pin crystals are less common
and are only available up to a certain frequency. I have the
values of those parts written down somewhere and will post them
when I find them.
For experimenting with different frequencies it makes it easier
if you install a socket for the crystal oscillator. It's also
a good idea to secure it down with one of those zip tie bands.
Only 6 of the 14 pins are used (picture A). The ground (GND)
pins 1, 4 and 7 are connected together. The power pins 11 and 14
are connected together. Full TTL crystal oscillators use pins 1,
7, 8 and 14 (refer to picture B). 1/2 TTL crystal oscillators use
the bottom four pine (4, 7, 8 and 14; picture C). Make sure it's
oriented correctly with the corner (usually with a dot printed next
to it) at about 11 o'clock.
*WARNING* The crystal oscillator will be damaged if installed
incorrectly.
_______
GND 1 o \/ o 14 POWER 1 |o \ 14
NC x x NC | |
NC x x NC | FULL | ______
GND 4 o o 11 POWER | TTL | 4 |o \ 14
NC x x NC | | | 1/2 |
NC x x NC | | | TTL |
GND 7 o o 8 CLOCK 7 \______/ 8 7 \_____/ 8
(A) (B) (C)
x - no connection (NC)
{}
~~7. What speed of static cache RAMs do I need?
I have read 35ns is enough for 12.5 MHz. I'm not sure about
the requirement of 13.75 MHz or 15 MHz. 15ns costs only slightly
more than 20ns, so I recommand getting 15ns.
for TWGS with the 32 KB cache:
3 - 32 KB x 8 SRAM .3 mils (also called half size) try to get
low-power models if possible.
for TWGS with older 8k cache:
upgrade to 32 KB cache first. big speed improvements!
for Zip you need: (by Long)
<me, Frank: Zips uses wide SRAM (.6 mil) standard. You can use
wide SRAMs if you can find them (they're harder to come by).
Below, Long has a good illustration of how to make it accept
wide or skinny (.3 mil) SRAMs>
I've found Japanese and American static rams to work the best
(20 ns in tag and 25 ns in data). The Zip can use narrow (.3 mil)
or wide (.6 mil) static rams. It all depends on the sockets that
are installed on your Zip. With a little modification you can
make a Zip with wide sockets accept both wide and skinny SRAMs.
Ground yourself then carefully pry out the static rams. Look at
the socket and you will notice two or three horizontal bars holding
both sides of the socket together (picture D). Carefully cut those
out. This will expose a column of holes where you will solder in
half of a socket. Refer to picture E, position skinny (.3 mil)
static rams over the left and center columns and wide static rams
over outer most columns and making sure the notch on the static
ram is facing 12 o'clock.
*WARNING* Plug the static rams in wrong and you will destroy them.
CUT
___ ___________ Skinny (.3 mil)
| | | |
____ ____ _ _ _
|o __V__ o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o|__o__|o| |o| |o| |o|
|o _____ o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o|__o__|o| |o| |o| |o|
|o _____ o| |o| |o| |o|
|_______|___ Wide (.6 mil)
(D) (E)
{}
~~8. Where can I buy the SRAMs?
From June 27, 1994 MicroTimes, note IMD appears to have the best
price, but other are listed if you wish to call...
---
International Micro Devices (IMD)
1630 Oakland Road A108
San Jose, CA 95131
(408) 452-7700 voice
(408) 452-7771 fax
Monday-Friday 9 AM to 5:30 PM, Saturday 10 AM - 2 PM (Pacific time)
32 KB x 8 SRAM @ 25ns $4.00 each
32 KB x 8 SRAM @ 20ns $5.00 each
32 KB x 8 SRAM @ 15ns $5.50 each
---
AMT International
2393 Qume Drive
San Jose, CA 95131
(408) 383-9044 voice
(408) 383-9047 fax
(408) 944 9801 fax
Monday-Friday 9 AM to 5 PM (Pafific time)
32 KB x 8 SRAM @ 20ns $5.95 each
32 KB x 8 SRAM @ 15ns $6.95 each
---
C. B. Memory & Computers
1319 Jacklin Road
Milpitas, CA 95035
(408) 946-5174 voice
(408) 946-5175 voice
(408) 946-5376 fax
Hours unkown, probably same as AMT International.
---
Note: SRAM prices went up recently (and isn't stable), so call
for the latest prices...
{}
~~9. Do I really need to increase the voltage?
You can learn to read your shmoo plot by reading the article
sent by WDC. In my case, I was suppose to supply 4.75v - 5.25v
to run at 12.82 MHz, 5.5v - 5.75v for 13.51 MHz, and 6v for
14.71 MHz.
But I'm suppling 5.2v @ 13.75 MHz, and about 5.5v @ 15 MHz. Your
milege may vary. It's easy to tell if you need voltage. If
continuous test fails, you need more voltage, or possibly faster
SRAMs, or both.
{}
~~10. How do I increase the voltage (with the heavy duty power supply)?
WARNING: generally, it's not recommended to do this. You might
decrease the life of your GS. Adjusting the pot expose
you to HIGH-VOLTAGES which can be FATAL!!! If you feel
at all in-competent, it is recommended you stick to
5v, or let a qualified electrician do it ($$$).
Another reason is, performance increase from ~12 MHz
to 13.75 or 15 MHz isn't as impressive as from 7 to
9/10 MHz, probably because the GS's 1 MHz bus limit. So
it might not worth the risk/time/effort to try beyond
5v. You're also at a much higher risk of damanging
your TWGS/Zip/GS.
---
The easiest way would be to purchase AE's heavy duty power
supply. Memory Plus Distributor (MPD sells the exact
same supply (except with out the AE sticker & price) for
slightly cheaper. LRO also carries the MPD power supply.
The power connector on the mother board:
_______
| _ _|
| |_| |_ pin 1: ground
| |
| _ _|
| |_| |_ pin 2: ground
| |
| _ _|
| |_| |_ pin 3: no connection; not used
| |
| _ _|
| |_| |_ pin 4: +5 volt supply
| |
| _ _|
| |_| |_ pin 5: +12 volt supply
| |
| _ _|
| |_| |_ pin 6: -12 volt supply
| |
| _ _|
| |_| |_ pin 7: -5 volt supply
|_______|
Attach the volt meter's gound to either gound pin, then the
positive to the +5v supply. That should give a reading of 5v.
To turn up the voltage, simply open the HD (heavy duty)
power supply. There is a pot (which you can turn with a screw)
to adjust the voltage.
|| - power cord
-------------
| |
| | || - 7 pin connector on your motherboard
| | ||
| |
| |
| |
| |
|oooooooooo = - wires to your motherboard
|oooooooooo |
|oooooooooo |
|oooooooooo | - pot is located about 3" from the bottom &
|oooooooooo | about 1" from the right
|oooooooooo |
|oooooooooo | turn clock wise to increase the voltage
------------- counter clock wise to decrease the voltage
turn it SLOWLY! supplying over 5.5v is not
recommended.
If you have a skinny, long screw driver, you can adjust the pot
with out opening the power supply. However, I think it's actually
easier if you open it. Just don't touch anything but the pot.
{}
~~11. Where can I buy the heavy duty power supply?
Memory Plus Distributors, Inc.
7902 East Pierce Street
Scottsdale, Arizona 85257
(602) 820-8819 voice
(602) 968-3211 fax
Monday through Friday 9 am to 4 pm (MST)
7 amp GS power supply - $75
GS internal cooling fan - $19.95
Internal cooling fan is highly recommended for a TWGS, or if
you have a few cards in your GS.
{}
~~12. Is it true that Zip can only go about 12.5 MHz?
The Zip need to have the 74F00 replaced with 74HC00. You might
also need faster SRAM and additional voltage.
{}
~~13. Where can I get replacement 7400 for my Zip?
Digi-Key Corporation
(800) 344-4539 voice
(218) 681-3380 fax
---
National Semiconductor - 74HC00 Series CMOS (last updated 07-08-94)
Digi-Key part number description chip package price
MM74HC00N-ND quad 2-In NAND Gate 14-dip .28
{}
~~14. What kind of performance increase can one expect?
This is just to give you a rough estimate of how much faster
you might go...
BenchMark v5.0 results:
cpu stock twgs twgs twgs zip zip zip
version ROM 01 1.8s 1.8s 1.8s 1.0.2 1.0.2 1.0.2
cache/spd 32k/15 32k/15 32k/15 64k/?? 64k/?? 64k/??
clock spd 2.8 15 13.75 12.5 16 15 14
======= ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== ======
Sieve 410.00 99.00 108.00 117.00 98.00 99.00 110.00
String 1151.20 270.00 292.00 303.67 259.00 262.00 282.00
Float 1 472.00 92.33 87.00 111.33 123.00 128.00 135.00
Float 2 1535.00 317.00 394.00 381.67 395.00 415.00 432.00
Fibinacci 2006.00 605.00 634.00 645.33 507.00 523.00 548.00
Integer 1553.40 307.00 330.00 346.67 420.00 431.00 443.00
Dhrystone 236 1136 1063 1000 NA NA NA
* 1351 1183 1282 NA NA
* Dhrystone v1.1 re-compiled under ORCA/C v2.0.1
If you look at the numbers, a 12 MHz or faster TWGS/Zip will
make everything just about 4x faster than a stock //gs.
System Software 5.0 QuickDraw II improvement test:
stock //gs: 5648 ticks
TWGS 15 MHz: 1332 ticks (over 4x faster than stock)
{}
~~15. Is it reliable?
I ran my TWGS at 15 MHz for over a year (about 9/92 to 11/93) just
fine, under all environments including ProTERM. But lately, it
starts to crash every hour or so, especially in GNO. I slowed it
down to 13.75, that was a little better. But it still crashed
now and then. So I step it down to 12.5, and drop the voltage
to the stock 5v. I can run it all day long with out any crash.
If I just run in GS/OS (no GNO), it still runs perfect at 15 MHz.
But since I'm in GNO almost all the time, I have to do it at 12.5.
GNO is just more timing sensitive I guess.
Note that the high-speed 65816 was designed to do 12 MHz anyway;
unlike some who claim it as a 14 MHz chip. According to the
shmoo plot sheet, at most it would do 13.75 MHz at 6v. If you can
get it above 12 MHz, great. If not, it's normal.
Many others are able to run reliably at 12 MHz.
{}
{EOF}
--
Frank M. Lin
fmlin@netcom.com