Isn't this the most frequently asked question?

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mrbombermillzy
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Re: Isn't this the most frequently asked question?

Post by mrbombermillzy »

Also note, from a software perspective, that if you think it will just speed up any games, you may be dissapointed.

The 68030 is different enough from the 68000 to cause incompatabilities, especially for games that do unofficial tinkering with the address registers, or rely on specific timing characteristics to work. (You MAY find that the TT/Falcon patched games MAY work for you).

Even the OS needs patching (or use EmuTOS) to even boot if using an early TOS version.

These things are not plug and play by any means.
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JezC
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Re: Isn't this the most frequently asked question?

Post by JezC »

One other (positive) point on the games front is that the extra memory & faster CPU allows some of the ScummVM games to run much better (though I think they still need to be ported) than is possible on a stock ST.

It might even be worth having a thread to record which games do & don't run with the TF card fitted (and which show the real benefits of the extra performance).
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exxos
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Re: Isn't this the most frequently asked question?

Post by exxos »

JezC wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 1:04 pm It might even be worth having a thread to record which games do & don't run with the TF card fitted (and which show the real benefits of the extra performance).
Its a good idea, but like with my boosters, nobody ever does a list of anything which runs faster.. The question of "what games benefit from a booster" has been cropping up with my stuff for years, nobody knows because nobody tests enough stuff out to make a list.. with so many games and apps, it can turn into a huge project which I doubt anyone will ever do.

It really boils down to what games will run on a 030, plus TOS206, plus running in fast-ram..
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
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viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
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JezC
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Re: Isn't this the most frequently asked question?

Post by JezC »

exxos wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 1:36 pm
JezC wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 1:04 pm It might even be worth having a thread to record which games do & don't run with the TF card fitted (and which show the real benefits of the extra performance).
Its a good idea, but like with my boosters, nobody ever does a list of anything which runs faster.. The question of "what games benefit from a booster" has been cropping up with my stuff for years, nobody knows because nobody tests enough stuff out to make a list.. with so many games and apps, it can turn into a huge project which I doubt anyone will ever do.

It really boils down to what games will run on a 030, plus TOS206, plus running in fast-ram..
Yes, it would need a lot of members to contribute to be really worthwhile & useful...and it's currently a pretty 'select' group of users with one in an ST (have we even reached double figures for this yet?).
:shrug:

I'm just being hopeful :lol: :roll: that a few people might be prepared to contribute when they try things on their system...it would have been invaluable back when I first got my Falcon in the mid-90s...anybody else remember the FalconFact File (later changed to FalconFacTT file to include the TT brethren)...
:awwww:
dnk777
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Re: Isn't this the most frequently asked question?

Post by dnk777 »

terriblefire wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 8:48 am I think the description is perfect. If you don’t know what it is then it’s not for you. Seriously! We do not want to deal with people who buy them then realise they are out of their depth soldering/flashing/debugging.
I understand what you mean. Must be pain in the ass to do all this almost for free, and being asked to troubleshoot other people's stupid mistakes.
But still, in this case I feel like here we have overdone it with this approach, as even experienced people are confused about this.

I didn't ask about games because that's what I expected it to do- I asked about it, as I felt like that must be the most frequently asked question by people who stumble upon this.

I think that few more sentences in the main thread & faq to clarify could help.
Just a basic info saying that it's meant as a co-processor which common software doesn't support and won't be able to use. Just so that people know what it is and what they could expect from it.

I do not lack skills nor tools to solder and troubleshoot the thing, yet I failed to understand what the thing is from the available info.

To me it seems like how it is now is a lose/lose. People losing their time digging for info about it & you losing your time by getting questions from confused people.
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Re: Isn't this the most frequently asked question?

Post by exxos »

dnk777 wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 2:04 pm To me it seems like how it is now is a lose/lose. People losing their time digging for info about it & you losing your time by getting questions from confused people.
Are you taking into account that all the threads on here are mostly Amiga... The ST firmware only got to a good fixed state a few days ago.. I think less than 5 people have one of these.. so there just isn't any information to post about yet... We cant say what ST's it will or will not work on, its why I am giving up on original machines.. Nobody can or ever will say what ST's it will or not work on as its impossible to know.. you may have 2 identical motherboards, works on one, doesn't on the other .. other than try it yourself there is no other way..

As for H4/H5 platform, nobody even has a H5 yet so nobody can say what works and what does not. As for the H4's, again like 5 people have these, myself included, I had problems getting it to run on my H4.. others did not... I am looking into this problem.. but I have like 30 projects ongoing all at the same time as it is.

So sorry if you don't get the information you want, but this is why you cannot find such information, because nobody knows or simply doesn't exist. You have to also remember this is a development community, everything is W.I.P. here, so if your expecting a fully plug and play solution which works perfectly first time, its probably not a project for you. If you want to help develop something, then sure get one and help out.
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/ - All my hardware mods for sale - Please help support by making a purchase.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
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PhilC
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Re: Isn't this the most frequently asked question?

Post by PhilC »

Ok, I'll try and start an ST specific topic on what works and what doesn't but please be aware that as exxos says, it may work on one ST and not another. As a for instance, one of my Mega Sts required a pull-up and cap to be soldered to the TF536, the other did not.

I did start a TF536 how to but have abandoned that at the moment as I don't have a consistent way to do the installs, however I have to say that everything that I've tried the TF536 on does work.... eventually.
If it ain't broke, test it to Destruction.
bnice7
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Re: Isn't this the most frequently asked question?

Post by bnice7 »

I mean, I'm pretty new and I read through the entire TF536 forum (It's only about 4-5 pages deep worth of posts) before I even joined here. All the information you need is available here and if you're still confused about it, my advice would be to keep reading and researching before you decide if you want to proceed.
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JezC
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Re: Isn't this the most frequently asked question?

Post by JezC »

PhilC wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 3:33 pm Ok, I'll try and start an ST specific topic on what works and what doesn't but please be aware that as exxos says, it may work on one ST and not another. As a for instance, one of my Mega Sts required a pull-up and cap to be soldered to the TF536, the other did not.

I did start a TF536 how to but have abandoned that at the moment as I don't have a consistent way to do the installs, however I have to say that everything that I've tried the TF536 on does work.... eventually.
I have to say that the board from @PhilC worked straight out of the box in my H4...but the lack of the extra ROM decode (and no IDE cable to use with the TF536) has slowed down my experimenting with the s/w (and the various flag settings to use the extra RAM etc.)

I've got an EmuTOS boot ROM image (192k) installed on the H4 which allows me to load EmuTOS from floppy with the TF536 but having to constantly swap floppy image on my Gotek definitely hinders progress!

:slapface: Must order the extra bits to allow me to use the IDE... :zombie:
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Re: Isn't this the most frequently asked question?

Post by PhilC »

@JezC could you share the 6 rom files please when you get a mo, may save some having to go through the splitting process etc.
If it ain't broke, test it to Destruction.
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