Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!purdue!ames!lll-winken!uunet!philmtl!philabs!linus!mbunix!rachamp
From: rachamp@mbunix.mitre.org (Richard A. Champeaux)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: GVP controller
Keywords: Think first .  Quantum, GVP A2090A
Message-ID: <62835@linus.UUCP>
Date: 7 Aug 89 18:45:43 GMT
References: <437@accsys.UUCP> <1267@jolnet.ORPK.IL.US> <18927@mimsy.UUCP>
Sender: news@linus.UUCP
Reply-To: rachamp@mbunix (Champeaux)
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, Mass.
Lines: 52

In article <18927@mimsy.UUCP> kelso@mimsy.UUCP (Stephen Kelley) writes:
>
>I generally *liked* the GVP (it was quite fast) but most of the performance
>was do to the Q80.  As for design, what about MAX TRANSFER, the brain
>damaged cousin of Mr. Headroom.  If your requests are over 8192
>*watch out*. IF YOU DON'T SET THIS PARAMETER W/ gvp YOU'LL GET
>FILES OF THE CORRECT SIZE BUT THEY'LL BE CORRUPTED. 'Nough said?
>
>-- 
>Real:	Stephen Kelley, Welch Library, Johns Hopkins Univ.
>Internet: stevek@welch.jhu.edu

I bought a GVP Impact2000 and used it for about 1.5 months.  I wasn't too
terribly thrilled.  When I bought my 2000, I decided that I wanted a big and
fast hard disk setup.  I wanted to buy the HardFrame, but I couldn't find
anyone who had them in stock.  I decided to buy the GVP since I had heard
good things about it, and since they were advertising it with the Quantum as
being fast,  I figured what the hell, it's got to at least be faster than my
Supra I have on my 1000.  Wrong!!!  The drive I was using with the GVP is a
ST296N 80Meg 28ms.  The Supra was using a Miniscribe 8425S 20Meg 65ms.
The Supra was giving me ~140k reads and writes, but the GVP gave me only
123k reads and 95k writes, and it had a drive that was twice as fast.  Now,
Amiga World and other people were reporting speeds around 240k, but I couldn't
figure how to change anything.  The GVP software is so easy to use because
they don't let you tweak anything.  You can't even change the interleave.  
There might have been something wrong with my setup, but I didn't see any
way to change anything.

I decided to chalk it up to experience, went with my first instinct and bought
a HardFrame.  With the same ST296N, I'm now getting 655k reads and 290k writes.
The HardFrame is even cheaper.

Also, if you plan to buy memory chips for the memory expansion, check with GVP
first to make sure you buy the right brand.  I tried to use the 150ns ones I
had in my Starboard2 and they failed all over the place.  They worked just 
fine in the Starboard2.  I called GVP and they named one brand that won't work,
but that wasn't what I had.  They told me to ship them the board with the 
memory in it and they would check it out.  They told me that eight of my chips
were bad, and that the board worked fine.  They sent me the board and the chips
back, and I put the chips back in the Starboard2 and they tested fine.  I've
since bought an adaptor card for the Starboard2 and put in into my 2000.
Appearently GVP pushed their timing too close to the DRAM specs.


By the way, I still have my GVP, and I'm willing to sell it.  You can buy it
new with the autoboot roms for about $330 from a mail order house.  I'm willing
to part with it for $250.  It was only used for about a month and a half.
I'm willing to negotiate within reason.

Rich Champeaux     Currently at rachamp@mbunix.mitre.org
                   After 8/18 - rchampe@hubcap.clemson.edu