jessenator wrote on 2020-02-29, 01:04:

Hey, not to further dampen your parade, but I had a funny feeling about it and did some checking with the 68kMLA OGs and they pointed me to this chart: http://aux-penelope.com/hardware.htm

A/UX is extremely picky about what hardware/chipsets it will work with. I'm afraid you cannot force the LC/Performa 6xx chipsets to work for A/UX even with a full 040 upgrade, or any sort of theoretical software workaround.

I have a feeling the answer I am going to get is "not on the performa 630", but I thought the difference between a quadra and a performa could be an adjustment of a jumper on the logic board.

But I don't see 'Quadra 630' listed anyway...

We all now I am going to try it anyway. Well, if it fails I am going to have one powerful 68k Mac running kanjitalk!

kolderman wrote on 2020-02-29, 02:28:

smevans526 wrote on 2020-02-29, 02:22:

kolderman wrote on 2020-02-29, 00:16:

Err...no, that's not how CPUs work. The FPU stands for floating-point unit, which performs calculations on numbers with something after the decimal point. This is only really useful for things like science and computer games (well and lots of other things TBH). But not compiling code.

Not that I am saying you should not get a CPU with an FPU!

So if I am using the float or double datatypes, then their calculations are not performed by the FPU?

When the program runs, yes. Not when compiling though. Compilation is basically text translation.

I think you and I are on two different pages, but I now see the source of the confusion and your point, and you are right.

I should have been more careful in my wording.

I change my comment in the OP to "The LC-style chip is not ideal for my statistics applications, all of which come out of code I want to try to compile on A/UX's built-in C compiler."

But, yes, I thought that the 68040's FPU also handled integer arithmetic when present.

Regardless, it sounds like none of this is happening. At least I will have King's Quest VII running smooth as butter on kanjitalk.

smevans526 wrote on 2020-02-29, 02:50:

But, yes, I thought that the 68040's FPU also handled integer arithmetic when present.

I knew I heard of an early-nineties 'FPU' handling more than floating-point arithmetic. I was thinking of the i487. But based on when I double checked this, I am still confused/wrong. The i487 was marketed as an 'FPU' and 'math coprocessor', but appears to be a full-blown DX in disguise, which deactivates the i486SX when installed. Oops.

Depending on what I am about to write, what is the ideal OS for a 68040 MAC? I have no interest in the native PPC Finder and HFS+, so System 8.0 and 8.1 seem unnecessary. I thought there was a point in system 7's life that Apple just put in more and more PPC code. If so, does that 'bloat' the OS for a non-PPC system?

Interesting, I found some benchmarks where 7.6.1 outperforms 8.6 on some tasks like startup and shut down on PPC systems.

I mentioned in a previous post about playing games. I do not think any I have in mind would utilize QD3D/RAVE, which I think was released with a particular version of 7.5.x. Probably the most intensive applications would be Marathon and Doom. The most, um, 'multimedia intensive' would be Myst, Seventh Guest, or King's Quest VII. I believe they require Quicktime.

Try both and see - many like OS 7.6 for sheer speed, while I prefer OS 8.1 on later 68K machines with lots of RAM because HFS+ support is quite useful when coupling it with later PPC Macs. Apple shoehorned a lot more PPC code in OS 8.6+ so nothing to worry about there.

About the only game that is "accelerated" with x630 architecture is Marathon I and II. However, it's not that great - low colour depth and Marathon II is slow on any 68K.

XC68040RC40M

why facepalm? It appears to be an FPU equipped '040.

Byrd wrote on 2020-02-29, 23:22:

why facepalm? It appears to be an FPU equipped '040.

I believe that the following line is the issue:

Byrd wrote on 2020-02-27, 21:46:

- RC is the full chip

Thank you for the tip on MAC OS, BTW. But I am certain I will not use System 8, and instead opt for a version of MAC OS 7.5.x (possibly 7.6.1). My concern is if 'too much' ppc code for a certain version of Mac OS (and its successors) can hinder performance on a 68k Mac, and if so, which version is the 'cut off'.

Already my options appear limited if I want to use Kanjitalk, as it appears that not every US release of the OS has a corresponding Japanese release. Fortunately, this line of MAC ('crusader', is it?) can operate US versions dating back to 7.2.1P.

Nevertheless, I have never heard of 68kMLA before jessenator's post, and I believe there forums will be more appropriate for my future Macintosh inquiries.

Thank you all

smevans526 wrote on 2020-03-08, 16:53:

Thank you for the tip on MAC OS, BTW. But I am certain I will not use System 8, and instead opt for a version of MAC OS 7.5.x (possibly 7.6.1). My concern is if 'too much' ppc code for a certain version of Mac OS (and its successors) can hinder performance on a 68k Mac, and if so, which version is the 'cut off'.

Many a MacLiberationArmy forum member will recommend at least 7.5.5 (for a faster 030 machine they want net connection to) for things like access to the classic-OS-compatible file servers. OpenTransport v1.3 and AppleShare 3.8.3 being the key concerns there. In fact, this page is a nice reference and source for updates, should you choose 7.5.x or 7.6.x as your base: http://main.system7today.com/updates.html

But if you wish to eschew any of that sort of connectivity, many a member would be happy to present their preference. My own has been mostly to use whatever version shipped with the machine, save any bug fixes that happened along the way. According to the tech manual, it shipped with System 7.5[.1]. I'm not sure if the Gestalt ID alone would prevent you from installing an older system, but I'm fairly certain it won't work at all. At any rate, a useful CD image to get burned is the Apple Legacy Software Recovery CD. Made in '99 it has nearly every system and Apple utility from system 1 to I think 8.1 on it.

Even though it's an 040, it has a full 32-bit data path it seems, and will run 7.5.5 just fine. Might even be worth a shot to try 7.6.1

One thing you'll want to test though, if you go with that update list above: for some reason, my PowerPC machines (all clones) did not like the QuickTime updates from that System7Today list (or almost any version other than stock). I ended up just keeping the QuickTime v2.5(?) version from the 7.6 install, but maybe because they're clones (I consider the PowerMac 4400 a clone, because it kinda is).

Good luck, and maybe we'll see you around there.