Hi,
I've recently gone from SuperSPARC-I to SuperSPARC-II (from sm51 to sm71) on my Sun SS10. I've done this without reinstall of the os (OpenSTEP 4.2). According to the hardware guide on Sun/NeXT posted here, an upgrade from SuperSPARC-I to SuperSPARC-II should require a reinstall of the OS. This does not seem to bee the case, or am I missing something. Anyone else done this?
Other than that, I can report that the sm71is WAY faster than the sm51.
Quote from: "linmag7"Hi,
I've recently gone from SuperSPARC-I to SuperSPARC-II (from sm51 to sm71) on my Sun SS10. I've done this without reinstall of the os (OpenSTEP 4.2). According to the hardware guide on Sun/NeXT posted here, an upgrade from SuperSPARC-I to SuperSPARC-II should require a reinstall of the OS. This does not seem to bee the case, or am I missing something. Anyone else done this?
Other than that, I can report that the sm71is WAY faster than the sm51.
Somewhat loosely related question, as I'm planning the exact same upgrade (my ss10 holds 2xSM51, but only one is used by NS, so I'm willing to exchange them for a single SM71) :
I already bought the cpu module, but while shifting through install notes, I realised supersparc-IIs officially need a prom >=2.22. Mine is 2.14 :(
What is the release of your prom ? Does it somehow work with a lower prom rev. ? Did you had already a compatible one, or did you buy one somewhere ? If so, where ? I've seen some on memoryx, but they are exxxxxxtremely expensive (still, I can afford to pay twice the amount I put in the processor itself, albeit reluctantly...), and far from europe ;-) which implies loooooong delivery times.
Any pointers on that subject would be much welcomed.
Other readers are welcomed to come forward with their own experience :)
Hi,
I think you're right about supersparc-II requiring at least PROM v2.22 rel1. I fount that the ROSS version of suns 2.25 prom works fine with supersparc-II. The ross version is called 2.25R and you can find one on ebay for about $5. I got one just a few weeks ago and they still sell them there, the 2.25R also gives you support for all the ROSS hypersparc stuff, not that you can run NeXT on the hypersparc but can be nice to have.
I also upgraded from a sm51 to sm71 and heeyy! I got a completely different machine. defenitely worh a few bucks if you as me. Saves me tons of compile time when trying to port stuff to NeXT.
Quote from: "linmag7"Hi,
I fount that the ROSS version of suns 2.25 prom works fine with supersparc-II. The ross version is called 2.25R and you can find one on ebay for about $5. I got one just a few weeks ago and they still sell them there, the 2.25R also gives you support for all the ROSS hypersparc stuff, not that you can run NeXT on the hypersparc but can be nice to have.
Thank you for the answer. I had seen the eBay offer for 2.25r, but I'd rather have plain 2.25 because I read somewhere it could mess with my dual SM51 setup which I intend to be able to revert to. But true, hard-tested info on the subject is scarce, so it may very well be a bit of urban legend.
Anyway, in the mean time I solved the problem. It happens the guy who sold me the cpu has an eprom writer, and is okay to duplicate his prom for me. I had contacted him, in the hope he could part with his prom (a bit of a stretch, if you ask me...), but it indeed provided a good solution, and moreover put me in touch with a fellow NextStepper ! Life is full of surprise some times. We didn't took time to chat during the initial purchase, but we had more time today.