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REVIEWS
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AlegraBoard
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1987-04-21
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6KB
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110 lines
The Alegra - 512K byte expansion memory board
================================================
A review by ROBERT LORE'
Since buying the Amiga, over a year ago, I found the potential of
the machine being constrained by two factors, the first being from a
memory point of view.
Many programs cannot not be utilized to their full potential on
the standard memory model, especially those which made use of the high
resolution or interlaced graphics modes. For example the new version
of Deluxe Paint requires more than 512K for 640 * 400 windows with 16
colours in use. It was frustrating knowing that this potential was
available but not quite achievable on a standard Amiga. It is possible
to have drawing windows of 1024 * 1008 in size (640 * 400 shown on
screen at any instance), but again this was not possible with the
standard Amiga. Aegis Draw+ also offers extended graphics resolutions
of comparable resolution to Deluxe PaintII, which cannot be fully
utilized on a standard Amiga.
Another program which has memory size problems is the Deluxe Music
Construction system. Again, as with the others, it works well on the
standard Amiga, but there is a lot more that can be done. Some of the
sample songs included with the package load OK, but then there is
insufficient memory to completely load the instruments. I must mention
that there was a background CLI running along with a small utility
called 'mclk'. When these were shutdown there was just enough space to
fit complete sample songs in. Effectively no other utilities, or
whatever, can co-reside when DMCS is being run.
With all these programs, memory size constraints are compounded
because of the guru problem, which from experience tends to manifest
itself in a manner that correlates highly with the user's anxiety.
This anxiety detracts from the usefulness of the computer especially
when the project cannot afford to be lost. After saying all this I
must add that the guru problem happens rarely, especially when using
the newer Workbench 1.2.
The Lattice C compiler and linker is notoriously slow, especially
that it stores intermediate files onto disk. I couldn't help but
wonder what difference a RAM: disk would make.....
To the business user who makes use of spreadsheets, especially
large ones, the present memory may be insufficient. However, these
spreadsheets would have to be monstrous.
The second problem is more conceptual in nature. The Amiga's
multi-tasking makes it shine when used, and to do so lots of memory is
required. There is nothing finer than doing a compilation in the
background, while using the modem or playing a game in the foreground.
Now comes the solution to all these problems. One of the Amiga
dealers in Sydney told me about the Alegra board they had, and that
afternoon it was on my Amiga. That was over six months ago, and since
then it has been forgotten. It simply plugged into the expansion slot
on the right hand side of the Amiga, and that was it. With the
Workbench 1.2 (if you are not using it, you are crazy!!) the board
'auto configures', so that at Kickstart time it is automatically made
known to the system. The Alegra board is expandable to 2 megabytes,
which requires a change of the PLA chip, and the memory chips of
course. To do this would require a return to Alegra in the States
unless someone out here was authorized to carry out the conversions
locally. There is not much else to say about the board except that it
has worked without any problems since the day it was installed.
Now that the Amiga has the full 1 megabyte online you can
immediately lord it over your mates, especially those who have 640K IBM
compatibles! Having the extra memory makes all the difference in the
world when running programs. Even with all this extra memory you
cannot run Deluxe Paint with 1024 * 1008 and 16 colours, but this is
because there is not enough Chip memory. This resolution requires 516K
which is just a little over the 512K chip memory limit. Chip memory is
memory which can be used for storing pictures. It is possible however
to have 1024 * 1008 size windows with 8 colours, or if desired, 16
colours by trimming the screen sizes down a little, say to 1000 * 1000.
Pictures of this size make one big difference to the usefulness of the
Amiga.
The problems with Aegis Draw+ and Deluxe Music Construction Set
are also eliminated. Aegis Draw+ is very memory hungry and the
Alegra overcomes this problem very well indeed.
For the developer the Alegra board can be used to speed up
compilations. I have not used the Lattice compiler for a very long
time, and cannot comment from experience, but I have been told the
speed up is significant. For the Aztec compiler, RAM: disk is used for
intermediate files which makes considerable difference in overall
compilation.
Another easy speed up is to copy the most used commands to RAM:.
Commands like dir, copy, cd, etc. can be copied to RAM: and then the
path command executed so that the command search will examine the RAM:
disk first. What this means is that these commands are executed almost
instantly. No program that I ran, and I ran many, showed any problems
at all running with the extra memory. Finally, the extra memory means
that several tasks can be run concurrently. It is possible to have a
spreadsheet, a wordprocessor and basic all loaded and operating
simultaneously. This greatly enhances the useability of the machine.
In conclusion, I saw the Alegra board as a problem solver, bringing
much relief and adding a lot of satisfaction to the user of a very
capable machine.
END OF ALEGRABOARD
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