Path: menudo.uh.edu!usenet From: bn@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Bo Najdrovsky) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Subject: MINI-REVIEW: EGS Spectrum 28/24 graphics card Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.graphics Date: 12 Oct 1993 12:59:33 GMT Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett Lines: 145 Sender: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu (comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator) Distribution: world Message-ID: <29e9nl$daa@menudo.uh.edu> Reply-To: bn@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Bo Najdrovsky) NNTP-Posting-Host: karazm.math.uh.edu Keywords: hardware, graphics, 24-bit, Zorro III, commercial PRODUCT NAME EGS Spectrum 28/24 BRIEF DESCRIPTION The EGS Spectrum is a high performance Zorro II/III graphics adapter for the Amiga series computers. It provides users with high resolution and color depth capability. AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: Great Valley Products, Inc. Address: 637 Clark Ave. King Of Prussia, PA 19406 USA Telelphone: (215) 354-9495 Fax: (215) 337-9922 LIST PRICE $599.00 (US) for the 2MB RAM version. I paid $540. SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS Amiga with a Zorro slot. AmigaDOS 2.04 or greater. Minimum of 2 MB of RAM. COPY PROTECTION None. MACHINE USED FOR TESTING My current setup: o Amiga 3000/25 with 2 CHIP 4 FAST, rev. 11 Super Buster chip o IV24 frame buffer/genlock o BCD2000A single frame controller o EMPLANT Macintosh emulation card (deluxe version) o Mitsubishi Diamondscan 1381A multisync monitor o Texel DM5024 CD-ROM drive. o OS 2.1 and OS 3.1 REVIEW Dan read my initial post on comp.sys.amiga.graphics regarding this card, and suggested that I submit it as a mini-review. Therefore, I'm including my original posting, and some further experiences I've had with the board since I got it. On Friday, October 8th, I received my EGS Spectrum 28/24 2MB version. This card is GREAT! I shall never yearn for AGA again. :-) It came with the EGS system software (obviously), and some miscellaneous EGS toys like Tetris, a function plotter, and a dock program (a la ToolManager). The installation was totally painless. I just double-clicked on the Install icon which invoked the C= Installer program, and away I went. A note here for those getting the board: be sure to select the Advanced User option, so that you can select between 68030 and 68000 versions of the libraries. In the Intermediate user setting, it will install the 68000 version by default. Once the installation is done, you just reboot, and POOOF!: your Amiga has a bunch of new screen modes. Some of the preset modes that GVP provides tend to flicker a bit too much for my taste. This is because they are designed to fit a wider range of multisync monitors (hence, smaller scan rate numbers). Since I have the Mitsubishi Diamondscan 1381A monitor, I used the included EGS program for designing your own screen modes, and created a virtually flicker-free 1024x768 90Hz screen mode. The included 800x600 24 bit mode is noninterlaced, but the refresh rate is something like 45 Hz, so it looks worse then PAL. So, I created my own 800x600x16 mode which is rock solid. This mode is great for running EGS Paint. Speaking of which, I've played with it a bit, but not enough to really give you guys an in-depth overview. All I can say is that my first impression was very favorable. I also had a PC clone owning friend here when I installed the stuff, and when I brought up EGS paint, and loaded the included 24 bit picture, he just said "Wow, my PC sure can't do that!" I gotta tell ya, I don't usually get into these stupid MCIBTYC ("My Computer Is Better Than Your Computer") wars, but hearing that statement sure made me feel warm and fuzzy. :-) Finally, I want to report one annoyance. When I select any of the EGS screen modes as the default Workbench screen and reboot, all I get is a white screen, I know that Workbench is loaded because my hotkeys work (if I hit Alt-F1, a shell gets loaded). The Workbench functions just fine if I switch into the EGS mode AFTER the whole system has booted into Amiga screen mode. This problem disappeared when I switched from AmigaDOS 2.1 to 3.1 (I work for a registered developer). Here is some new information since I posted my original review in c.s.a.graphics. Since then, I've installed OS 3.1 on my system as I said. My Amiga now boots directly into 1024x768 256-color Workbench. Note that I was not able to use 256 colors under 2.1, though some folks E-mailed me and told me that they got it to work. I should point out that the 256-color Workbench is MUCH faster than what I've seen on an A4000 using AGA. Moving windows around is as fast as 2 bit (4 color) regular Amiga screen. I noticed that using WBPattern Prefs or a background picture slows the redraws down considerably, so I decided not to use it. On software compatibility side, thus far I have tested Final Copy II, PageStream 2.2, Term 3.3, Postview 1.1, and EMPLANT. All of these programs work flawlessly in EGS screenmodes. FCII needs to run on the Workbench, but it handles the 256 colors very well. PS 2.2 also runs on the Workbench, but it does not take advantage of the color. However, it most certainly benefits from the high resolution. Term 3.3 seems like a different program. I've always used VLT because there was nothing faster. I tried Term once before, but stopped using it, because it was slow -- well, no more. Using the screen database, I selected a 640x480 VGA screen, and it runs as fast as it normally would on a 1 or 2 bitplane screen. Postview also uses the screen database, so it was able to open its own 1024x768 screen without any problems. Finally, there's my EMPLANT. This was one of the reasons I got the card in the first place, and I am not disappointed. The Mac display emulation seems faster than our Mac IIci at the office. CONCLUSION After only owning the card for less than a week, I can confidently say that it's the best Amiga purchase I've ever made. This card is fast, well integrates into current the Amiga system, and truly delivers what it promises. Originally, I was a bit jealous of my AGA equipped friends, however now I'm glad I've kept my A3000. This card really does take the Amiga "beyond AGA" as the adverts state. This review is Copyright 1993 by Bo Najdrovsky. You may redistribute it all you like, as long as it remains in its entirety. If you wish to print it somewhere, please contact me at bn@gnu.ai.mit.edu. --- Daniel Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews Send reviews to: amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu Request information: amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu Moderator mail: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu Anonymous ftp site: math.uh.edu, in /pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews