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A Daystar card in a Centris 660 av

A Daystar card in a Centris 660 av 68k 39 posts Aug 10, 2007 — Apr 8, 2008
The ppc upgrade was not supported in the 660av, essentially because all the av functions then devolve to the ppc processor rather than the dsps on the logic board. I don't know if would run stably, but playing by Apple's rules, the best you could get is a 40MHz 68040 through the card you already have, which, with the cache, made the 660av faster (in some ways - the dsps are still slower) than an 840av.

PS: circa 1994 = 1993 in my books.

I looks like a 68040 accelerator for 68040 PDS Macs.

I've seen this before but was wondeirng if the following would work:

On a PPC 6100, there is the right angle adaptor for the DOS card which presents a Quadra PDS to the DOS card. Could this accelerator be used in a PPC 6100 with a DOS card adaptor to create a PPC/68K frankenmac.

Sort of like a 68K Mac with PPC card, only reversed.

More info

Re: [q] Identify Old Daystar Upgrade

Delete at request of author

Sat, 11 Jun 2005 16:34:31 -0700

I have been following this and other discussions from afar; time to weigh in

with my FIRST POST! Better make it a good one.

I have one of these Daystar cards, and so have had reason to do a little digging

and can fill in the blanks.

It is a Daystar Quad 040 running at 40 MHz with a 128k SRAM cache, and works in

the Quadra 610, 650, 660av, 700, 800, 900 and 950 (the 610 and 660 required, so

far as I know, a Slotsaver adapter - which plugged right into the cpu socket

and so left the one pds expansion slot in the 610 and 660 free).

The card brings any of these machines up to the level of a Q840av (40 MHz). Yes,

there would have been a point in buying one of these c.1993.

But it's not (in itself) an AV card, and there are no DSPs.

Daystar, however, clearly had the av machines in its sights. Though there are no

DSPs (presumably what have been identified are just the cache chips), what

there is is a smallish QUIC (Quadra Universal Interface Connector) slot, to

which can be plugged a Daystar Charger QUIC daughter card, which does have twin

DSPs. It plugs onto the side of the card, very like the daughter card for, say,

the Radius Thunder IV card. I don't have a QUIC daughter card, so I can't speak

about it first hand, but Daystar advertised that the two cards together would

boost a non-av mac like the 700 to run around 30% faster than the 840av.

It runs beautifully under OS 7. Haven't tested it with OS 8. Does not work

happily with A/UX, though I have had it running under A/UX on my Q950. The

trick is to do the A/UX installation with the card installed, and not to put it

in later. But since it makes A/UX rather cranky, there's not much point,

really.

There is a reference (from whch some of this is taken) in _Upgrading and

Repairing Macs_, Que publishing, 1994, pp.604-5 if anyone's really keen.

--

It's considered good form to link to where you (or whoever *ahem*) found the info when you cut and paste someone's email.

Bensen

Was going to mention you, but did not know if you wanted that. The author's info has been deleted at his request.

Does the Centris 660 av have a full 68040 chip or the watered down one?

Full 68040 @ 25 mhz.

Oh,thank you guys!

mp.ls