A2386SX upgrade processor swap question

Oldskool1

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Jul 29, 2010
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Dear Forum,

A A2386SX @20 is a great device however a bit slow.
The clip on processor upgrades are very hard to find however I found a cheap TI486SXLC2 G50 PQ.
Can I just remove (desolder) the 386sx and swap it with this one?

Does someone have experience with this?

I also need a driver to enable the clock doubling. If someone has a copy that would be great.

Any help and tips are welcome.

Thanks!
 
I have the TI snap on upgrade processor in the original box including the disks here, so this is the software you need!
 
Hereby some information about the upgrade.
The pictures and info is not from me but from an Amiga colleague.
I hope this is helpful.

You need the following:
TI486SXLC2 processor
A2386SX BB
Very good soldering skills
Some software tools
Maybe new oscillator

Software tools
CPU software (rar file!! but it is renamed to zip so rename it before unpacking)
BB software (bbcpuclk) http://aminet.net/search?query=bbcpuclk

After installing the processor and booting it will have the speed of the original 386sx.
The cache and clock doubling needs to be enabled (cpu tool).
Enabling cache is no problem (25mhz cache sysinfo 40). When you enable clock doubling the cpu will crash.
The additional program will solve this issue (bbcpuclk). If after running this software it is still unstable you need to replace your clock oscillator.
Sysinfo score of 70 can be achieved. With some further mem tuning (calcqf) you could get a sysinfo score of 73.

Your autoexec.bat need to contain the following for full speed:

bbcpuclk.com
cache486 2+

Some pictures
Installed cpu:

ti486.jpg

Sysinfo cache:
sysinfocache.jpg

Sysinfo clockdoubling 50mhz + cache:
Sysinfo full.jpgView attachment makeit486.zip
 
What would happen if we put (solder) a TI486SXLC2 in an Vortex goldengate which currently has a 25 mhz CX486.
Has anyone tried this?
Would be nice to see if there will be any speed difference compared with an upgraded A2386SX.
 
NO!!!!!

The Vortex GoldenGate 486 SLC has a SLC CPU soldered, NOT a 486SX!!!

The 486 SLC is Pin compatible to the 386sx, so the upgrade should work!!!

Please read something about the used CPUs!!!!
 
Thanks for the replies. Will try to upgrade and do a Vortex vs A2386SX:)
Lets see which one is faster.

Here a picture of the current TX486SLC@25. I needed to remove the fan which was glued on:

IMG_0373.jpg
 
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I don't need to read, I own multiples of every bridgeboard that has been made.
Mine has a 486SX cpu. I suppose there are different versions or it was upgraded or something. Nevermind.

Interesting... would you mind posting a pic or two, please (y)
 
There was NO GoldenGate outside with an 486sx CPU!!!

The 486SX is working internal and external with 32bit but the GoldenGates and the A2386 are designed to work external with 16bit!

There are no existing 486 bridgeboards. The GG and the tuned A2386 are using Cyrix or TI 486 SLC or SLC2 CPUs, which are nothing better than tuned up 386sx CPUs with a bit of internal first level cache (Cyrix : 1 kB, TI: 8 kB) and some 486 instructions as well as clock doubling for the SLC2 versions! This are all NOT real 486 CPUs!!

So I am very interested in pictures of you GoldenGate!
 
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Short update.
My both boards have been upgraded.
The processor works on the Vortex and on the A2386SX. So great.

The boards have been tested in my A4000 with a Cyberstorm MK1. Both work (some people say the Vortex GG does not work with a Cyberstorm MK1 however in my computer it does, no issue)
The A2386 is a bit faster in Sysinfo however in games it does not feel that way. I'm not sure how accurate sysinfo is.
Sysinfo score: A2386SX is around 71, Vortex GG is about 63.
In my 4000 the Vortex is a bit easier (floppy, onboard IDE) so I'm now using this.

I tried two videocards with the GG and performed some benchmarks. Hereby the results:

Videocard ISA: Speedstar vs Speedstar 64 (does not work on the A2386SX) (with upgraded Vortex GG)
3d bench: 21.7 vs 21.7
PC Player bench: 5 vs 5.1
Doom lowest setting: 30 vs 31 fps
Doom highest setting: 9.2 vs 9.6 fps
Landmark (CPU 192mhz): 3916 vs 5200

Speedstar 64 is a very tiny bit faster however the CPU is clearly the bottleneck.

So what do I think about the CPU upgrade?
Great and cheap upgrade for the BB!!! And before I forget a fan or other cooling is needed!! The CPU becomes 90 without cooling
What does not work or not great is AMICDEX on the Vortex. So it works but is extremely slow (transferring 25 mb is 1.5 hours so not usable for games).



Thanks for all the tips and help for this mod from:

MIG (Yesterchips)
Blindgerman (BB Guru)
Tristan (Obi wan)
TSB (Solder master)

Some pictures which you mind find interesting:
photo_2017-07-20_22-27-52.jpgphoto_2017-07-24_19-43-42.jpgphoto_2017-07-24_19-43-54.jpgphoto_2017-07-24_19-44-19.jpgphoto_2017-07-24_19-44-36.jpgphoto_2017-07-24_19-44-51.jpg
 
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Great!! Thanks for comparing the GG and the A2386!! :)

I also should have run the other benchmarks. I'm interested in the doom benchmarks. Maybe you could try. I used the dosbench tools from Phils computer lab. My feeling is there is no real difference between both cards. I'm not really trusting sysinfo.
 
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