Hi all,

I have MorphOS 3.11 running well on my MacMini 1.47MHz with 1G memory, very happy!

On a PowerMac G5 (A1047) I understand the OS has a 1.5G memory limit, but can it use both CPUs?

Sorry if this is common knowledge, but I did not find the answer searching the forum.

Thank you,

Joe

I read that MorphOS and AmigaOS 4.X don't use the two cpu in Amiga X5000 and neither MorphOS with the G5.

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No. The current version of MorphOS isn't ready to utilize more than 1 CPU. In fact version 3.11 shuts off the second CPU during initialization, so that it doesn't run needlessly.

P.S. Before Andreas Wolf beats me to it - the memory limit is more like 1,7 GB :)

> my MacMini 1.47MHz

It's either 1.42 or 1.5 GHz (unless weirdly overclocked from 1.25 or 1.33 GHz).

> On a PowerMac G5 (A1047) I understand the OS has a 1.5G memory limit

The MorphOS memory limit applies to all compatible machines. And koszer has it (almost, hehe) correct: it's 1.7 GiB (= 1.8 GB).

Actually Quark (MorphOS kernel) can use memory up to 2GiB, but ABox (the user side OS) to that 1.7GiB. So, on a 2GiB machine you are using 1.7GiB + something kernel drivers and stuff takes.

All,

Thank you for the quick replies.

>It's either 1.42 or 1.5 GHz (unless weirdly overclocked from 1.25 or 1.33 GHz).

Yes, 1.42GHz.

I have a chance to pick up a PowerMac G5 (A1047) x2GHz cpus w/ a Radeon 9600 Pro for the cost and time of a 5 hour drive. I am happy with the MacMini now; would there be a significant performance increase with MorphOS 3.11 on the PowerMac G5? I do understand I would need a new license code.

Thank you.

Joe

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Define "significant". 2,0 GHz is roughly 40-50% faster than Mini (it's twice as fast in LAME benchmark though). It's got faster HDD controller, more expansion options and ability to utilize much faster gfx card (up to Radeon HD 3850 AGP version). But it's bigger and consumes more power.

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Yep.

Also, 1.42GHz mini has only 32MB graphics mem (it seriously limits the use of 3D accelerated layers and resolution), so even the default Radeon 9600 on G5 is much better in that regard. I would take the machine for that "price" sure. It's a good find and then you'd have both options to choose from whatever you'd need in what occasions. And having a second MorphOS machine as a backup doesn't hurt either :)

So about $52 US for gas and tolls for the Power Mac G5. I put in 4G of memory and a SSD, loaded up MOS and it is a much better user experience than the MacMini. I paid for a new registration and would say well worth the time and money.

I also have it running Lubuntu 16.05LTS with no problems or hicups.

Thanks,

Joe

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Do you know what model G5 it is? At least the CPU speed? Only PowerMac 7,2 and PowerMac7,3 (A1047) are supported. You mentioned Radeon 96*0, so it is AGP which is good. As long as it is not a G5 1.8 you should be good to go.

Only side note is if it is 2.5 or 2.7Ghz, there will very likely be leakage from the liquid cooling system that will need to be cleaned and the LCS rebuilt. If it is 2.0 or 2.3ghz no worries, they are air cooled.

I strongly recommend a G5 over a Mac mini. I have a 2.3ghz (air cooled) and a 2.7 (LCS). The ability to put a much higher end gfx card is a big plus too. I don't think you'd be disappointed.

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Yeah Jim,
You're actually benefiting from something Mark has been working on for a long time.
When R500 support was in the planning stages, Mark asked for a PC Radeon X1950Pro AGP card so that he could continue to use his G5 and give the Radeon driver the ability to use Atom BIOS.
The early versions of the R500 driver contained a flaw in the software controlling the PCIE to AGP bridge chip, limiting the transfer rate to 1x.

Mark latest drivers for the R500 and R600 AGP cards resolves that issue and these cards now perform the way they are supposed to.

All credit to Bigfoot here. He was thinking about supporting PC video cards quite awhile ago, and he was persistent in resolving the bridge chip issue.

Das uber programmer, you know?


[ Edited by Jim 08.09.2018 - 17:06 ]

@Jim

Absolutely! IIRC you also sent him some gfx cards? Bigfoot is an absolute machine! I wish he'd set up a Patreon page or something so we could support him to potentially work full time. I'm not rich, but I'd chip something in monthly.

The only problem I've seen with an x1950 is the gfx are corrupted in MAME. This was pointed out to me by doffo on his end, so I tried it and get the same thing. I'm not sure if a bug report would be the right thing to do as it may be in MAME and not the driver. MAME is the only thing I see it in so far.

[ Edited by redrumloa 08.09.2018 - 00:32 ]

> As long as it is not a G5 1.8 you should be good to go.

What's wrong with 1.8 GHz PowerMac G5?

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It could be a PowerMac9,1 which is unsupported. Only PowerMac 7,2 and PowerMac7,3 (A1047) are supported.

Source 1

Source 2

[ Edited by redrumloa 08.09.2018 - 11:54 ]

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A few, but not enough. I'm in a tight economic situation right now, and Mark only has a couple of GCN cards.

I'll probably send an RX560 before Christmas, but there are a ton of cards he doesn't have examples of.

Maybe the smart thing would be to post the list Mark has on the developer site that lists what gpus he has covered.

And bounties or payment for specific projects isn't a bad idea.

He's really been productive lately. I'm sure I'm only aware of part of it, but he's introduced support for a lot of new video cards, enhanced support for others, and created a new SATAII driver.

And, if we are going to see any further development of OpenGL, he's one of three developers that is critical to that project.

Not to diminish the work of the other developers.

Andre and Jacek for instance have introduced some projects that deserve support.

>>>> I [...] loaded up MOS and it is a much better user experience than the MacMini.

>>> As long as it is not a G5 1.8 you should be good to go.

>> What's wrong with 1.8 GHz PowerMac G5?

> It could be a PowerMac9,1 which is unsupported. Only
> PowerMac 7,2 and PowerMac7,3 (A1047) are supported.

The first posting mentions A1047, and you even quoted his statement that MorphOS runs well on it, so it couldn't have been PowerMac9,1 no matter the clock rate.