Thoughts on Morphos PPC and X64
  • Order of the Butterfly
    Order of the Butterfly
    Posts: 158 from 2019/4/6
    The more time passes, the more I realize that I have made an excellent choice using Morphos as the NG system for the Amiga.
    using a 1.67 PowerBook I find in some cases that what I want is a faster system speed in general.
    I'm talking about opening windows and a greater ability to perform multiple (program processes) simultaneously.
    But this I guess is due to the legacy of the amiga system in general.

    It would be very nice to have a more powerful machine to use Morphos.
    I was wondering if a dual processor g5 system would give me what I'm looking for. :-) ??

    Also I guess the x64 version isn't available just to try it out :-)
    Even if it's not complete it would be nice to be able to try it.
    I really like the system who knows what it would look like on a very fast processor. :-)

    Anyone to a dual G5 to sell already complete?
    Thanks.
  • »10.11.21 - 12:20
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  • K-L
  • Cocoon
    Cocoon
    K-L
    Posts: 45 from 2020/11/17
    From: Lyon, France
    The most supported powerful system is the PowerMac G5 bi Pro 2,7 Ghz (this is the one I own).

    I have also a Mac Mini 1,5 Ghz and a PowerBook 17" 1,67 Ghz.

    MorphOS really flies with the G5 (ok, Wayfarer sometimes struggles to display some pages but it's waaaay faster than on my G4 system, thanks to a more faster FSB and of course faster CPU speed).

    I have had the chance to find one with the original Radeon 9650 with 256MB RAM, fully supported by MorphOS with 2 DVI connectors.

    I also wanted to try Mac OS X Leopard on this system and, that surprised me, it is really efficient with the dual CPU used for everything. The system is almost as snappier as MorphOS (but with way more productivity software).

    I've just bought a PowerMac G5 Quad that I have to test (waiting for the right electric cord) and I think I will use it with Leopard to let the G5 2,7Ghs be used only with MorphOS.

    I wish that one day MorphOS could use (in a way or another) some kind of SMP, even on PowerPC.
    PowerMac G5 2,7 Ghz / Radeon 9650 / MorphOS 3.15
    AmigaOne X1000 (unused ATM)
  • »10.11.21 - 13:23
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  • Paladin of the Pegasos
    Paladin of the Pegasos
    NewSense
    Posts: 1513 from 2012/11/10
    From: Manchester, UK/GB
    Quote:

    white wrote: I'm talking about opening windows and a greater ability to perform multiple (program processes) simultaneously.

    Do you know about or have active already the option of having copied/pasted the "Advanced.conf,default" file from (System:MorphOS/Ambient/prefs) also referred to as MOSSYS:Ambient/prefs/ and copying it into the Sys:Prefs/Ambient, and removing the ";" (semicolon) to activate the line "donotputrefwindowtosleep = true" so that you get MorphOS to continue to allow more actions to be initiated from within the window you already started a copying/moving files from or other action from, so you can multi-task the system more efficiently? 8-)
    MacMini 1.5GHz,64MB VRAM, PowerBooks A1138/9 (Model 5,8/9),PowerMac G5 2.3GHz(DP), iMac A1145 2.1GHz 20", all with MorphOS v3.18+,Airport,Bluetooth,A1016 Keyboard,T-RB22 Mouse,DVD-RW-DL,MiniMax,Firewire/USB2 & MacOSX 10.4/5
  • »11.11.21 - 00:06
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  • Order of the Butterfly
    Order of the Butterfly
    Posts: 158 from 2019/4/6
    @K-L
    Thanks for your explanations.

    @NewSense
    Thanks I did not know this solution,
    now the system is more responsive and I can open more instances
    without slowdowns.

    I also understand that there are guides available for this.

    But in the forum many times it is possible to summarize the individual topics quickly and more efficiently.
    With valuable advice like yours. :-)

    Other tips like this would be very helpful I think not just for me.
    To make Morphos more responsive.

    My question is:
    Are there any other tricks to make Morphos more efficient and optimize it even better?

    Thanks again.
  • »11.11.21 - 08:17
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  • Order of the Butterfly
    Order of the Butterfly
    Zetec-s
    Posts: 197 from 2008/7/10
    From: Cheshire, UK
    I'd agree completely with K-L.

    I started with a MacMini 1.5Ghz to try out MorphOS (although I had tried it before on an Efika pre 2010) as it was the easiest way to play around with it, but although I still have the MacMini my main MorphOS machine is a G5 Quad simply as it is so much faster which makes modern web browsing a bit faster.

    Don't get me wrong the G4's (I also have a Powerbook) can do it, but the G5 is just so much smoother. My MacMini also tends to get the fan spinning as the CPU load goes up and I get worried it will overheat, although that is more to do with games and intensive webpages.
    PowerMac G5 Quad 2.5Ghz/2GB MorphOS 3.18 Registered
    Powerbook 1.67Ghz/1.5GB MorphOS 3.18 Registered
    MacMini 1.5Ghz/1GB MorphOS 3.18 Registered
    Efika 5200B 400Mhz/128MB MorphOS 2.3 Registered
  • »11.11.21 - 08:34
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  • Order of the Butterfly
    Order of the Butterfly
    Zetec-s
    Posts: 197 from 2008/7/10
    From: Cheshire, UK
    Quote:

    NewSense wrote:
    Quote:

    white wrote: I'm talking about opening windows and a greater ability to perform multiple (program processes) simultaneously.

    Do you know about or have active already the option of having copied/pasted the "Advanced.conf,default" file from (System:MorphOS/Ambient/prefs) also referred to as MOSSYS:Ambient/prefs/ and copying it into the Sys:Prefs/Ambient, and removing the ";" (semicolon) to activate the line "donotputrefwindowtosleep = true" so that you get MorphOS to continue to allow more actions to be initiated from within the window you already started a copying/moving files from or other action from, so you can multi-task the system more efficiently? 8-)



    Thanks for this NewSense.

    In the 18 months I've been back using MorphOS I've always found it strange that the system locks up so much when you start copying stuff. It just didn't feel very "Amiga like" to me.
    PowerMac G5 Quad 2.5Ghz/2GB MorphOS 3.18 Registered
    Powerbook 1.67Ghz/1.5GB MorphOS 3.18 Registered
    MacMini 1.5Ghz/1GB MorphOS 3.18 Registered
    Efika 5200B 400Mhz/128MB MorphOS 2.3 Registered
  • »11.11.21 - 08:37
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  • MorphOS Developer
    jacadcaps
    Posts: 3114 from 2003/3/5
    From: Canada
    Quote:

    Zetec-s wrote:
    In the 18 months I've been back using MorphOS I've always found it strange that the system locks up so much when you start copying stuff. It just didn't feel very "Amiga like" to me.



    Seems it's been a long time since you've used Workbench 3.1 :) That one locked even more.
  • »11.11.21 - 15:42
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  • Yokemate of Keyboards
    Yokemate of Keyboards
    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12195 from 2003/5/22
    From: Germany
    > using a 1.67 PowerBook I find in some cases that what I want is a
    > faster system speed in general. I'm talking about [...] a greater
    > ability to perform multiple (program processes) simultaneously.
    > But this I guess is due to the legacy of the amiga system in general.

    Not in your case, as your PowerBook only has 1 CPU core/thread anyway, so a modern SMP-capable OS wouldn't run any faster just because of that.
  • »11.11.21 - 18:47
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  • Order of the Butterfly
    Order of the Butterfly
    Posts: 158 from 2019/4/6
    I am happy with Morphos and for how it is structured and for the programs it offers I approached Morphos with a simple 1.67 powerbook for normal use it is very good it does everything I wanted.
    I imagine it with a fast processor but I fear that for the x64 there is a lot to wait.
    I don't mean to be argumentative but houses of some importance instead of releasing emulated amigas that make no sense except for the nostalgic of games should give Morphos much more importance.

    But it is clear that games still reign supreme in these projects.

    Morphos deserves a lot of support from the houses that still follow amiga.

    It is clear that Morphos is a successful project but not fully supported
    It must also be said that many times those in the control room understand very little about it.
    So there is not much to be expected from them.
    Whereas Morphos is a clear example of a concrete project that embodies what was amiga.
    And one would only expect continuous system improvements if supported by major parent companies.

    But let me add again that Morphos does everything I wanted from an NG system.

    a faster processor would be nice though :-)
    because the system does everything I wanted.

    Hey I have in my hands the most beautiful amiga that ever existed :-)
    And unfortunately I don't have much time to study it thoroughly to make it even more efficient and customize it as I would like.

    Congratulations again to everyone.
  • »11.11.21 - 20:16
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  • Paladin of the Pegasos
    Paladin of the Pegasos
    NewSense
    Posts: 1513 from 2012/11/10
    From: Manchester, UK/GB
    Quote:

    white wrote: My question is: Are there any other tricks to make Morphos more efficient and optimize it even better?Thanks again.

    I use one program a lot, via WBStartup - Clip History v2.4 from Aminet, even though it's an Amiga 68k program from 1997, that runs very nice and stably under MorphOS, in conjunction with SmartClipboard Screenbar v1.3 by Thomas Igracki so I can cut copy paste from many pages, documents and paste whichever text item I want from whichever program I'm using and paste it into another document/file or program, search field of the web-browser either via OpenURL or just pasting the text into any program's GUI text fields. 8-D

    There are many options with both of those programs, which I find invaluable just about every day. :-)

    Additionally implementing the Screenbar modules has also been a really great innovation and extremely handy to have on each screen, be that for memory, yWeather, network, HDD, date/calendar, MagicBeacon, WebRadio, Jukebox, Settings/Prefs, etc.. 8-)

    I have also modified the "screen to back" swap key in System Settings>IControl>Screen: To Back from whatever it was by default (I think it was LCmd+m/M) to LCmd+x/X as those keys are so close together and "x" is easy to remember for "eX-change" screen which I used to use even on my older Amiga setup, and I just don't know why it wasn't implemented as the default screen to back trigger key(s).

    I have also setup a "Hotkey" to allow me to create a directory with a combined keypress when in a directory so I don't have to use the mouse all the time.

    That's because RCmd+n/N is designated on MorphOS to open/generate a NewShell - yet in open requesters that keyboard shortcut command creates a "New Directory" - as seems logical, and was the default in Amiga OS 3.x - which makes this one menu keyboard command defy the generally sound logic of MorphOS' system menus and keyboard shortcuts. :-?

    So, as the logic that is in the requesters is NOT implemented in the usual screen menu keyboard command options, and thankfully with the availability with MorphOS's adaptibility with such options, I have added in Ambient Settings>Keyboard>Add-a-HotKey button. This is implemented by clicking on that "Add a Hotkey" button and then adding into the left-hand text input window "New Directory/Folder/Drawer" and the right hand text input window "lcommand d" -> using the keypress sample gadget on the far right of that new input option, and then "Save" that change to the Ambient Settings.

    I may have added or changed other settings in MorphOS that are not worthy of mention at this stage, but if I think of anything relevant I will add them here or in the MorphOS Library - if sufficient users deem them to be worthy of doing so as they are beneficial to a lot more users. These are options I have chosen for my own purposes, but hope other users will benefit from making any such changes to make their use of MorphOS more enjoyable and efficient. 8-D
    MacMini 1.5GHz,64MB VRAM, PowerBooks A1138/9 (Model 5,8/9),PowerMac G5 2.3GHz(DP), iMac A1145 2.1GHz 20", all with MorphOS v3.18+,Airport,Bluetooth,A1016 Keyboard,T-RB22 Mouse,DVD-RW-DL,MiniMax,Firewire/USB2 & MacOSX 10.4/5
  • »11.11.21 - 22:33
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  • Order of the Butterfly
    Order of the Butterfly
    Zetec-s
    Posts: 197 from 2008/7/10
    From: Cheshire, UK
    Quote:

    jacadcaps wrote:
    Quote:

    Zetec-s wrote:
    In the 18 months I've been back using MorphOS I've always found it strange that the system locks up so much when you start copying stuff. It just didn't feel very "Amiga like" to me.



    Seems it's been a long time since you've used Workbench 3.1 :) That one locked even more.


    I think my A1200 started playing up in 1998/99 so it has been a while :)
    PowerMac G5 Quad 2.5Ghz/2GB MorphOS 3.18 Registered
    Powerbook 1.67Ghz/1.5GB MorphOS 3.18 Registered
    MacMini 1.5Ghz/1GB MorphOS 3.18 Registered
    Efika 5200B 400Mhz/128MB MorphOS 2.3 Registered
  • »11.11.21 - 22:42
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  • Priest of the Order of the Butterfly
    Priest of the Order of the Butterfly
    Crumb
    Posts: 732 from 2003/2/24
    From: aGaS & CUAZ Al...
    I couldn't care less if the supported "amd64" compatible Mobo+CPU is obsolete or not. We are using 16+ year old ppc computers, using a 5 year old pc would be a huge improvement. If the MorphOS Team decided we have to move to ARM64 It would be OK for me too. Any recent hardware will be an improvement.

    If any MorphOS Team member has a clear plan about architecture migration and a bounty would help a little boosting his motivation I would happily contribute.
  • »18.11.21 - 09:22
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  • Yokemate of Keyboards
    Yokemate of Keyboards
    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12195 from 2003/5/22
    From: Germany
    > We are using 16+ year old ppc computers, using a 5 year old pc would be
    > a huge improvement. If the MorphOS Team decided we have to move to ARM64
    > It would be OK for me too. Any recent hardware will be an improvement.

    5 years would include the X5000 even ;-)
  • »18.11.21 - 10:16
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  • Priest of the Order of the Butterfly
    Priest of the Order of the Butterfly
    Crumb
    Posts: 732 from 2003/2/24
    From: aGaS & CUAZ Al...
    X5000 is old technology, slower than g5 and doesn't even have altivec
  • »18.11.21 - 12:01
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