Amiga ISO Collection/AmigaDemoCD2.iso/ASCII/TEXTE/c.s.a.reviews/hardware/computers/Amiga3000T

Internet Message Format | 1994-06-02 | 22.3 KB

From: Daniel Barrett <[e-mail]>
Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Jason L. Tibbitts III
Subject: REVIEW: Amiga 3000T
Keywords: hardware, system, 3000T, tower, commercial
Path: karazm.math.uh.edu!amiga-reviews
Distribution: world
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Reply-To: Daniel Barrett <[e-mail]>

[The Amiga 3000T is a tower version of the standard Amiga 3000 that
includes everything that the 3000 and in addition provides a larger power
supply, more expansion slots, more drive bays, and other features. - JLT3]


                REVIEW
               The Amiga 3000T

    Many of you comp.sys.amiga readers know me from my postings over the
last 6 years.  But you might not know my DEEP, DARK SECRET.  Despite all
the advances in the Amiga line over the years, I *still* use an original
A1000 running version 1.3 of the operating system.  That's right -- I don't
run 2.0 yet, and I've never upgraded to a newer model.  Sure, I've added
more RAM and a hard disk, but I've missed out on extra-half-bright mode, the
Enhanced Chip Set, deinterlacers/flickerfixers, accelerator boards, and
other advances.

    Until now, anyway!  A shiny, new Amiga 3000T arrived on March 30,
1992, packed with goodies.  Here is a detailed overview and critical review
of my experiences in ordering, installing, and using this new computer.
Since the A3000T has already been discussed on USENET and in several Amiga
magazines, I won't talk about the technical specifications in any detail.
It is essentially an Amiga 3000 in a tower case with a 280-watt power supply.

    In the following text, I discuss:

        Ordering the machine, and getting it from my dealer.
        Setting up the machine.
        Choosing and connecting a monitor.
        Ease/difficulty of adding internal devices.
        My impressions of using the machine.
        The supplied disks and documentation.
        Likes and dislikes.
        Problems encountered.
        Using Commodore's "Gold Service"

Here is a summary of the major points in the review, for people with little
patience. :-)

    (1)    The A3000T does everything I expected it to do.
        I am almost completely happy with it.

    (2)    The internal fan system is disturbingly loud.  It bothers me
        a lot.  DO NOT BUY AN A3000T without hearing one first!!!!!!

    (3)    Expanding the machine can be easy or hard.  Installing
        expansion RAM is difficult, due to the case design.  Cards
        and internal drives are relatively easy, though the
        documentation is not complete.

    (4)    I highly recommend the NEC 5fg 17" monitor.


ORDERING THE MACHINE

    I ordered it from The Memory Location in Wellesley, MA, for the
educational discount price of $3639.  However, it took Commodore 10 weeks to
deliver the machine.  It seems that not many A3000T's are in the USA right
now.  According to my dealer, Commodore received 300 machines in late
February (from wherever they were built -- mine says West Germany), tested
them, and sent them to dealers.  My serial number is in the 500's.

    Although I was initially angry about the long delay, it had an
unexpected benefit:  Commodore started a $500 rebate program during that
time, and the discount was applied to my order.  The machine I bought is an
Amiga 3000T/25/200, which means it has a 25 MHz 68030, and 200 MB hard
drive.  It also comes with 5 MB of RAM (1 MB chip RAM, 4 MB fast RAM).


GETTING THE MACHINE FROM MY DEALER

    I live 2 hours away from my dealer, so he agreed to ship the machine
by UPS so it would arrive on a particular day.  Unfortunately, there was a
mixup, and the machine couldn't be shipped in time.  Sensing my concern, and
to my great surprise, the dealer (Don) volunteered to have one of his
employees *drive* the computer to my house personally, for a small charge
($20).  Dumbfounded, I accepted.  2 hours later, the machine arrived as
promised!  (And I had a nice chat with the driver.)  Talk about personal
service!!


SETTING UP THE MACHINE

    Setting up the machine is no problem.  Commodore supplies a poster
which is a "quick setup guide" and rather easy to follow.  Just plug in the
monitor, the SCSI terminator, mouse and keyboard, and turn it on.  The
operating system is already on the hard drive.

    After 1 hour of use, the keyboard died.  The CAPS LOCK light
kept flashing, and the keyboard would not respond to any typing.  I called
The Memory Location, who diagnosed the problem as a faulty keyboard ROM.
We exchanged keyboards by UPS, and the problem went away.  Once again, I
must compliment The Memory Location on their speedy and efficient solution.

    During the "bad keyboard" episode, I called Commodore Gold Service
(the 1-year, on-site repair service you get for buying an A2000 or A3000
series machine) to ask for help.  Be aware that it takes about 2 weeks
*after* you send in your application before Gold Service begins.  They
were very courteous to me on the phone, but they explained that the
dealer must handle all repairs and "Dead On Arrival" problems for the
first 2 weeks of ownership.


CHOOSING AND CONNECTING A MONITOR

    Initially, I used my Amiga 1000's old A1080 monitor.  Since then, I
purchased a nice NEC multisync (model 5fg) which works BEAUTIFULLY with the
A3000T.  It connected without a problem, and it handles full overscan
flawlessly.  (I could even move the flickering top half-line -- a well-known
artifact of the Display Enhancer -- completely off screen and still see
entire Amiga screens.)

    Although this 17" monitor is expensive (I paid $1379 plus shipping
charges), I recommend it highly.  I compared the NEC 5fg directly to other
17" monitors such as the Sony 1604 (about $1000 mail order) and Samsung
Syncmaster 4 (about $900), and there was no comparison:  the NEC was clearer
and brighter.  Even though the Sony has a smaller dot pitch (.25 vs. the
NEC's .28), I thought the NEC had a sharper image for text and graphics.

    In addition, this monitor is *silent*.  If the screen is black, you
can't even tell that the monitor is turned on.  My old A1080 whines like a
TV in comparison.


ADDING INTERNAL DEVICES

    The A3000T is designed for internal expansion.  It has room for
cards just like the A3000, plus one 3.5" drive bay, 3 5.25" drive bays,
and room for 2 more hard drives inside.  The motherboard can hold 16 MB
FAST RAM and 2 MB CHIP RAM.

    I installed 3 things:  some RAM, an ASDG Dual Serial Board, and a
5.25" tape drive (Archive Viper).  Is it easy to install things in this
tower case?  Well... yes and no.  It depends on what you are installing.  For
some perspective:  I'm not an expert hardware guru, but I have worked inside
other computers before (VAX and MicroVAX) and feel comfortable attempting
these installations myself.  (Watch out!!  Run!!  A software guy with a
soldering iron!! :-) :-))

    REMEMBER ALWAYS TO DISCONNECT ALL POWER CABLES BEFORE OPENING UP THE
MACHINE!!!!!  REMEMBER TO WORK IN A STATIC-FREE ENVIRONMENT, GROUNDING
YOURSELF BY CONNECTING A WIRE FROM YOURSELF TO A NEARBY GROUND!!  (I used
cheap stereo cable fastened to my refrigerator.)  Enough disclaimers --
let's hack hardware. :-)

    First, you have to take off the plastic front panel.  This is done by
lifting from the bottom to detach a small tab.  They don't tell you that
there are 2 more tabs on the sides of the panel, and it helps if you press
inward on these tabs.  After that, the panel comes right off.

    Next, you have to take off one of the side panels.  This is done by
taking off 4 screws (easy, being careful not to strip them!) and "lifting
from the bottom."  Yeah, right.  That side panel was *not* going to move for
me, no matter how hard I tugged on the bottom.  Eventually, I placed a
screwdriver at the seam near the bottom corner of the panel, and tapped it
lightly but forcefully :-) with a hammer.  This unstuck the panel and
allowed me to remove it easily.  (This panel has since gotten easier to
remove.)

    First, I installed the RAM.  This involved removing the metal
"shelf" on which the internal hard drive is mounted.  This shelf is attached
by 4 screws, and extends the entire length of the case (front to back).
Removing this shelf was *difficult*, since the shelf is wedged in very
tightly, and I was afraid of damaging the hard drive if I shook the shelf
too much.  Eventually, I was able to get the shelf out, but I had to pull
hard.

    Next, I tried to disconnect the cables from the hard drive (on the
shelf), so I could get the shelf out of my way.  Unfortunately, the power
cable was difficult to detach, so I left it connected, and stood the shelf
against the outer case.  (I have since learned how to remove the power cable
using a pair of pliers.)

    From here, inserting the RAM chips was not too bad.  I found the ZIP
chips to be a little difficult to work with, since it was very easy to bend
pins.  Reaching all the way back to the RAM sockets was sometimes
inconvenient, since various cables were in the way.  But I did all 16 chips
successfully the first time.

    Now came the most difficult part:  putting back the shelf with the
hard drive.  I tried unsuccessfully for nearly 45 minutes!!  This was
incredibly difficult for several reasons.  First, it is a tight fit (like I
said above).  Second, there is a magnet directly below the shelf, connected
to the internal audio speaker.  Every time I thought I had the shelf lined
up with the screw holes, the damn magnet attracted the shelf and moved
it downward!!!  I can't tell you how frustrating this was.

    Finally, I called my dealer to ask for help.  He said:  "Yeah, that
shelf is *really* hard to put back!  I spent a long time doing it myself.
The trick is to insert the front first, and then use a screwdriver or
crowbar on the back, to wedge the shelf back inside."  So that's what I did,
and it took me about 2-3 minutes to get it right.

    Note that the manual says that RAM should be installed by an
authorized service center.  Now I know why... because of that damn shelf!
(Static electricity damage is also probably a reason.)  Luckily, the shelf
doesn't need to be removed for any other installations -- just when you need
to access the motherboard.

    Anyway, after putting the shelf back, I installed the dual serial
board.  I removed a small panel in the back of the machine (1 screw),
inserted the card with its edge in one of the Zorro sockets, and replaced
the screw.  This was trivially easy.  Realize, however, that I have seated
dozens of computer cards before, so I know what it "feels like" when a card
gets seated properly.

    Finally, I installed the Archive tape drive.  This is a 5.25" drive
which I put in one of the vertical bays.  If you are not already familiar
with how to do this, the A3000T manual does *not* give you enough
information, but I was able to figure it out.

    There are a few screws and little sliding devices inside the case
that needed to be adjusted so the drive would fit.  On the one hand, this
makes the A3000T versatile enough to accommodate all kinds of devices.  On
the other hand, it isn't documented.  Essentially, remember this:  if your
drive can't be inserted completely because it is hitting a screw or a little
metal tab, the screws can be loosened (to get them out of the way
temporarily), and the tabs can be moved to several different positions.

    Another thing they don't tell you is that the internal SCSI cables
are capable of being plugged in backwards.  If you do this, then the A3000T
doesn't boot.  Unplug the cable, turn the end 180 degrees, and plug it in
again.

    Overall, installing the tape drive wasn't too hard.  And now that
I've done one SCSI device, I feel prepared to do another much more easily.


USING THE A3000T

    As I said in the beginning of the review, I've been using Amigas for
a long time.  So I was totally unprepared for the initial reaction I had to
the 2.04 software:  anxiety!

    Although I am an expert user, and I have read reviews and
descriptions of 2.04 before, I am blown away by how much has changed since
1.3.  It has been a long time since I've had to set up an Amiga from
scratch.  I can see that I'm going to have to learn all kinds of new things,
and overcome old prejudices.  For example, I am so used to the inconsistent
behavior of 1.3 that I assume things are still inconsistent under 2.0, even
though they are not.  For example, some commands that don't use wildcards
under 1.3 do use them (finally) under 2.0.  (Although they *still* didn't
add wildcards to "More"... grrrr.... )

    The first thing I did was play with Preferences for a while.  Then I
used HDToolbox to make new disk partitions -- this was *really* easy.  The
machine comes like this:

    System_2.x          6 MB        Operating system
    Work            193 MB        Empty

I made it (approximately):

    System_2.x          6 MB        Unchanged
    DH1            100 MB        For programs, libraries, ...
    DH2             84 MB        Personal files.
    DH3             10 MB        Current work area.

Then I formatted the partitions, gave them mnemonic names, loaded a little
of my software into DH3:, and played for a while.

    And played, and played, and played...!  I know that it is "old news"
that a 68030 Amiga is about 6 times the speed of a 68000 Amiga, but
experiencing it with my own software was really nice.  C compiling, LaTeX
processing, disk operations... they were all about 6 times the speed of my
A1000.  Restoring files from floppies using Quarterback was MUCH faster than
on the A1000.

    Effectively, the A3000T runs at about the same (perceived) speed as
the UNIX VAX 8530 which my entire CS department used in 1987.  And it's on my
desk.  Wow.  (Note:  I *have* used much faster machines than the A3000T...
but they weren't Amigas!)

    It took me about 1-2 hours to get my environment working like it was
on my A1000:  installing WShell 2.0 and TurboText, setting up my path,
learning where things are located under 2.04, etc.  And now, a month later,
I have installed a lot of new programs and gotten completely comfortable
using the A3000T.


THE DISKS AND DOCUMENTATION

    The A3000T comes with the 2.04 user manual, USING THE SYSTEM
SOFTWARE, and Kickstart/Workbench 2.04 on 5 disks.  Since the OS is already
on the hard drive, I haven't used these disks at all yet, except to make
backup copies.

    USING THE SYSTEM SOFTWARE is the best documentation that Commodore
has produced for Amiga users.  You cannot even compare it to earlier manuals.
It covers simple Amiga use, AmigaDOS (a duplicate of the first section of
Bantam's AMIGADOS MANUAL), ARexx, and all the files on the OS disks.  The
only missing subject (as far as I could see) is that not all of the setup
problems are discussed.  For example, when my keyboard died with a flashing
CAPS LOCK light, I could not find this condition mentioned anywhere in the
manual.  (I know that it is in the Amiga Hardware Manual.)

    My only complaint about USING THE SYSTEM SOFTWARE is physical manual
itself.  It is printed on poor-quality paper which tears too easily out of
the 3-ring binder.  The binder itself cannot be closed, due to its
construction, if the pages are turned to the middle of the manual.  You have
to push all the pages to one side of the binder before closing it.

    A second manual is INTRODUCING THE AMIGA 3000T, which contains
information specific to the A3000T.  It explains how to turn the machine
on and off, install RAM and expansion devices, and so on.  I found the
descriptions to be pretty clear, although sometimes oversimplified.  (See
my discussion of INSTALLING INTERNAL DEVICES, above.)  In addition, some
of the information is in a strange order; for example, the information
on how to install RAM is spread out in 3 different sections.  When I
looked up how to do it in the index, it pointed me to the first section
only.  This misled me to think that the information was incomplete, not
knowing that it was located elsewhere.

    The A3000T also comes with AmigaVision (4 disks) and its manual.
AmigaVision installed with no problem, and looks like it will be fun to use.
I've hardly looked at it yet.


THINGS THAT I LIKE

    The A3000T is solidly built.  The case is mostly metal, and it
stands firmly even on carpet.


THINGS THAT I DISLIKE

    The A3000T has one major problem:  its internal fan is unacceptably
loud.  I cannot work next to the machine.  Whichever ear is closer gets its
hearing dulled by the noise!  I have tried placing the machine all over my
(3 meters square) office -- under my desk, behind my desk, and even in a
closet -- but it doesn't help.  At the moment, I have it sandwiched between
the back of my desk and the wall, with a large book placed in front of the
lower fan (to damp the noise).  I am looking into finding a quieter fan.

    This is very depressing.  Since no A3000T's were in stock when I
wanted to buy one, I did not see or hear one before I made my purchase.
I took my chances, I'll admit.  However, I did conduct an informal poll of
people who had bought or used A3000T's, including a Commodore engineer,
and all of them said the noise was acceptable.  Unfortunately, that's
not true for me.

    The fan noise is not as loud as some of the other "tower" machines
I've used, such as the Sun SPARCstation 330 (which sounds like an amplified
vacuum cleaner).  But it is still louder than I can work with in a small
office.

    My next dislike is the internal speaker.  It is, to put it bluntly,
a piece of crap.  The sound is far inferior to the speaker built into my
Amiga 1000's A1080 monitor.  It sounds muffled and thin, and is acceptable
only for (in my opinion) "beeps" from a telecommunications program.

    Of course, one can connect the audio jacks on the A3000T's back
panel to a higher-quality speaker system.  Unfortunately, when you do this,
it automatically disables the internal speaker.  This means that if you want
to hear sound, but don't want to turn on your whole speaker system, you have
to unplug the audio cables.  I'm told this is common practice for audio on
computers, but I think it stinks.  A far superior solution would be to give
the speaker a volume control and then not defeat the speaker with the audio
jacks.  This would allow the internal speaker to be turned on/off
independently of the use of the audio jacks.


PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

    The strangest problem I have encountered is that warm reboots
(control-Amiga-Amiga) do not always recover completely from crashes.  About
75% of the time, if a program crashes the computer, the computer will hang
during the reboot.  In these cases, a hard reset (turning the front panel
key -- nice feature) always makes it reboot cleanly.

    Since my machine is running Kickstart in RAM, I suspect that the
Kickstart image is getting clobbered by the crashing programs.  I will
experiment running with the Kickstart in ROM (yes, the 2.04 ROMs are
installed -- I saw them on the motherboard) and see if the problem persists.

    A second "problem" concerns the Display Enhancer.  99% of the time,
the display is ROCK SOLID and beautiful.  However, fast-moving sprites (like
the mouse pointer) tend to "shimmer" or "break up" when they move quickly.
My mouse pointer and my sprite-based games like MegaBall 2.0 (the ball
itself) do not move as they did on my A1000.  Maybe I'll get used to it.

    In general, the only other problems I've had are that certain
programs don't run, or run incorrectly.  As has been discussed on USENET
already, these problems are almost always due to bugs or invalid programming
practices done by the authors of the programs.  The vast majority of my
software runs just fine, and some other programs can be made to run by
turning the 68030 caches off (using the CPU command) or other tricks.


USING COMMODORE'S "GOLD SERVICE"

    Since my A3000T comes with 1 year of free on-site service, I
decided to try it out to see if they could reduce my fan noise; or if not,
to answer some questions about maximum cable length for the mouse & keyboard,
so I can move the machine into my closet.

    The telephone was answered promptly; I was not kept on hold for
more than 30 seconds.  The person took my name, access number, address,
and telephone, and promised a call back the same business day.  This was
at 11:00am EST on a Tuesday.

    I didn't get a call back on Wednesday, so I called again.
This time, I was immediately connected with a technician.  I described
the problem, and he said that a repair person would come to my home and
replace the power supply.  We arranged this for the following Monday.

    On Monday, the repair person arrived on time.  Since the Tower model
is so new, he hadn't worked on one before, but it was obvious that he
had many years of experience in repairing Commodore computers.  He replaced
the power supply, but it didn't affect the fan noise, so I asked him to
put the old one back (since I knew that it was working properly).

    I was disturbed that the repair person did not take any precautions
to prevent static electricity.  He worked right on my carpet, with no
grounding.  When I asked him about it, he replied that it wasn't really
necessary to take precautions.

    The repair person was polite and friendly, despite the fact that he
had to drive 3 hours to reach my home!


CONCLUSIONS

    The Amiga 3000T is a solidly-built, versatile machine.  It is fast,
expandable, and a pleasure to use....

    ...except for the awful fan noise.  If you work in a quiet
environment, make sure you hear an A3000T before you buy one!!

    A minor shortcoming is the internal audio speaker:  its poor sound
quality, lack of a volume control, and inability to work while the audio
jacks are occupied.  A final complaint is that the screws on the case can
be stripped without too much effort.

    Amiga OS 2.04 is a vast improvement over previous versions such as
1.3.  Although some older programs will not run properly under 2.04, the new
look and functionality are so much better that I consider this a worthwhile
tradeoff.

    The documentation is the best that Commodore has produced.  Its only
real flaw is that it is printed on cheap paper and put into an awkward
binder.

    With the current educational pricing and the $500 rebate, I consider
the A3000T to be a good bargain.


DISCLAIMER

    I am not associated with Commodore Business Machines nor The Memory
    Location in any way except as a customer.


COPYRIGHT NOTICE

    This review is copyright 1992 by Daniel J. Barrett.  All rights
    reserved.  Permission is granted to copy and distribute this review
    free of charge, but it may not appear in any commercial publication,
    in whole or in part, without the author's written permission.

                                                        Dan

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| Dan Barrett -- Dept of Computer Science, Lederle Graduate Research Center |
| University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA  01003  --  [e-mail] |
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