SpecInfo #03 18 октября 1997

Железо

Iron - a little bit about a new device for the Spectrum - GMX.

(C) SCORPION


                           IRON.


                        ABOUT GMX.


          Continuation (beginning in the second room).

 All is well, tell the user the Scorpion, but what do I do with 
the computer that I bought and spent a lot of money on it? 
Therefore, in anticipation of these are fair questions, we want 
to beforehand to reassure owners of any scorpions. When 
creating a new model of computing system, it was decided that 
all users of the old computers should be able to modify your 
computer to new opportunities. It was always when there are new

Boards of Scorpio, so it will be this time. Moreover, this
every opportunity to refine the old model of Scorpio to the new 
features will appear even before production starts a new board. 
To this end, our company develops and prepares for mass 
production cost under the working title: GMX (Grafic Memory 
eXtension device for Scorpion 256). Working copy of the 
controller was presented at the ENLIGHT 97. This board performs 
all function expansion and modification of old boards Scorpio 
256 to level of the new board Scorpion-2000 on the 
characteristics of graphics, RAM, ROM, additional options for 
compatibility with ZX SPECTRUM and PENTAGON'om, download and 
modify charts, etc. In short, with any model of the Scorpion as 
a brand and non-proprietary, you can easily modify it to your 
new computer by connecting the board GMX.



  Here you can speak briefly about the technical performance of 
the device.


 1. Expandable memory up to 2 MB.
 Among diverse as image do so and the options
organization, the choice fell on the option that performed in
Profi. Ie done so that only 256 KB are addressed as
and was a regular skorpionovsky standard, and all that above -
standard Profi (port # DFFD). Since the maximum Profi
memory up to 1 MB, then we can work with all the memory from 0 
to 1 MB standard Profi. Just physically, it will be more pages

memory. For example, you can download any program for any
Profi, which uses the memory to 1 MB, and at the same time 
painless use Shadow Service Monitor (TCM). Gradation of the 
capacity of memory: 256 KB, 512 KB, 1 MB, 1256 kB, 2 MB - 
Standard Simm-ins. And you can install one module volumes

256 KB (get memory Scorpio) up to 2 modules of 1 Mb (together - 
2 MB!). At large volume we have not specifically laid out by 
the fact that, firstly, it is becoming expensive, and secondly, 
after all few people want, and pay something in one way or some 
extent have everything, and thirdly, by using the Z-80 
processor is very big memory can not be used effectively. Why 
was chosen as the standard Profi? The answer is simple: why 
invent new standards, if you already have computers with 
extended memory, and there are no technical restrictions on the 
use those the same port for its addressing. In addition, the 
chosen standard addressing immediately run the program from the 
Profi, calculated on the extended memory. Again, the appearance 
of any new standard memory expansion requires at least time to

the appearance of programs under him, addictive users. A
In this embodiment, it is not required. In addition, used and
additional addressing modes of upper memory, which can 
significantly increase performance when working with her. This 
is especially true for SCI (from ROM), and the programs that 
use it (remember the hard drive). SCI is experiencing 
considerable difficulties because of restrictions imposed by 
the opportunity to address the extended memory through one 
window in the address space processor. Similar problems were 
experienced by all program, one way or another using extended 
memory for transfer of fragments from one bank to another.



                  Continued in the next issue.