[rescue] Optimizing 4-260 crate

[BSD Bob the old greybeard BSD freak]

> > 1.  Graphics Processor board
> > 2.  Graphics Buffer board
> > 3.  CG3 board (to add over the on-board mono of the 4200 cpu).
> > 4.  TAAC1 application accelerator board.
> 
> > What will the above buy me over just the cg3 board?  My thought
> > was to run an X on the critter, even though it will be slow on
> > the 4/260 at 16mhz.  But, hey, the thing is the first Sparc,
> > and I want to keep it for just that reason.  I know the guy
> > over in Chapel Hill that designed and built the TAAC1, and
> > he said it could do some neat things, in its day.
> 
> Yes, but does he still remeber enough to be able to help you write
> software for it?  Otherwise the TAAC won't do you much good, and maybe you
> should investigate getting the floating point accelerator (although would
> it really be usefull on a SPARC?) and a second framebuffer for dual head
> fun. 

Well, for fun, he gave me the email of the actual design engineer on
the TAAC1 project who is still at UNC, and I bounced an email off to
him, just in case.  He apparently is still running a TAAC1 on a home box.
It may be more trouble than it is worth, but, still, it could be fun.
I found an old SUG archive that had some taac bits in it, probably used
with medical research.  It apparently could do some short movie runs
(sequential still collections, e.g., of brain scans and that kind of
stuff).  Something like that might be interesting.

The second framebuffer might be fun.  I have a spare board of that.

Anything else I ought to watch out for.  I particularly like the idea of
running a second scsi board (I modded my two boards so they are both a
combined internal/external sun3 scsi board, for best utility) since I
usually have a fair quantity of misc. HD components around.  One can never
have too many HD's on an old suncrate....(:+}}... or any old rescuebox,
for that matter....

Bob