[SPARCbook] MHz

[Ken Hansen]

> 
> Greetings,
> 
>  I've read the new SPARCbook FAQ, v2.2, and I noticed something:
> 
> >   Point of interest: the SparcBooks 3 have interchangable processor
> >   boards, I tested in on a 3GS and 3GX, but it most probabbly should
> >   work also for the XP and TX. If you want to see the proper machine
> >   name when booting, you should also change the help-processor board
> >   (the board with the LCD display), as the serial number and computer
> >   type are held there.
> >
> 
> Are these interchangeable processor boards specific to the SPARCbook
> series? Or is this some reference to microSPARC-II processors in general?
> (ie if I want to 'downclock' my SPARCbook to 70MHz, can I get one of those
> and slap it in?)

My take on this is that the processor itself is on this card, if you
want to trade your 110 Mhz card for an 85 Mhz card, it shouldn't
be too hard to find a taker amongst the 3GS people. ;^)

> And since I have not yet taken apart my 3GX, I was wondering-- are there
> any sort of jumpers in there, which could possibly set the CPU/SBUS speed?

Do you really hope to save that much power with a slower CPU, or does
your system just seem "too fast!"

> >   One more point: if you have software protected by the host ID, or
> >   ethernet ID, and your SparcBook breaks, you could use another one, as
> >   long as your help-processor is working ok, so you take it out from the
> >   broken computer and put it in the working one. That's way you have to
> >   know how to open the case.
> >
> 
> What is this 'help-processor'? Is it SPARCbook specific or can it be found
> in other SPARCstations? Does my LX have one?

The answer is in the earlier quote (Help processor has the LCD status
display, as well as the CPU-ID information). Older SPARCs, like your LX
have BootPROMS that have CPU-ID info stored in them, backed by a
built-in battery.

HTH,

Ken
n2vip at bellatlantic.net