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From: jabernathy@pro-houston.cts.com (Joe Abernathy)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: Questions
Message-ID: <2252.cortland.info-apple@pro-houston>
Date: 12 Nov 89 06:35:34 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 58

In-Reply-To: message from UD161872@vm1.nodak.edu

Joe, and nearly everyone on the net, writes:
> I want a 13 MHz IIGS. How do I do it?

There are two ways to upgrade, one easy and one extremely difficult. I do not
recommend either and will in no way be responsible if you attempt an upgrade
and fail. It is possible to ruin a lot of expensive computer innards. The best
thing to do if you want a faster TransWarp GS is to wait for Applied
Engineering to announce an upgrade, because they will do so as soon as it is
feasible for them.

Beyond that, here's how:

8-10 MHz upgrade. TransWarp GS required. Call Western Design Center, order
their 10 MHz logic chip for the TWGS. Go to the electronics store, ask for a
32 MHz crystal oscillator a $2 part. The 32 MHz part is good for an 8 MHz GS;
for higher speeds, get a crystal oscillator rated 4 times as fast as the speed
you ultimately wish to achieve. Now look at your TransWarp. The ROM must be
version 1.5 or later; if not, you will have to get an upgrade from AE or
backward-engineer the ROM to remove AE's artificial 8 MHz speed barrier. With
the 1.5 or later ROM, put in the new crystal oscillator and the new logic
chip, and you should have a faster machine. No guarantees, all warranties
voided, no support from AE or anyone else.

Faster than 10 MHz. You will have to have one of WDC's experimental 12 MHz
chips, which are in short supply but available. (TWGS still required). You
will need a crystal oscillator suitable for the speed you wish to achieve, and
you should probably try one at 11, 12 and 13 MHz. They're cheap, so get one of
each. You'll need TWGS ROM v1.5 or later. Now it gets hard: You need to get 6
volts delivered from your power supply, which only delivers 5 volts.... and
I'm not electrician enough to tell you how. The experimental WDC logic chip
just won't run with 5, so this is quite necessary. Also, the original logic
chip on your IIGS motherboard cannot run at 6 volts, so you will have to
isolate it. Or in other words, desolder it from the motherboard. Put it all
together, and you may have a faster machine. Some run at 11, some 12, two of
them at 13 MHz. Some run not at all.

Results: Everybody with the 9 MHz machines seems to be having great luck. It's
a noticeable improvement in performance, and there are no reported instances
of failure. With anything faster, you really need a lot of technical
expertise, and you have to do a lot of cutting inside the machine ... it's not
worth it right now.

Credits: For this information, we owe our thanks to Bill and Andrew at Western
Design Center, and to Bill Heineman at Interplay Productions. You can show
your support for Bill H. by picking up a copy of his excellent new game,
Dragon Wars. He is the author of Bard's Tale 1 and 2 for the IIGS, and Dragon
Wars is every bit the successor you'd expect.

Further reading: My upcoming article on this subject in inCider magazine.

Joe Abernathy.


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