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Installing a Rapture card

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Corydora edited this page Apr 8, 2018 · 2 revisions

This page is about installing a Force PowerPMC-250 PMC card (a "Rapture" card). The process is pretty much the same as installing a Sonnet 7200 (instructions are here) but there are some special factors for the Rapture.

Installing a Rapture card is even more demanding on your Amiga than a Sonnet card and some hardware modifications may be necessary!

Hardware

Rapture card

You need a card without a flash ROM on it and ideally 256MB RAM on board to take the fullest advantage.

Bridge card

The Rapture is a PCI Mezzanine Card ("PMC") so needs a PCI to PMC bridge to be used on a Mediator. Only certain bridge cards work. The two that have been confirmed to work are:

  • Ramix 239/F
  • Technobox P/N 1447

Power

The power requirements of the Rapture card (via the 3.3v line) are greater than for a Sonnet 7200 and a 3.3V Mediator cannot supply enough current on its own for a Rapture to be stable. Depending on your bridge card modding is needed:

  • The Ramix bridge card has an on-board 5V to 3.3V converter and so can power the Rapture on its own (see below, however).
  • The Technobox bridge card doesn't have a voltage converter so needs modding.

Some users have found the system unstable even so. In some cases this is down to poor 5V power distribution, particularly on an A4000D motherboard which only uses a single pin to pass all 5V power from the PSU to the motherboard. It may be necessary to run supplemental 5V line(s) to your motherboard to ensure a stable 5V supply.

Cooling

A fan is needed (ideally mounted on the bridge card) to move air across the PowerPC's heatsink and keep it cool. Additional cooling inside the case may also be needed.

Other

There have been mixed results of using a PCI USB card alongside a Rapture. Some users have found it makes the system unstable, so it may need to be removed.

Software

The following minimum software versions are required for the Rapture to function:

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