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Daystar Digital Turbo601

Posted by: toples50 on 2015-06-28 01:03:24 Recently purchased a Mac IIsi with a Daystar Digital Turbo601(with the Mac IIsi adapter).I want to ask you guys if I can use the card to others Mac's such Quadra 650 or 950.

Posted by: Unknown_K on 2015-06-28 12:06:00 I didn't think the Turbo601 would work in a IIsi because of power draw. Anyway if it has a quadra type (040) PDS port then it will work in a 650 or 900/950. I'm pretty sure that PDS card is made for the IIci series (030 PDS) and won't work in a Quadra.

Posted by: toples50 on 2015-06-28 12:38:21 The card comes with an adapter specially for Mac Iisi.

Posted by: TheWhiteFalcon on 2015-06-28 13:16:05 The IIsi's PSU is weak, it may not handle it well.

Posted by: Elfen on 2015-06-28 18:39:02 I would like to see a Pic of it. There are '040 adapters for the IIsi, so a PowerPC accelerator is not too farfetched. The issues I see is its drawing it's clock signal from the IIsi, thus making for a slow 601 like the Apple version of the board did. And I remember long ago, one of my students having a 601 accelerator for his LC 475. It was not the fasted thing but it gave him PowerPC capability in an LC machine, and the LC's PSU is much weaker than the IIsi.

Posted by: Trash80toHP_Mini on 2015-06-28 19:10:00 I'd love to see high res pics of that adapter, is it just a standard PowerCache IIsi '030 PDS -> IIci Cache Slot (half-baked PDS*****) Adapter? Has anyone tried this card in an SE/30? ***** The IIci Cache Slot is not a PDS, Apple's Docs clearly explain that it's not, outline exactly why and list the differences, clarifying the distinction. Walks like a duck though. [🙂] ]'>

Posted by: toples50 on 2015-06-29 08:52:56 I'll post pics later or tomorrow.

Posted by: olePigeon on 2015-06-30 15:21:09 Your DayStar will also work in a IIci and IIcx without the need of an adapter. It may work in an SE/30, but I'm not certain.

Posted by: toples50 on 2015-07-01 11:13:02

Posted by: Elfen on 2015-07-01 11:31:09 That proves it! It's for the IIsi. olePigeon, how can it work on both the IIcx and IIsi? Maybe it will if it is a Nubus connector. But as a PDS, it might only work on the the IIci if you're lucky. The IIcx does not have a PDS slot like the IIci. Many accelerators worked on the IIcx if the CPU as socketted and they plugged into the socket. There were some accelerators that worked on the Nubus slot like the Radius Rocket but that was it. The Question Is: is that connector of the PPC card a Nubus connector? The next question is: where's the software for it? Even the PPC card for the LC and for the 040s Apple made had a floppy disk with its drivers.

Posted by: uniserver on 2015-07-01 13:53:06 this is cool!   🙂

Posted by: uniserver on 2015-07-01 13:53:34 kinda looks like the PPC card for the Q700 but with a PDS connector.

Posted by: unity on 2015-07-01 14:04:45 I am pretty sure I looked into these long ago when my High School lab has a couple IIsi and IIci. The powers that be were very against new machines (control thing) so we had to upgrade what we had as best as we could. But I can not say for sure if it was a 601 upgrade I looked into or not.

Posted by: Elfen on 2015-07-01 17:48:03 Those PPC and 040 upgrades tend to look similar. You just need to look at it closely to see what's what. I have a PPC 601 upgrade in my Q950, and it looks like a larger version of my IIci DayStar 040. Except for the heat sink and connector, and of course size, they both look the similar.

Posted by: Charlieman on 2015-07-05 04:45:22 From my notes on the Turbo601 board: DayStar's Turbo 601 accelerator was designed for "any" Mac with a logic board with a IIci cache slot (IIci, IIvx, IIvi, Performa 600). The IIsi with a suitable PDS slot adapter was also supported.  The Turbo 601 was sold at two speeds, 66MHz and 100MHz. According to Low End Mac, different part numbers were assigned to the three variants of the board (IIci, IIsi and IIvx/IIvi/Performa 600). Unfortunately, the variants are not visually identifiable -- there are no labels that state "This is a IIci board" or "This is a IIvx/IIvi/Performa 600 board". User reports indicate why separate part numbers existed. The IIsi Turbo 601 requires a PDS slot adapter; a separate part number to identify it from the IIci version is thus evident. When the first cards shipped, users identified that the IIvx family could only use 256 colours (even when VRAM supported more colours in 68030 mode) and built-in sound was corrupted. DayStar offered a "return to base" fix for the IIvx family, installing modified ROMs and shipping updated system software. The fix corrected the video problem, but DayStar never cracked the sound problems. Shortly afterwards, DayStar stopped selling IIvx family accelerators. Other known problems include high temperatures when used in a IIsi and floppy disk timing problems with some versions of System 7.5. Apple did not sell a Turbo 601 equivalent and the Turbo 601 was not supported by Apple after Mac OS 7.6.1. Unofficial instructions for installing Mac OS 8.0 and 8.1 are available on the internet. The card can be managed using Apple's "601 Processor Upgrade" control panel or by using the more advanced DayStar software. DayStar's control panel is recommended. The first Turbo 601 that I obtained came from a IIvx but I happily used it in a IIci, so if you come across any Turbo 601, I suggest trying it in any suitable Mac II. Overclocking is possible, but given the relative rarity of these cards, it should be approached with care. Alas, there are no confirmed reports about running a Turbo 601 in an SE/30. --- The IIcx is not mentioned anywhere in DayStar's documentation. It may work if installed in a IIcx with the special adapter board (68030 cpu to IIci cache slot) that DayStar made. A 32 bit clean ROM (from the IIsi or IIfx) may also be required.

Posted by: defor on 2015-07-07 15:35:49 yes, that Turbo 601 you have will work in IIsi (with adapter), IIcx, IIci (from experience), probably a couple others (as Charlieman notes), but not the quadra's- they have a different PDS slot both form factor and electronically.

Posted by: olePigeon on 2015-07-07 16:00:05 I think Elfen is correct, it'll work on a IIci but not IIcx if it doesn't have the PDS slot.

Posted by: trag on 2015-07-28 23:34:52 What Charlieman said. Additionally, search on brinnoven and turbo601 for a site full of old info. I'd post a link but I'm tapping this out on a rooted Kindle and am too lame to figure out how to copy/paste links. A note about clock chipping... I wrote an article about converting the 66 version to 100 (really 96 or lower) but in my tests the card was not very receptive to traditional -- change the input clock -- clock chipping. The conversion requires a (discontinued) ICS 9178 clock buffer chip. Something modern with the same functionality could probably be found but unless you want to kill a 100+ MHz PM8100 I know of no source for the chip.

Posted by: tt on 2019-07-13 22:38:56 I have tried the Turbo 601 in an SE/30 in various configs/adapters, but all I got was the PowerMac chime and a dark screen. I tested it in a IIsi as well to make sure it was a good card. I am guessing the ROM could be hacked to work for the SE/30.

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