WarpSE: 25 MHz 68HC000-based accelerator for Mac SE
- Thread starter Zane Kaminski
- Start date
I tested it today but found HeapTool 1.4 doesn't resolve the low memory issue that triggers the error message in SCSI Director Pro 4.0.
The author of HeapTool made it for System 6 and says it "probably" wouldn't have any meaning under System 7 due to the way 7 handles the heap in a much better way. But he left the door open for the possibility it might help. Even so, after getting the memory error in SCSI Director Pro, I quite the app and opened the HeapTool control panel and clicked the PURGE button. All that does is create a little more white space at the far right of the bar for System Software. The total RAM allocation doesn't change. So in the case of your screenshot above, the 1,602K would not change, and the Largest Unused Block number would not change after clicking the PURGE button. It only clears out some RAM that is already allocated for System Software, which SCSI Director Pro cannot touch. That's why after clicking PURGE and then relaunching SCSI Director Pro 4.0, the same memory error occurs.
I am guessing it's a coding quirk of SCSI Director Pro 4.0. Even though I have given it 1024K in the Get Info Box, if it sees the Largest Unused Block (of RAM) to be less than about 1500K, then it complains it is out of memory (after the initial tests complete, just before the graphing tests begin). So long as I can keep the Largest Unused Block higher than about 1500K, then SCSI Director Pro 4.0 is content to perform all the tests, including the graphing tests.
Anyone can simulate this problem easily, without fiddling with INITs by trial and error. Just increase the Disk Cache in the Memory control panel to be 384K instead of the default 128K. That usually will drop your Largest Unused Block of RAM to below 1500K, thereby triggering the out of memory issue in SCSI Director Pro 4.0 (just before the graphing tests begin).
And for whatever reason, no, adjusting the Minimum and Preferred settings in the Get Info box for SCSI Director Pro 4.0 doesn't solve the problem. I think it's a bug in the app, ignoring those settings. The only way to prevent the error is like I said. You have to increase the Largest Unused Block of RAM to above 1500K or so.
I don't know a huge amount about the SuperMac cards - they look pretty cool. I'd be interested to see some benchmarks if you get a chance (<cough>Norton System Info</cough>).
Regarding this thread and other projects - when you're working on your own or in a small team on something like this it sometimes takes time. Life gets in the way, or a barrier to progress is frustrating in a way that you just... leave it for a while.
Things only stay fun if you can put them down and walk away for a while and it doesn't matter, if there is a pressure to deliver, it can take the joy out of things.
Its been cool to see the development documented here! If it results in a new, fast, awesome accelerator, all the more awesome
I should be getting the SuperMac SpeedCard in a few days. I will try and get benchmarks posted soon.
I got the SuperMac SpeedCard installed and benchmarked using SpeedOMeter 3.23. I am having issues taking pictures of my screen so I just summarize the results.
CPU: 233% increase (2.33 Index)
Graphics: 75% increase (1.75 index)
SCSI: No real difference (I was getting 1.5 and now around 1.6 index)
Math: 445% increase (4.45 index)
KWhetstone: 85K
No FPU is detected using any software I have tried. That is to be expected as I recall a 68000 can only treat a 68881/2 as a peripheral device. All math performance increase is simply by intercepting SANE calls and routing through the 68881. I am using the v1.7 of the SpeedCard Control Panel that I downloaded from the Macintosh Repository. Overall a nice performance boost. I think would get better I/O performance with a Brainstorm accelerator, but since I am using an external BlueSCSI v2, that is not really an issue.
CPU: 233% increase (2.33 Index)
Graphics: 75% increase (1.75 index)
SCSI: No real difference (I was getting 1.5 and now around 1.6 index)
Math: 445% increase (4.45 index)
KWhetstone: 85K
No FPU is detected using any software I have tried. That is to be expected as I recall a 68000 can only treat a 68881/2 as a peripheral device. All math performance increase is simply by intercepting SANE calls and routing through the 68881. I am using the v1.7 of the SpeedCard Control Panel that I downloaded from the Macintosh Repository. Overall a nice performance boost. I think would get better I/O performance with a Brainstorm accelerator, but since I am using an external BlueSCSI v2, that is not really an issue.
Thanks for logging this!
It'll be exciting to compare it to the WarpSE once it's out.
I will try and get full results this weekend and posted with pictures using SpeedOMeter 3.23.
I realised after my post that System Info doesn't actually work in System 6, doh!
Anyway, pretty serious speed increases. The graphics must be amazing.
Do you have a PGA 68882 in anything? They should be a direct swap for the 68881, but give you a good bump to the FPU performance. It would be an interesting experiment if you have one in an SE/30, or a IIx or similar. Given you only need a 16MHz one they're also pretty common on ebay.
I do have a PGA 68882 in couple of things. I may give it a try someday, but based on past experience, the increase would not be that great. I have tried both a 68881 and 68882 in the FPU card on Macintosh LC. The speed difference was 5-10% at most, depending on the benchmark. When I post some more detailed scores this weekend, i will test System 6.0.8, 7.01 and 7.1 for comparison.
I posted a thread about the SuperMac SpeedCard along with the results here:
I wish the WarpSE project will continue @Zane Kaminski. I noticed this vid back in September shows the performance promise of the beta version - much faster in CPU and Graphics than the already excellent MacEffects Performer for the SE. Any updates? The SE market has room for more than one modern accelerator option.
FYI - I created a related post - Accelerating an Accelerator - Total Systems Gemini 020 to 030 for Macintosh SE
No. I'd say it is unlikely this particular project will continue at this point, unless a brilliant member of our community tries to build on Zane Kamenski's incredible work by attempting to recreate it and partner with MacEffects or another vendor who can manufacture it for the masses.
Honestly, WarpSE is THE single best accelerator card for the SE I've tried because it is so fast and yet maintains software compatibility from the earliest System Software. My SE can run System 1.0, for example, with WarpSE installed. Plus, WarpSE requires no System Extension to get it to work. It's super fast and bests the 030 Performer in my testing (I have the Performer) -- I'm talking about the FEEL of the OS when used in the Finder, launching apps, etc.
WarpSEis so good, I'd like to encourage "redevelopment" of it.
Note that there has been excellent work done to recreate Zane's ROM (GW4402B). I have the GW4402B and the GW4402A and the recreation too, and the recreation works flawlessly. I will do a video about it sometime this year. And yes, the engineer who recreated it tried to contact Zane to obtain permission without success, as have I.
Now I realize an accelerator is a totally different beast versus a ROM SIMM, but there are many super smart people out there who might be able to do it, if they commit to it.
Man, WarpSE is so good. I do hope someone will consider it a challenge and give it a try. Considering what ZigZagJoe has put together for the community, I have every confidence that the right mind can do it. Where there's a will, there's always a way.
Is there anything legally to stop someone from building their own WarpSE based on what is published on GitHub? Not for resale, but for personal use, just like a BlueSCSI, which is sold (through an authorized reseller) or can be built yourself. The reason I ask is because the WarpSE was intended to be a commercial product.
Last edited:
Technically, there is a legal issue (albeit, mostly in the minds of wannabe lawyers in online forums) with even recreating Zane's ROM, which is why the people who did that work tried desperately to contain Zane about it, and I volunteered to try to reach Zane on their behalf too.
I have tried multiple times since Zane's disappearance to contact him, without success. His email addresses don't come back with any indication they are no longer valid. He has simply vanished.
No indication Zane has died, but there was no indication of that in the case of Paul Pratt (Mini vMac creator) having gone missing. A number of people online and YouTuber's too have commented about their search for Paul, but the conclusion is he may have passed away (in light of his age), and any living family members clearly are not tech savvy enough to inform the community about what happened to him (which is quite sad). That has inspired me to think more carefully how to handle my own demise, so the community is never left hanging about what happened to me. I still need people who are willing to take over certain accounts and pages to maintain them for the community. But I try to donate a lot of my work to the community so there's never any legal issues when it comes to other people using what I have written or published.
Paul was extremely protective of his work, but after Paul vanished, @eric thankfully took the bull by the horns and did some fantastic work on keeping Mini vMac alive and kicking:
There's always a legal risk when trying to recreate something someone else has made. But some are willing to take that risk after repeated attempts have been made to find a missing person, especially when they have been missing since Nov. 2024 like Zane (and its now almost June 2026).
I do hope Zane is alive and well, laughing at all of us on a beautiful island somewhere out there; but in the meantime, we who are still in this hobby should have the freedom to build on what appears to be the abandoned work of others. Legally questionable? Sure. But some say that about Macintosh Garden too, and who among us seriously want to take that down as a result? My stance about erring on the side of liberty may be controversial, but no two of us agree on everything, so no surprises there. Bending the rules is what makes things happen. It's all a matter of who has the rocky mountain oysters to take action regardless. Had there been no illegal blue boxes, Apple would not exist. Steve Jobs himself said that.
I have tried multiple times since Zane's disappearance to contact him, without success. His email addresses don't come back with any indication they are no longer valid. He has simply vanished.
No indication Zane has died, but there was no indication of that in the case of Paul Pratt (Mini vMac creator) having gone missing. A number of people online and YouTuber's too have commented about their search for Paul, but the conclusion is he may have passed away (in light of his age), and any living family members clearly are not tech savvy enough to inform the community about what happened to him (which is quite sad). That has inspired me to think more carefully how to handle my own demise, so the community is never left hanging about what happened to me. I still need people who are willing to take over certain accounts and pages to maintain them for the community. But I try to donate a lot of my work to the community so there's never any legal issues when it comes to other people using what I have written or published.
Paul was extremely protective of his work, but after Paul vanished, @eric thankfully took the bull by the horns and did some fantastic work on keeping Mini vMac alive and kicking:
There's always a legal risk when trying to recreate something someone else has made. But some are willing to take that risk after repeated attempts have been made to find a missing person, especially when they have been missing since Nov. 2024 like Zane (and its now almost June 2026).
I do hope Zane is alive and well, laughing at all of us on a beautiful island somewhere out there; but in the meantime, we who are still in this hobby should have the freedom to build on what appears to be the abandoned work of others. Legally questionable? Sure. But some say that about Macintosh Garden too, and who among us seriously want to take that down as a result? My stance about erring on the side of liberty may be controversial, but no two of us agree on everything, so no surprises there. Bending the rules is what makes things happen. It's all a matter of who has the rocky mountain oysters to take action regardless. Had there been no illegal blue boxes, Apple would not exist. Steve Jobs himself said that.
As to the Blue Boxes the two Steves made, I guess you could say they both found their "calling" and the rest is tech history...
Please don't push for cloning a current project. While cloning 30 year old unsupported corporate products is slightly legally questionable, cloning something recent by a community member is morally questionable.
There are a few points...
There are so many things out that that would be good to clone, lets start with the stuff that doesn't have the chance to alienate someone we know.
There probably should be at least a 10 year of no activity guideline, like there is with abandonware software. If at all.
Wanting something doesn't mean we have a right to it. That is the justification people use to steal cars. If Zane had never told us about the project you wouldn't even be thinking about it and wouldn't be worried about not having it.
If we get known as a community that clones new commercial products that people have put time, effort and money into developing, it will remove any incentive for people to develop the difficult and complex product for the community. You mentioned Mac Effects - I'm pretty sure he has a good idea of how painful it would be to see clones of something you'd done all the development work on mean you could never recover your sunk costs.
I guess what I'm saying is, why risk hurting someone's feelings (and financially) when there are a thousand other projects we could work on. Did you know there were basic colour video cards for the SE (original quickdraw supported a small number of colours)? Can someone hack an 040 into an SE (it would need a custom ROM)? Can someone spend the time helping ZZJ with the ROM patches for the 060 for the Q650? Has anyone ever made a quickdraw accelerated video card for the SE? Has anyone reverse engineered how Compact Virtual gets 16MB of RAM working in 68000 macs so that we can use it with new hardware (yes, an MMU, but could we get it working with new hardware)?
Last edited: