Coldfire IRC Log

[uncharted]

[12:40]    ---   Kees_at_show has changed the topic to: Oliver Hannaford Day - Ask your questions
[12:40]       who is Oliver?
[12:40]       
[12:40]       he's the guy from thge coldfire
[12:40]       Ami603: I am :-)
[12:41]       hey Oli
[12:41]       Hi Ami603
[12:41]       How is the project coming?
[12:41]       AmiDelf: Yep, its a great show, Everyone speaks English which is a great help ;-)
[12:42]       Ami603: the projects doing just fine, bit slow mind
[12:43]       oli_hd: any idea when it will be available (for 4000 that is)? (btw, does these cards have mmu/fpu)?
[12:43]       oli_hd: I couldnt show up. Studies (
[12:43]       Mawrick: Ermm, Im looking at mid 2004 for the A4K version
[12:44]       the others should follow after, first the A1200, then A2000, then I dunno
[12:44]       how about the a600 ?
[12:44]       :-)
[12:44]       oli_hd: how do u plan to made it compatible to existing software. AFAIK the coldfire CPUs are more limited than the 060. Do u have some kine of 68040.library replacement for the coldfire (coldfire.library)?
[12:44]       will the A1200 have any expansion ports(like SCSI, or for graphics)?
[12:45]       As for the FPU and MMU, Well probably not
[12:45]       oli_hd: ok, correct me if I'm wrong but is it correct that it's just fits in like f.eks a CS MK2 card? (rip out the cpu card and in with the colfire)?
[12:45]       I have a design with an FPU on it but I dunno if it will work
[12:45]       as for the MMU, the only way would be if I could get a V4e or V5e
[12:46]       Megatokia: as for the software side, Motorola have a program which is ran first from flash before the kickstart is loaded, it makes a virtual 68K using both none emulated and emulated instructions
[12:46]       this will make it very compatiable with all 68K software
[12:47]       the actual software has different versions for each 68K you want to emulate so if you want to run an old 68000 program you can set it to be just like a 68000
[12:47]       how about compiling "native" coldfire apps without the need of this emulator?
[12:47]       and running both at same time?
[12:47]       no 68040.library would be needed as its done before the OS is loaded
[12:48]       How much is this project costing your personally for chips, parts etc.?
[12:48]       oli_hd: sounds very interesting. how much faster will the coldfirecard be comapared to a CSMK2/060@50MHz? I think a lot more improvement can be achieved with faster ram speed too.
[12:48]       Mawrick: yep, it fits just like a Cyberstorm
[12:48]       right, now for the native apps question
[12:49]       oli_hd: Small point, but: I was looking at the prototype card, and I think the card wont fit in a 3000D, due to the vertical mounted RAM DIMM
[12:49]       All coldfire code, even 68K code that doesnt use the missing instructions will run at the full 220Mhz speed
[12:50]       oli_hd: it means that FroggerNG for 68k will run movies just fine
[12:50]       or?
[12:50]       As for speed, well it depends on the amount of 68K programs ran, how many none coldfire instuctions in each program and such like but info given by Motorola shows the speed hit is small, probably making it feel more like 150Mhz than 220, still a massive step up from the 50Mhz 68060
[12:51]       MrZammler: Yep, your right, it wont even fit my A4K in an RBM tower, I used them basically because they were cheap
[12:51]       will the A1200version have any expansion ports planned(like SCSI, or for graphics)?
[12:51]       the final card will have one at a 90 degrees
[12:52]       oli_hd: very nice ;-) btw, can you do an estimate on the cost of the card for end-users?
[12:52]       AmiDelf: Yep, FroggerNG should work just fine, no probs
[12:52]    <[shIva]>   hope you didn´t already discuss this : will the final release have a 10/100 LAN ?
[12:52]       Ami603: Expansion Ports: SCSI no, basically because not enough people wanted it
[12:53]       oli_hd: divX movies that is too?
[12:53]       but instead it will be compatible with expansion ports like mediator i hope?
[12:53]       as for graphics... I dont know, if I can then yes, I have a list of chips that work and some are 3D but its about space, the A1200 card is smaller than the A4K version and that was hard enough
[12:54]       oli_hd: sorry me being not informed of Coldfire plans, but question: Could it be an option for the Coldfire project to manufacture new "Amiga/Coldfire" mainboards too?
[12:54]       even with an addon card like bvision that could fit on A1200 desktop
[12:54]       MrZammler: The cost, well I would say 200 ukp, about 280 euro's, but thats the high side just to be safe, if I do a basic card then it would be 170 pounds
[12:55]    <[shIva]>   oli_hd : what about a rtl chip for 10/100 MBit LAN ?
[12:56]       oli_hd: sorry me being not informed of Coldfire plans, but question: Could it be an option for the Coldfire project to manufacture new "Amiga/Coldfire" mainboards too?
[12:56]       so is there news about UT for amiga?
[12:56]       AmiDelf: divX movie's should work just fine, programs that have a 68020 version are best as the Coldfire is more like a 68020 than a 060
[12:57]       Ami603: Hardware wise the Coldfire card really is compatiable, I dont see any problems with that at all
[12:58]       oli_hd: Will we see any AmigaNYX motherboard from you?
[12:58]       or anything like it?
[12:58]       erhm was my question THAT stupid?
[12:59]       alef: A full Coldfire motherboard isnt planned although if the Coldfire project sold very well then it would be the next step however I would still probably use the A4000 Coldfire CPU upgrade as the main CPU module and just add an SD-Ram interface to the motherboard and generaey update the design.
[12:59]       oli_hd: sure.. a Amiga 4000T would be nice,
[12:59]       oli_hd: if that would be possible it sure would be an interesting option
[13:00]       [shIva]: Ok, lan, that is what a lot of people would like to see and the chip is available.. and small, but it costs a bit so it may be an upgrade and not as standard, or a special version with the chip soldered on to the board. (Its a SMD chip)
[13:00]       peace out
[13:01]    <[shIva]>   oli_hd : nice to hear (the LAN thing) if availible I will buy it
[13:01]       AmiDelf: AmigaNYX, no, If I designed a card then it would use a lot of custom chips but would not be a NYX design, its old tech now, although it would look like an Amiga, it would have Zorro slots, video slots and things like that
[13:02]       my god that was a lot of questions. ;-)
[13:02]    <[shIva]>   oli_hd : that is sth. you have to calculate with such a project
[13:02]       thanks for your time oliver
[13:03]    ---   oli_hd is now known as BeneluxShow

[Coder]

Hi,

Too bad I had to go somewhere today. I really like to be part of this discussion. I was there online yesterday but no live coverage. Maybe next time.

Coder

[Radfoo]

Hope he gets this working, it would be nice in my old A2000 :-)

[Acill]

I like the idea, but I fear it more of a step back for the Amiga. Its a great thing for people that want more life out of the classic Amiga and cant get a good fast PPC card though. Keep up the good work, who knows maybe all this work will lead to something great down the road?!

[lempkee]

sweet jemeny :O

anyway i would estimate that it wont be fast enough to run divx in a good speed , though hopefully better than current ppc's does atm. (power up...ofcourse)

cheers

[jeffimix]

I think it's absolutely great as a hobbiest add-on. Don't take it too seriosuly, and don't take it as Amiga's future and it's fine.  I personally think, though, that it'd be awesome on my '2000.

"So how fast is that?"
"Only 220MHz"
"Wow that's amazing for that speed"
"Yeah, of course they only made these computers from 87 to 90 had to make better machines and move with the time"
"Wait, you mean they made better machines than this?"
"Yep, they make these new 933MHz machines"
"Where can I find them?"