Vampire 600: FPGA A600 Accelerator Preorder

[nicholas]

Akiko done right might be a nice addition, where instead of writing the chunky pixel to the chip, then reading back the planar pixel and copying that data to the bitmap... Perhaps one could simply set a pointer to the chunky buffer in fast ram, then set it off to automatically copy and covert the buffer to chipram as planar data

Kalms released code that does chunky-planar faster than Akiko could do it. lol

http://code.google.com/p/unitedstatesofamiga/downloads/list

[Mrs Beanbag]

Perhaps one could simply set a pointer to the chunky buffer in fast ram, then set it off to automatically copy and covert the buffer to chipram as planar data

Or simply a command to shuffle the bits around in the data registers, so you can read 32 chunky pixels into D0-D7 and write out 32 planar pixels, or vice versa. That would be very easy to do since it could simply be hardwired into the register file bit by bit.

But I would first of all concentrate on making the CPU core as efficient as possible before adding extra features that no current software will use.

[Djole]

Well I suppose I could always wait for the 1GHz 060 FPGA version he's surely working on.

Keep hoping This is the best thing happened to amiga since amiga

[Djole]

Akiko in FPGA could be interesting... Or perhaps some other wacko invention like a hardware implemented raycaster. I wonder if we could actually add features to the Amiga that never existed before that would provide hardware assistance to other CPU intensive tasks. A very exciting time indeed!

I don't see a point to support hw which never was supported by mainstream sw. This card adds a lot of stuff original Amiga didn't have, stuff that didn't exist when the Amiga was made. There is no limit what this design can do. This makes this card a revolution in classic Amiga hw.

[NovaCoder]

Yep I also think FPGA solutions and Classic hardware could go very well together.

What I'd really like to see is some FGPA projects that have an (open source) active developer community behind them to continually improve the performance.

Other possible projects:

Clock-port/Zorro 16bit mp3 decoder AHI sound cards
Clock-port/Zorro USB cards
Lisa replacement/enhancement board to provide chunky modes and RTG support (like the Indivision ECS but community supported)
Alice replacement/enhancement board to provide improved IDE speed (with a SATA or CF interface built in)

All dreams but you never know what will happen

[Pyromania]

@NovaCoder

Don't forget Paula replacement/enhancement to provide 16 bit 64 channel audio. The Paula chip is long overdue for a replacement, she missed out on being improved in the AGA chipset.

[NovaCoder]

@NovaCoder

Don't forget Paula replacement/enhancement to provide 16 bit 64 channel audio. The Paula chip is long overdue for a replacement, she missed out on being improved in the AGA chipset.

I don't think there's much point in updating Paula if no software is going to use it's new features, AHI is probably the way to go with an enhanced Paula

It's the same kind of deal with an enhanced FPGA Lisa, apart from adding a scan-doubler and fixer there's probably not much you can do with chunky modes and higher screen depths with existing software (including Work Bench).   Probably the way to go would be add CyberGFX or P96 support and treat it like an RTG card.

[desiv]

So Nova, with this kind of speed (and more) for OCS/ECS machines, are you thinking about some OCS/ECS ports??  ;-)

desiv

[NovaCoder]

So Nova, with this kind of speed (and more) for OCS/ECS machines, are you thinking about some OCS/ECS ports??  ;-)

desiv

Glad you asked

If Majsta can get it up to around 12 MIPS then you'll finally be able to play some cool point-and-click games like Day of the Tentacle and Sam & Max on a 600 with nice speed.   Hopefully you'll also be able to play my new AmiWolf port if I can get it working properly in 64 colors.

[matthey]

Yep I also think FPGA solutions and Classic hardware could go very well together.

I think it's more likely that the old hardware will end up getting replaced altogether. What if this hardware existed for about 300 euros (~$400 AUD or U.S.)?

Cyclone 5 with 68k+@150MHz + 512k L2 cache
1 GB DDR3 memory
HDMI (includes sound)
2xPCIe
2xSATA
Gigabit Ethernet
USB2
1xCF
PS2 keyboard and mouse
2x9 pin joystick ports

Ok, your 68060 can compete with this but what if we can double the CPU speed for say 3x the cost and in about a year a 500MHz+ enhanced 68k CPU could be possible with the hardware specs above still at 3x the cost. It probably wouldn't fit in your 1200 but it should fit in a mini-tower of some kind. Would you be persuaded to give up your old 1200?

What I'd really like to see is some FGPA projects that have an (open source) active developer community behind them to continually improve the performance.

An upgrade path and an active developer community are key to all the fpga projects. The more open projects will attract more developers.

[NovaCoder]

Hiya,

This retro hobby is a funny old thing really.

I guess on one end of the spectrum you have a bog-standard machine and on the other you have WinUAE/X1000/AROS.  Everyone has their own idea of where they want to be on this scale.  

Personally, I get a good retro feeling from using the real thing with modern expansions.   I wouldn't get exactly the same feeling from a drop in replacement motherboard or a brand-new FPGA based computer in a new case.

I'm not sure what I'll do when my old A1200 finally kicks the bucket

[matthey]

Hiya,

This retro hobby is a funny old thing really.

I guess on one end of the spectrum you have a bog-standard machine and on the other you have WinUAE/X1000/AROS.  Everyone has their own idea of where they want to be on this scale.  

Personally, I get a good retro feeling from using the real thing with modern expansions.   I wouldn't get exactly the same feeling from a drop in replacement motherboard or a brand-new FPGA based computer in a new case.

I'm not sure what I'll do when my old A1200 finally kicks the bucket

The UAE experience didn't do it for me either. Something about Windoze being in control doing stupid stuff in the background and pausing for a few seconds now and then kind of ruins the feeling. A real 68060 Amiga doesn't do that. I like the old stuff and it's pretty amazing how usable it is when upgraded even with a <100MHz processor and '90s technology. It will be interesting to see what the feel of an all fpga board is though. If done right, it should be like a regular Amiga on super steroids. If I can plug in the old joysticks and keyboard and play a little Deluxe Galaga or Pinball Dreams with no gliches then it might be quite alright .

[ungatonipon]

Probably the way to go would be add CyberGFX or P96 support and treat it like an RTG card.

Isn't the Indivision doing exactly that? It's a FPGA chip programmed to emulate the one on the motherboard, and also adding some nice things like RTG for Workbench. Along with a Vampire you'd actually be running two FPGA systems and emulating both the CPU and the Graphics system. Correct me if I am mistaken...

[NovaCoder]

Isn't the Indivision doing exactly that? It's a FPGA chip programmed to emulate the one on the motherboard, and also adding some nice things like RTG for Workbench. Along with a Vampire you'd actually be running two FPGA systems and emulating both the CPU and the Graphics system. Correct me if I am mistaken...

Only the ECS model supports RTG and a direct chunky mode, it actually uses the direct chunky mode to create the P96 support.

[nicholas]

Only the ECS model supports RTG and a direct chunky mode, it actually uses the direct chunky mode to create the P96 support.

Really? I could have sworn that the AGA MK2 supported an RTG mode.

/me goes off to google hoping that dementia isn't setting in early!

[Blizz1220]

Kalms released code that does chunky-planar faster than Akiko could do it. lol

http://code.google.com/p/unitedstatesofamiga/downloads/list

Akiko was actually quite good little thing ...

AB3D on Amiga CD32 ran playable with poor 020 14Mhz and no fast ram
involved ...

It's probably beaten by 030 with some fast ram though ...