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Author Topic: DRAGON ColdFire FAQ  (Read 4623 times)

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Offline Rogue

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Re: DRAGON ColdFire FAQ
« Reply #29 from previous page: January 15, 2005, 01:30:54 AM »
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A PPC CPU is a PPC CPU afterall.


Quite the contrary. The CSPPC and BPPC kernels lack the support for any other CPU but the 603/604. The Blizzard and Cyberstorm have unique interrupt controller logic. Plus, anything like that Shark would be a PCI card and I doubt it will have direct access to the custom chips. This will not run unmodified.

And even if they'd manage to build a complete Cyberstorm-Lookalike, the L2 cache and special features of a G3 (or G4) CPU would be unavailable, because, as I said, the classic kernels lack the CPU support for these, and the AmigaOne version will require an AmigaOne mainboard (complete with VIA southbridge, Intel interrupt controller and ArticiaS north bridge).
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Offline Rogue

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Re: DRAGON ColdFire FAQ - photos, compability ?
« Reply #30 on: January 15, 2005, 01:38:59 AM »
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There was also the controversy over P96 Voodoo drivers and the ongoing lack of info re OS4 and SharkPPC. On one hand we have Elbox saying "we're waiting for the software" and on the other we have Hyperion saying "we've not been approached, OS4 won't work with the SharkPPC".


I don't know if Hyperion has been approached or not (I think I would know if we have, but I don't need to know all the details ;-) ). However, either Thomas or myself would be the person to make the adaption, i.e. the guy that gets the prototype hardware to stick into an existing Amiga to actually make it run.

No, it won't run automatically. You cannot just put the AmigaOne version on the thing (unless you adapt the boot loader, it would fail with such trivialities as the layout of the U-Boot data structure). Even if it would be made to run, it would be completely illegit unless there is a license for it.

Bottom line, no, unless we get a SharkPPC to actually do some work, nothing will happen. If they want to wait until OS 4 is finished, that's OK with me, but it will surely take some time to make any sort of adaption (one months is the rough estimate I've given before) so I don't really see the point in waiting for a final release.
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Offline Rogue

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Re: DRAGON ColdFire FAQ - photos, compability ?
« Reply #31 on: January 15, 2005, 01:40:26 AM »
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By that rule, OS4 is vapor too.


You can actually buy it.
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Offline System

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Re: DRAGON ColdFire FAQ
« Reply #32 on: January 15, 2005, 01:49:31 AM »
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Quite the contrary. The CSPPC and BPPC kernels lack the support for any other CPU but the 603/604. The Blizzard and Cyberstorm have unique interrupt controller logic. Plus, anything like that Shark would be a PCI card and I doubt it will have direct access to the custom chips. This will not run unmodified.


Sounds like Elbox are full of crap to me then.
 

Offline System

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Re: DRAGON ColdFire FAQ - photos, compability ?
« Reply #33 on: January 15, 2005, 01:51:11 AM »
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You can actually buy it.


I know, and I very nearly bought a uA1 last week.  

Mac Mini got the better of me though. :-D

I'm waiting for the ACK board now.
 

Offline Methanoid

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Re: DRAGON ColdFire FAQ - photos, compability ?
« Reply #34 on: January 17, 2005, 08:23:48 AM »
ACK board????

(Edit) Found it here... another board that may or may not appear.. similar to Dragon!
 

Offline jdiffend

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Re: DRAGON ColdFire FAQ - photos, compability ?
« Reply #35 on: January 21, 2005, 01:39:52 AM »
Ok, adapting the built in PCI interface to AGP involves some signal and voltage switching and is definately possible.  Gigabyte is doing this on one of their motherboards, the GA-8I915P Duo-A and they are calling a G.E.A.R. slot.

And on page 17 of it's manual it warns that it's a temporary solution until PCI Express X 16 cards become available because it may shorten the life of AGP cards.

Which raises the question... so did they just adapt the AGP port to the PCI buss like Gigabyte or did they do it separate from the built in PCI controller?  If they just added the AGP to the PCI buss controller it might not be a good thing.
 

Offline boing

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Re: DRAGON ColdFire FAQ
« Reply #36 on: February 20, 2005, 10:49:15 AM »
Before saying they're full of crap, consider the fact tha the various owners of "Amiga technology" have produced what exacly so far?  Not a whole lot of real hardware.  Contrast them to Elbox who has shipped improvements to the Amiga hardware capability.

So maybe a heapin' bowl of STFU and just wait and see what happens before calling names.
 

Offline Methanoid

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Re: DRAGON ColdFire FAQ
« Reply #37 on: July 17, 2008, 02:10:00 PM »
hmmmm now 3.5 years later and still no Dragon... great job Elbox.. NOT