Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: biggun on July 17, 2014, 08:38:21 PM
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Just a little teaser.
http://www.apollo-core.com/bringup/apolloPhoenix.jpg
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Just a little teaser.
http://www.apollo-core.com/bringup/apolloPhoenix.jpg
THank you looking forward to it!
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WOW looks great
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Just a little teaser.
http://www.apollo-core.com/bringup/apolloPhoenix.jpg
Hdmi, network,jtag and ata on board? Wasnt that supposed to be on the fpga board out of the box?
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Very cool project! I didn't know/remember about this.
Hope will continue well!
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Hi gunnar. So this is the board you mentioned for the a500 to eventually be released for other amigas?
Looks sweet! I want one. My a500 needs repair and I just got an a1200 so I can either.
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Looks like a great card and hopefully the cpu-core is performing as promised. I hope this comes for sale one day.
Great job, so far, thank you.
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Ooo, this is the first I've heard of this device. What will it do?
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Very nice!
Does it have RAM on board?
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Just a little teaser.
http://www.apollo-core.com/bringup/apolloPhoenix.jpg
Wow, now that is an interesting little board! It looks beautiful. Please let it make it to market!
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The card above mates with a standard fpga card and plugs into a 68000 socket to give an A500/A1000/A2000/CDTV the following:
* Cyclone V fpga allowing for a very fast 68K CPU
* 128 MB DDR3 Fast-memory
* SD-card usable/bootable as IDE-device
* Network interface
* RTG Graphics Card (chunky/Hicolor/truecolor) with DVI/HDMI out
That's the current plan anyway.
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The card above mates with a standard fpga card and plugs into a 68000 socket to give an A500/A1000/A2000/CDTV the following:
* Cyclone V fpga allowing for a very fast 68K CPU
* 128 MB DDR3 Fast-memory
* SD-card usable/bootable as IDE-device
* Network interface
* RTG Graphics Card (chunky/Hicolor/truecolor) with DVI/HDMI out
That's the current plan anyway.
Will these be available for end users to buy? Is there a waiting list?
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Very nice!
Does it have RAM on board?
The card is primarily a CPU card. The main SPECs are:
* 128 MB DDR3 Memory 800MHz
* Fastest 68K CPU ever
* MAPROM
The secondary SPECs are:
* SDCard as IDE Disk
* HDMI Video Out (Truecolor)
* Network
We expect the card ready to sell, end of this summer.
The card will be sold as CPU card.
Some additional or optional features we are right now preparing.
We are planning/testing right now:
* buildin AMIGA graphic flickerfixer / scandoubler to view AMIGA signal on HDMI TV
* buildin Chipmemory upgrade
* buildin AGA AMIGA upgrade - turn your A500 into an AGA machine
* buildin SAGA (Super-AGA) upgrade - higher resolutions, more colors, more speed.
* AMIGA PICASSO 96 drivers
I think we will need something like a website for the project.
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Looking interesting.
Just curious though, why ddr3? Given the low speed of both the cpu core and ram (relative to modern computing) wouldnt ddr2, or ideally ddr1 be a better match? Given the high latency of ddr3 Id expect the other RAM types to perform better. Is it simply a matter of availability/price?
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Looking interesting.
Just curious though, why ddr3? Given the low speed of both the cpu core and ram (relative to modern computing) wouldnt ddr2, or ideally ddr1 be a better match? Given the high latency of ddr3 Id expect the other RAM types to perform better. Is it simply a matter of availability/price?
I guess this is what the sockit board provides. We will have to live with it. :-)
I think this roadmap is a realistic plan to give first accel and then replace genuine amiga components piece for piece that results eventually with a standalone alternative system
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Looks good!
how far are you with the primary and secondary specs? Has it been implemented already and now testing/tweaking or is it still in development?
You also state that it'll be the fastest 68K CPU ever. Although I'm not really interested in having the fastest processor, I am interested in being compatible. Is the CPU comparable to one of the 68K series? I mean; for certain hard- or software you'd need at least a 030. Would this new CPU be compatible?
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Looking interesting.
Just curious though, why ddr3? Given the low speed of both the cpu core and ram (relative to modern computing) wouldnt ddr2, or ideally ddr1 be a better match?
DDR3 is perfect.
We do not run at low speed. We run the memory at real 800MHz datarate.
And 800 MHz Datarate is not that low speed - especially in the AMIGA area.
What memory speed have AmigaONE PPC systems?
Given the high latency of ddr3 Id expect the other RAM types to perform better. Is it simply a matter of availability/price?
You need to mind that the latency is relative to the clockrate.
A latency of 4 to a clockrate of 400/800 is the same as a latency of 8 to a clockrate of 800/1600.
This means in other words. DDR3 does not have higher latency than DDR2.
Also this memory is twice is fast as the fastest DDR1 memory available.
Twice as fast makes a difference, don't you agree. :-D
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First time I see this card and my dreams come true!
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Fingers crossed it gets released soon and without any hitches.
Ill take one.
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It wasnt a criticism, I was just wondering. DDR3@800mhz is slower than ddr2@800mhz because of amongst other things more aggressive timing available. Because of ddr1 having yet again tighter timings, given the right conditions fast ddr1 is a better match than simply chasing clock rate, especially when memory bus isnt saturated. I dont know the design of the cyclone core, but Id have imagined a 68k cpu might be one of those situations.
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Interesting. This will give me an excuse to bring the A500 out of storage.
Will the HDMI video out pass audio as well?
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Sounds great! Will it be just "a really fast 68000" or will it emulate 020/030 instruction sets as well (so we could run software that requires higher than a 68000 chip)? Thanks for all your hard work!
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DDR3@800mhz is slower than ddr2@800mhz because of amongst other things more aggressive timing available.
If you drive them with the same settings they both have exact the same latencies.
In theory you can find DDR2 modules which are specced 4-4-4
but you can also use DDR3 modules with higher speed grades and underclock them with also 4-4-4 settings. So the whole is the same at the end, right?
Much more important is IMHO power consumption as the power supply of the A500 is relative weak.
My personal opinion is this:
DDR1 is not a good option, for these reasons:
- much less memory throughput
- only smaller chips available, big chips really pricy
- higher voltage current needed. = power supply limitation problems on A500
DDR2 is OK.
o the fastest available DD2 chips are about as fast as average DDR3 chips.
- but chips are smaller or big chips are more expensive than DDR3
- DD2 needs about 25% more power than DDR3
DDR3 is ideal
+ performance is good
+ big chips are available. This means 128 MB memory easy to do with 1 single chip
+ Low power consumption.
LPDDR2 would also be a nice option IMHO.
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I presume the FPGA used (but not shown in the picture - is it on the other side? Or on another board that connects to the two IDE-like headers? Is there a photo of this other board?) has an on-board DDR3 controller, so it makes sense to use that.
What's the low-end CPLD in the middle of the 68k area for?
I presume the chip on the right is a HDMI driver, displaying a video signal from the lower IDE-like header.
And the Ethernet chip is an SPI/I2S ethernet chip.
Wouldn't it make sense to allow a user to route the HDMI and Ethernet signals to a separate socket they can mount within their case? Or is it oriented so that both are easily accessible?
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I presume the FPGA used (but not shown in the picture - is it on the other side? Or on another board that connects to the two IDE-like headers? Is there a photo of this other board?) has an on-board DDR3 controller, so it makes sense to use that.
Here is a picture of an AMIGA 600 mainboard.
The small card at the bottom is the FPGA CPU module.
http://www.apollo-core.com/bringup/card2.jpg
What's the low-end CPLD in the middle of the 68k area for?
The CPLD bridges to the AMIGA mainboard chip bus.
Wouldn't it make sense to allow a user to route the HDMI and Ethernet signals to a separate socket they can mount within their case? Or is it oriented so that both are easily accessible?
The HDMI is at the edge of the side connector on the A500 and A1000.
If you open the slot you can access it.
There is _NO_ need to drill any holes in your AMIGA. :-D
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Way to go Gunnar.
Pull this off and I'll apologize for ever mistreating you.
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Some sketch of the complete card:
http://www.apollo-core.com/bringup/Apollo_Phoenix.mp4
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Clean and beautiful :)
It's nice to see the future of Amiga taking shape ;)
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After installing this card you should buy this kit from me for your Amiga.
It will propaply escape from your desk from the sonic boom speed :-D
GOD! I can't wait to buy this card for my miggy!!!
(http://s26.postimg.org/nwixurajd/A500_chains.jpg)
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Looks like mass storage has no support, SATA for a CD/DVD and HD is crucial for what I need.
Chris
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Please development team, don't let us down this time and give us this dream accelerator card, please please please!!!
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Looks like mass storage has no support, SATA for a CD/DVD and HD is crucial for what I need.
Chris
Well, SD cards can get pretty massive. Unless you need terabytes of Amiga storage...
Optical drives, on the other hand, would be nice to have. Perhaps there is solution for this in the close future :)
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Please development team, don't let us down this time and give us this dream accelerator card, please please please!!!
Lol. Your not wrong. This perfectly encapsulates the feelings surrounding such projects!
Natami, tina and others were um... well... BS.:furious::):)
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After installing this card you should buy this kit from me for your Amiga.
It will propaply escape from your desk from the sonic boom speed :-D
GOD! I can't wait to buy this card for my miggy!!!
... image ....
Please, note that A500+ may need some kind riser for the Apollo Phoenix.
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Please, note that A500+ may need some kind riser for the Apollo Phoenix.
Thanks for your advice, you will have 10% of the profits.
:-D
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Right now i would not buy anything for amiga but an accelerator like this yes... only have three questions
Its more real than natami or more vapor? (with all my respects)
Any date for the a1200 accelerator?
What kind of prices, aeon type or normal type?
Thanks.
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http://eab.abime.net/group.php?groupid=82
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http://www.polyprecords.co.uk/test/apollocard
Sorry, but that is still just hype until you have a product to sell.
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Sorry, but that is still just hype until you have a product to sell.
No problem, I'm not the seller, but only hobbyist.
http://eab.abime.net/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=92
btw, Here's a Vampire 600 Benchmarks: https://vimeo.com/76505805
and Vampire 600 - State of the Art: https://vimeo.com/75417563
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Would like to see a CD32 version. CD32 doesn't get enough love when it comes to upgrades.
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No problem, I'm not the seller, but only hobbyist.
http://eab.abime.net/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=92
btw, Here's a Vampire 600 Benchmarks: https://vimeo.com/76505805
and Vampire 600 - State of the Art: https://vimeo.com/75417563
You guys are geniuses , using off the shelf components!
No need to waste time designing CPU module just the adapter and of course the 68k fpga core, WOW!
Looking at the picture, is it this module that will be used?
http://parts.arrow.com/item/detail/arrow-development-tools/bemicrocv#zpGE
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You guys are geniuses , using off the shelf components!
No need to waste time designing CPU module just the adapter and of course the 68k fpga core, WOW!
Looking at the picture, is it this module that will be used?
http://parts.arrow.com/item/detail/arrow-development-tools/bemicrocv#zpGE
The version you link to has 1GB of memory instead of 128MB. The brand, board layout and connectors look to be the same. The price is right too. Anybody want a 1GB memory Amiga for Christmas?
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If there is ever one for the 1200 then sold. Although why only have MB's for RAM? $20NZD for 2GB DDR3.
Why not put a SODIMM/DIMM socket on the board and provide it without RAM. I have a couple of spare SIMM's here :-)
Would prefer IDE/SATA connectors over an SD Card.
On the website it states initial tests faster than an 060, what speed 060 and do you have those benchmarks to share? :-)
More than 2MB chip RAM would be good too.
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Now THIS might be the thing that finally gets me back in the Amiga scene. Release a version for the 1200 and I'm in.
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If there is ever one for the 1200 then sold. Although why only have MB's for RAM? $20NZD for 2GB DDR3.
Why not put a SODIMM/DIMM socket on the board and provide it without RAM. I have a couple of spare SIMM's here :-)
Soldered memory is more reliable and it keeps the complexity on the mass produced fpga board. There are multiple fpga boards with this style connector to choose from so it's cheaper just to buy a higher spec fpga board. More memory and features does draw more power so it's important to consider if the 1st boards will work in a 500 without upgrading the power supply. Different fpgas may require twice as much time synthesizing cores for 2 fpga boards.
Would prefer IDE/SATA connectors over an SD Card.
IDE takes high voltage by modern standards. SATA requires more expensive high speed transceivers although the cost of supporting it is falling. For now, the Amiga doesn't need much storage and an SD card is probably better than what most Amiga users use today for storage.
On the website it states initial tests faster than an 060, what speed 060 and do you have those benchmarks to share? :-)
There are no benchmarks to share as the Phoenix fpga CPU core has not booted an Amiga as far as I know. The Phoenix processor in something like a Cyclone V would probably be 100-150MHz. There is tons more memory bandwidth and plenty of logic for huge caches (32-64kB). The 68060 is superscalar which helps it but Phoenix will likely out muscle it. There is a mostly complete superscalar version of the Phoenix processor also. Each of the integer pipelines is more powerful than the pipes in the 68060 and it has the instruction fetch (from the memory bandwidth) to feed the hungry monster. It's entirely possible, if not likely, that this fpga CPU would eventually outperform the 68060 clock for clock. The Phoenix CPU has to boot AmigaOS first though.
More than 2MB chip RAM would be good too.
Adding chip memory inside the fpga is minor compared to implementing and debugging SAGA inside the fpga. The extra chip memory and AGA/SAGA gfx would only be available when using the DVI/HDMI output.
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Soldered memory is more reliable and it keeps the complexity on the mass produced fpga board.
Fair enough but I see from a previous link an identical board with 1GB as standard, why not use that? 256MB of RAM on my A1200 is the sweet spot for day to day use.
More memory and features does draw more power so it's important to consider if the 1st boards will work in a 500 without upgrading the power supply.
Cheap ATX adapter and PSU for $20-$50 solves that, my A500 and A1200 are both using an ATX PSU.
IDE takes high voltage by modern standards. SATA requires more expensive high speed transceivers although the cost of supporting it is falling. For now, the Amiga doesn't need much storage and an SD card is probably better than what most Amiga users use today for storage.
SD Card is too slow, plus I have 20-30GB of WHDLoad games a lone not including other games. My A1200 has a 250GB HDD running through a FastATA it's the only way to get browsing working well and I got tired of loading times.
There are no benchmarks to share as the Phoenix fpga CPU core has not booted an Amiga as far as I know.
They might want to remove that claim from their site then ;-)
It's entirely possible, if not likely, that this fpga CPU would eventually outperform the 68060 clock for clock. The Phoenix CPU has to boot AmigaOS first though.
Here's hoping, although quite happy with my 060@80MHz but a little more speed wouldn't hurt.
Adding chip memory inside the fpga is minor compared to implementing and debugging SAGA inside the fpga. The extra chip memory and AGA/SAGA gfx would only be available when using the DVI/HDMI output.
Not really fussed about SAGA but more chip RAM is the only bottle neck left on my A1200. Anyway this is for the A500, not sure I'd be purchasing one as I have an 030/indi in the 500plus. But would like a newer accelerator for the A1200 but if it's not going to be faster than the 060 then it's not worth it. Although 1GB+ RAM is far more interesting.
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Sorry, but that is still just hype until you have a product to sell.
Selling this board could be a problem. It has an HDMI port, and to sell devices with one of those you have to pay a licensing fee & royalties (minimum $10,000 USD). They would be better off making it a DVI connector, and providing a DVI to HDMI adaptor (in which case the adaptor manufacturer pays the fees). Alternatively, DisplayPort is royalty-free, but the FPGA might not be capable of producing DisplayPort output signals.
Hans
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Selling this board could be a problem. It has an HDMI port, and to sell devices with one of those you have to pay a licensing fee & royalties (minimum $10,000 USD). They would be better off making it a DVI connector, and providing a DVI to HDMI adaptor (in which case the adaptor manufacturer pays the fees). Alternatively, DisplayPort is royalty-free, but the FPGA might not be capable of producing DisplayPort output signals.
Hans
Wondered about that too. Would hate to see a minor issue block the way. Gunnar, care to comment?
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The version you link to has 1GB of memory instead of 128MB. The brand, board layout and connectors look to be the same. The price is right too. Anybody want a 1GB memory Amiga for Christmas?
1 byte = 8 bit
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1 byte = 8 bit
You are right. The web page says 1GB (with a capital B) in 2 places at the top but down below is says 1Gbit of memory. Talk about deceptive marketing. It did seem too good to be true ;).
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Well I think it's very good for a start. It will be affordable for everyone. It's a better way to build up a base than to start with an expensive product.
Our friend with a fast 060 config may not have the reason to upgrade this round, but everyone else will.
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Well I think it's very good for a start. It will be affordable for everyone. It's a better way to build up a base than to start with an expensive product.
Our friend with a fast 060 config may not have the reason to upgrade this round, but everyone else will.
Even if someone already has a fast 060 then it is interesting to buy. It has a lot of functionality including LAN and Gunnar has promised to add RTG as first step so you have already a accellerator with fast CPU, more RAM and graphic card and it is affordable. So I think it will be a good buy for everyone, even for power user.
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But would like a newer accelerator for the A1200 but if it's not going to be faster than the 060 then it's not worth it.
As you know performance if very hard to compare with a single number.
Every test you do will give you its own result.
Therefore saying this CPU is that much faster than that CPU is always unfair..
We did so far only a handfull of test.
E.g running the texture map demo, running dhrystone, running memspeed.
All three tests scored in the order of 68060@120-150 MHz - but this was for the small Vampire600 which has a 90nm Cyclone 2 FPGA.
The new 28nm Cyclone 5 card which you see on the teaser pictures is much stronger and much faster. We expect to double the performance with it.
We are right now very early in the testing. We believe that in 2 month we will be much further and will be able have AIB, sysinfo, and lame and other results.
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The new 28nm Cyclone 5 card which you see on the teaser pictures is much stronger and much faster. We expect to double the performance with it.
We are right now very early in the testing. We believe that in 2 month we will be much further and will be able have AIB, sysinfo, and lame and other results.
Will be watching :-) Have bought a few Amiga items, new projects etc and love nothing more than a new fast accelerator with a ton of RAM but for the A1200.
But there will be a huge demand for this from A500 users, the A500 needs a decent accelerator.
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@biggun, will you have any problem getting the 150 pin connector for the A1200 accelarator cards?
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I think our brothers from China can make any connector you can think of. :)
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In the animation of the two boards slotting together the 5x2 header appears to go straight through the HDMI connector. Will the 5x2 header need to be removed/unpopulated, will the 2x20 sockets be extended or will the HDMI connector be moved on a later revision?
Good luck with the project.
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@NG classic computer
I would like to have a stand alone system.
(in the meanwhile I have some A500 and A2000 (etc...))
But it would be nice to have future proof 68k as well. Those oldies are showing their age.
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@NG classic computer
I would like to have a stand alone system.
(in the meanwhile I have some A500 and A2000 (etc...))
But it would be nice to have future proof 68k as well. Those oldies are showing their age.
Gunnar (and the others) are planning a standalone system already, but one step after the other. A standalone system would need full tested AGA and similar and that needs time. The accellerators are the chance to get something relative quickly that works, helps and is affordable for most of us.
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Standalone system is not needed if We still have working Amigas. I think older models will have new life now. Faster than 060 CPU on CDTV? And AGA or SAGA support? I don't need A1200 anymore! :D
And I can use my A500 now (most beautifull amiga for me). Three times YES!
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And I can use my A500 now (most beautifull amiga for me). Three times YES!
+1
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In the animation of the two boards slotting together the 5x2 header appears to go straight through the HDMI connector. Will the 5x2 header need to be removed/unpopulated, will the 2x20 sockets be extended or will the HDMI connector be moved on a later revision?
Good luck with the project.
Yes noticed that when i did the mockup image and animation for Gunnar.
When the Apollo card is assembled IRL we will see how it works.
Maybe the BeMicro CV card that Gunnar has is different from the card I used or maybe my (very quick and not with the "correct" measurements) picture is off.
Just wait 2 more week TM :)
Here is a later rendered version with the pins removed
(http://i.imgur.com/ZBT7XNC.png)
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(http://i.imgur.com/7yqUiVh.png)
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I would so much love to get my A500 running with this board.
It was my first computer, and with this card the A500 can be extremely usefull agian
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Hard to do a good 3d model from lowres pictures and the only apollo card picture was not from the top but at an angle. Think it still is ok and you get a clue on how it will look in the end. And that was the purpose of the pictures.
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What if you've got a DKB Mega-chip installed? Or how about a kickstart switcher?
Will this interfere electronically or fit physically?
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I would so much love to get my A500 running with this board.
It was my first computer, and with this card the A500 can be extremely usefull agian
Same here. It was my first computer too. This will bring some new life to it.
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I knew I was hanging on to all of those classics for a reason!
Thank you for this!
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So will the HDMI port output all video, including all of the classic video modes in addition to any RTG modes? And if it does output the classic modes does it scan double?
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I would love one of these!
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I will be amazed if it has hdmi due to the the costs
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I will be amazed if it has hdmi due to the the costs
Would it be "illegal" to solder the HDMI connector on it yourself ? :))
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@Gunnar,
Forgive me if these questions have already been asked and answered previously in this thread. I might have missed a post or two while skimming through the whole thread.
Will you and the Apollo team be releasing these boards for sale before the RTG/SAGA is completed? If yes, do you think you will have a standard AGA implemented when these boards are first ready for sale, so that the A500 will then be able to run AGA software and games?
I am sure most buyers would rather have the team start selling these boards as soon as possible, assuming that the softcore 680x0 is working as an accelerator for which ever Classic Amiga these boards are installed into, and hopefully the Ethernet and USB, plus 128mb of RAM are also working when first released. The RTG/SAGA stuff can come later, as long as we have the original Amiga display still working, or standard Amiga resolutions & color depth being re-routed out through the HDMI connector, until the RTG/SAGA display is finished.
Will the Ethernet & USB2.0 connectors be completely supported and working when first released? Are they finished now?
I think your team has a real winner with this product(s) and you will get hundreds of orders, so one of your tasks that is coming up soon is figuring out how to fund mass production and get accurate numbers of how many buyers you will have, so you can decide how many boards to produce, without making too many or too few. One member here suggested that you might look at something like Kickstarter to fund production and gauge how many buyers you might have. Depending on price, I will probably want 2 or 3 of them, but may start with ordering only 1 for my A1000, or A500, to see how well they work. No, on 2nd thought, I want to put an Apollo into one of my 2 CDTV's. I like the way both the A1000 and CDTV look as my favorite Amiga models, appearance wise anyway.
It will be quite amazing to compare my A1000, or CDTV with one of these board combinations against my A1200 w/68060 @50Mhz, 256mb RAM, USB & SCSI. Looking forward to reading more about your plans and when all of us can order an Apollo accelerator card.
Let us know as much as you can about your progress and plans for the future of these products.
Edit: Djole wrote Would it be "illegal" to solder the HDMI connector on it yourself ?
I was thinking exactly the same thing. There must be a way around having to pay that large license fee for HDMI.
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Standalone system is not needed if We still have working Amigas. I think older models will have new life now. Faster than 060 CPU on CDTV? And AGA or SAGA support? I don't need A1200 anymore! :D
And I can use my A500 now (most beautifull amiga for me). Three times YES!
This must indeed be a pretty exciting product to get you to make your first post since joining us 4+ years ago :D. I'm pretty excited about it myself!
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I'm guessing that the Apollo accelerator boards might renew interest in 68k coding. New projects that take advantage of the increased RAM, faster CPU speed, etc.
Do any of you other members who have experience with 68k Assembly programming, or any other programming languages, that might have written 1 or more software titles for the Amiga have any increased interest to work on new projects now that we may be getting such a significant boost in performance for our old Amiga computers?
Will a better Web Browser be possible with the increased performance of the Apollo boards, or will we need to also wait for better graphics modes, before a better Web Browser will be possible?
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Will a better Web Browser be possible with the increased performance of the Apollo boards, or will we need to also wait for better graphics modes, before a better Web Browser will be possible?
Most web designers don't take the 216 web colors recommendations seriously. Palette graphics won't make web pages look right. You'll have to wait for the truecolor modes of SuperAGA.
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So will the HDMI port output all video, including all of the classic video modes in addition to any RTG modes? And if it does output the classic modes does it scan double?
The idea is for the accelerator to have an AGA compatible core on the FPGA. This means that the Classic video modes will work via the HDMI (or DVI if HDMI proves unworkable). This also means AGA software will work on old ECS or OCS systems with the on-board AGA core.
Whether the on-board graphics will be standard or an add-on is another matter.
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I'm guessing that the Apollo accelerator boards might renew interest in 68k coding. New projects that take advantage of the increased RAM, faster CPU speed, etc.
I think it couldn't hurt at all. For me it's both the increased performance and the network port. Since I've got back into Amiga stuff I honestly haven't used them much for lack of a way to seamlessly hook them into my network. I don't have the patience to deal with floppies at all and most other solutions I have seen for network or CF cards and such weren't alluring enough in themselves to want to go out and get them.
I've had ideas for projects I want to write to help support the Amiga but reluctant to go there due to the above. With a network in place I can easily cross compile, and with the increased performance software features that wouldn't have been possible before will now be possible (more intensive media playback, etc.). That said I'd still want to support 68000 Amigas, just faster ones can actually use features slower Amigas can't.
Anyway, I do hope it comes to fruition and I'll see about getting some code written.
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@Gunnar,
Will you and the Apollo team be releasing these boards for sale before the RTG/SAGA is completed? If yes, do you think you will have a standard AGA implemented when these boards are first ready for sale, so that the A500 will then be able to run AGA software and games?
I am sure most buyers would rather have the team start selling these boards as soon as possible, assuming that the softcore 680x0 is working as an accelerator for which ever Classic Amiga these boards are installed into, and hopefully the Ethernet and USB, plus 128mb of RAM are also working when first released. The RTG/SAGA stuff can come later, as long as we have the original Amiga display still working, or standard Amiga resolutions & color depth being re-routed out through the HDMI connector, until the RTG/SAGA display is finished.
Will the Ethernet & USB2.0 connectors be completely supported and working when first released? Are they finished now?
Edit: Djole wrote I was thinking exactly the same thing. There must be a way around having to pay that large license fee for HDMI.
Quick answers until Gunnar give you more offical answers.
The idea is to first release it as an accelerator with memory. And then at a later on add RTG/AGA/SAGA with a system update.
With a Picasso96 driver written it can be possible to use the HDMI for RTG but there is no way to reroute the Amiga output before the ECS/AGA chipset is completed in the FPGA.
Ethernet driver will come when then driver is written.
There is no USB 2.0 on the card so dont know where you got that from.
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I do not see A1200 on that list, so I assume it wont be usable with it?
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@Niding
I should hope it would support the A1200 since that's the only working Classic Amiga I have left! Since the trapdoor-slot connector is only available from Individual Computer (the maker of the ACA 12xx series accelerator boards) or by custom build, it may be among the later or last ones to be supported. I'm looking forward to it nonetheless!
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@Niding
I should hope it would support the A1200 since that's the only working Classic Amiga I have left! Since the trapdoor-slot connector is only available from Individual Computer (the maker of the ACA 12xx series accelerator boards) or by custom build, it may be among the later or last ones to be supported. I'm looking forward to it nonetheless!
@niding. Yes a1200 is planned to be supported laer as well as all aga systems. I will get one for my a500 to begin, if the project works out.
@samurai crow, I wondered about the trapdoor connector; I just got a nice white a1200; when I opened the trapdoor, I saw no connector pins. I rmemebr having an 030 installed there in my old a1200. I need to buy a connector?
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The A1200 expansion board uses a "card edge connector" which plugs into the edge of the PCB where there are gold plated tracks intended to create an electrical connection with the card edge connector.
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The version you link to has 1GB of memory instead of 128MB. The brand, board layout and connectors look to be the same. The price is right too. Anybody want a 1GB memory Amiga for Christmas?
One for a A1200 and I'll take one too. :) Please ! ! ! ! ! !
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The A1200 expansion board uses a "card edge connector" which plugs into the edge of the PCB where there are gold plated tracks intended to create an electrical connection with the card edge connector.
Uhhh... What kind of A1200 are YOU looking at? There is a socket similar to the PCMCIA with pins only bigger. If you look inside the case toward the motherboard, you should be able to see it. It's inside the case though so you have to look to the side.
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Uhhh... What kind of A1200 are YOU looking at? There is a socket similar to the PCMCIA with pins only bigger. If you look inside the case toward the motherboard, you should be able to see it. It's inside the case though so you have to look to the side.
I think you are going to have to post a picture - as that doesnt sound quite right to me ...
N
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@samurai crow, I wondered about the trapdoor connector; I just got a nice white a1200; when I opened the trapdoor, I saw no connector pins. I rmemebr having an 030 installed there in my old a1200. I need to buy a connector?
The FPGA doesn't fit directly in the Amiga motherboard on any model. There will be an adapter for the FPGA to plug into. The FPGA board will be the same for all Amigas but there will be different adapters for various models of Amiga motherboards. The first will plug into a 68000 socket and others are planned to follow.
The reason I mentioned the socket connector for the A1200 is that Jens at Individual Computer had to custom tool RoHS compliant socket connectors for his accelerator cards. Selling them in Europe would be illegal otherwise due to the lead content in the old ones.
Team Apollo will need sockets from him or custom tooled all over again to be able to make the adapter board for the FPGA to fit in and still be legal to sell in Europe. Otherwise it will have to fit over the 68EC020 like an A600 accelerator. :-(
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I think you are going to have to post a picture - as that doesnt sound quite right to me ...
I have my A1200 in storage right now. :( The A500 and I think CD32 had edge-cards but the A1200 had ones with less capacitance with pins inside a plastic shield.
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The FPGA doesn't fit directly in the Amiga motherboard on any model. There will be an adapter for the FPGA to plug into. The FPGA board will be the same for all Amigas but there will be different adapters for various models of Amiga motherboards. The first will plug into a 68000 socket and others are planned to follow.
The reason I mentioned the socket connector for the A1200 is that Jens at Individual Computer had to custom tool RoHS compliant socket connectors for his accelerator cards. Selling them in Europe would be illegal otherwise due to the lead content in the old ones.
Team Apollo will need sockets from him or custom tooled all over again to be able to make the adapter board for the FPGA to fit in and still be legal to sell in Europe. Otherwise it will have to fit over the 68EC020 like an A600 accelerator. :-(
A1200 has an edge connector.
Sell it in china then :) RoHS is bullsh.t anyway...
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Picture here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_1200#mediaviewer/File:Amiga_1200_A1200_-_IMGP1130.JPG
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Picture here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_1200#mediaviewer/File:Amiga_1200_A1200_-_IMGP1130.JPG
Yes thats what it looks like in my a1200, all normal then. I will expand it over the coming months. If this apollo board happens I may wait for it instead of paying for an acellerator now, I guess.
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apparently there is some progress here:
http://www.a1k.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45193
and apparently here too, just wonder why this section seems not to be visible otherwise:
http://www.majsta.com/modules.php?name=News&file=categories&op=newindex&catid=7
also another standalone amiga fpga development here:
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?p=966964#post966964
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No progress report please, we know you are working hard.
btw. I read that the suggested price will 250 euro or more. It's good value for a greater than 100mhz 060 accelerator card.
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Which is this, "two more weeks", "when it's ready" or "vapour ware"?