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Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga Hardware News => Topic started by: xeron on April 24, 2006, 12:34:27 PM
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ACK Software Controls, Inc. has announced the upcoming availability of two new AmigaOne XE & Micro CPU modules. The first CPU module will be equipped with a Freescale MC7448 CPU clocked at 1GHz. The 1GHz module will retail for $500.00 US Dollars. The second CPU module will be equipped with a Freescale MC7448 clocked at 1.7GHz will retail for $850.00 US Dollars. Both CPU modules will be eqipped with a high quality heatsink and fan to ensure quiet, reliable operation.
Estimated Availability June 19/2006
If you are interested, send mail to: a.kowalczyk@sympatico.ca
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I do not usually comment on these type of things, but did I miss something here.
I thought they were supposed to be developing replacement mobos to the A1.
These prices seem very high. I assumne they are cutting edge for PPC, but what is the point
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Some people have broken CPU modules, others just want faster CPUs. The extremely high price tag is all down to low production numbers.
Sure, they're very expensive for what they are, but if someone wants it and can afford it, well, now they can have it.
Edit: Also, this is a seperate project from the PowerVixxen, which is an alternative to the AmigaOne and uses a cheaper CPU.
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wooof... :-o
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Meow ?
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actually I'd be tempted by a 1.7GHz G4 - represents one hell of an upgrade on my 800MHz G3.
$850USD represents something like £500GBP. (today it was £475)
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Hmmm...
It's nice that they're available and those people with fried CPUs can now replace them, but I think I'll stick with the 800MHz chip in my A1. They're just too expensive to justity upgrading such a board - The A1's low memory speed and slow frontside bus just can't use these chips to their full potential. Now if we could see these chips in a newer motherboard....
I'm still game for a PowerVixxen, though!
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The prices are good if you compare to the equivalent MAC upgrade. :-)
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Pegasos II Motherboard and 7447 1GHz CPU-module: $618 USD
Pegasos II 7447 1GHz CPU-module alone: $304 USD
Pegasos II 750->7447 CPU-upgrade: $251 USD
(today's prices in a swedish shop, incl taxes, used google's currency converter).
Damn Mac upgrades must be overpriced like hell...
CLS2086, you were kidding right?
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Piru
yes the mathematics speak for themselves... rather stunning the pricing, but understandable.
However, why anyone would sink that into their A1 is beyond me, I mean what would this pure cpu power be needed for with OS4?? We all know linux isnt fully supported so that is no real argument, especially considering the bus and ram speed and HW bugs..
A1 owners should by a complete Peg setup and have 2 boxes instead of 1.
But, I will say it its a good option for people who have fried cpu cards. Where is Eyetech? They dont honor warranty??
magnetic
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I bought a powerpc mac mini (1.3ghz) brand new from apple for £360 with 40gb hd and 512mb ram.
Not that overpriced.. :)
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I had not considered people who had burnt out cpu modules. And I understand to a degree why the price so high. I also am all for, if you can afford it, and want it , then why not buy it. It does not affect my life in anyway.
It just seems a bit of a waste of time is all
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@magnetic
Not everyone wants a Pegasos. I'd rather get a faster CPU for my A1 than buy a Pegasos. But as it is i'm probably not going to buy either since there are many other things to spend my money on.
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@magnetic
Some of those people have had their CPU die since the warranty expired. Although I'm not excusing Eyetech for the warranties they havn't honored.
And Helgis for example wouldn't have been covered because he invalidated his warranty by overclocking the CPU.
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@piru
Shame the modules arn't interchangeable.
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Just wondering why Mac modules won't work? The old PowerMac G4 has the same megarray connector, as far as I remember, and a Sonnet encore dual 1.8Ghz G4 is $250 cheaper than the single 1.7Ghz above while a 1Ghz G4 is $200. Surely that makes more sense for A1 owners who absolutely must have a new CPU.
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A1 owners should by a complete Peg setup and have 2 boxes instead of 1.
I think alot of people would happily do that, but not when it does not run OS4. All i want is hardware that is reasonable priced and can run OS4. A pegasos board with MorphOS is not a option for me.
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Excellent news.
Considering it cost me almost £200 to get my CPU module repaired, these prices are pretty reasonable too.
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IIRC originally there was agreement between bPlan and Eyetech to use the same CPU module slots. Obviously after the holy war broke out (which some people still haven't quite got over it seems) and Eyetech went the Mai route, that idea went right out of the window.
Another IIRC. While the interface is physically the same as the ones used on Mac cards, the socket itself is electrically different.
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"Just wondering why Mac modules won't work? The old PowerMac G4 has the same megarray connector, as far as I remember, and a Sonnet encore dual 1.8Ghz G4 is $250 cheaper than the single 1.7Ghz above while a 1Ghz G4 is $200. Surely that makes more sense for A1 owners who absolutely must have a new CPU."
The socket is the same but they are wired different so they will not work in an A1.
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A1 owners should by a complete Peg setup and have 2 boxes instead of 1.
Cana peg run OS4? If not, then I personally have no use for it.
Do we really need 1.7GHz? For most of us, probably not. But some would like it anyway. I'm not suprized by the price. Look up pricing for the CPU alone, in ROHS compliant version, and see what kind of pricing there is to get the components...
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I'm confused, (Yes, AGAIN!) about the AmigaOne situation. This upgrade will be good for people who actually HAVE AmigaOnes, but what does it actually do for people like me who still don't have one? And is Eyetech the only one still interested, or somewhat interested, in still making AmigaOnes? I'm mainly concerned with WHOEVER can make a good realiable motherboard/CPU that will let me use OS4 and all 68K Amiga software. Clarification please! Thanks again.
Ed
:-? :-? :-?
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It was rumored that the holdup on getting new A1s available was the lack of CPUs. Maybe this will change that. What it doesn't change though is my earlier comment that these CPUs can't be fully utilized due to the inferior bus design of the A1.
Some things that could help:
1. New motherboard that can use these modules (already rumored)
2. Adaptor to use these modules in a Pegasos as Genesi have yet to deliver their 7448 boards.
3. Adaptor to use Sonnett Mac boards in the A1 - this could be a $10 part if it's as simple as changing the MegArray pinout (though it may not be...).
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@Lando
Quote:
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Just wondering why Mac modules won't work? The old PowerMac G4 has the same megarray connector, as far as I remember, and a Sonnet encore dual 1.8Ghz G4 is $250 cheaper than the single 1.7Ghz above while a 1Ghz G4 is $200. Surely that makes more sense for A1 owners who absolutely must have a new CPU.
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You are asking the wrong question..............the correct question is "Why the heck did they insist on designing it differently"
I believe they did that on purpose..and shot themselves in the foot!, Which company in their right minds would start manufacturing tons of CPU's for a measly AmigaONE? I wouldnt..........the smart thing to do was to go with the same excat design as the Mac ones...so that they can be plugged right in.............Amiga is trying to go Compaq and HP.....with their proprietary style PC's........
Not a good decision. I think this type of thing happens probably when companies get greedy and think they can make a market to swindle people out of buying cheaper but equal Mac PPC processors. And in doing so make 10 times less than they thought they would.
I can imagine it must sound like a great idea at first.............problem is..We humans are an intelligent bunch, not dumb enough to fall for things like that....although some do..probably intentionally out of desperation for the machine, as I admittedly do sometimes. But how many people do that? not many...........
Greed will always, always always destroy a company...........whereas, if you make an excellent fair priced machine that kicks butt to the competition, people will flock.......and as a seide effect.......The manufacturers will make tons of cash......which is what they sought originally in their greedy plan...............Honesty Pays!
Not accusing any company here.............just painting a scenario of what I think is happening.....and what I suspect is part of what happened at commodore when they got the Ultra silly idea of manufacturing PC Clones and think people will buy em. hahaha. Sheesh.
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It may have had something to do with the fact that Mac CPU sockets are not documented, are not compatible across many Mac models (even of the same general time). It may also have had something to do with ease of routing; the Mac pinout might have been awkward to lay out with the rest of the PCB.
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The point is to show that the A1 has a foothold as a PC competator and is keeping up with the times, and the prices reflect the fact that these are still Early-Bird systems, meaning low production levels.
Just wait until OS4 is released, then you will see a dramatic shift in prices as A1 sales and manufacturing will increase.
I am one of those waiting for the release of a finished OS4 and bug free U-Boot, at that time the Motherboards will be polished off and have proper packaging and the CPU's will fall in price due to increased demand.
The fact that the CPUs have been made is promising, as it will increase sales due to PC users who (remembering the Amiga but comparing it to a PC for CPU power) may make the switch over.
You have to remember that they are trying to make a PC beater, and this is exactly the way to go about it, the price tag at this stage in the game is inevitable, demand has to increase for the tag to fall, and believe me demand will be high; just not at this point.
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A1 owners should by a complete Peg setup and have 2 boxes instead of 1.
Why? As long as Pegasos can't run AmigaOS 4 it's useless for me. ~600USD is too much when hardware can't run the OS I want. Sure it's possible to run Linux on it, but why? I did pay 30EUR for complete 1Ghz Athlon Thunderbird PC with 512MB ram + Radeon etc. It runs Debian just fine. I wont buy 600USD Pegasos just to run Linux on it. If it would run OS4 too then I might.
In other hand AmigaOne can run OS4 and if I would have one, I might be tempted to buy one of those new CPU boards, even if it's expensive.
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Why? As long as Pegasos can't run AmigaOS 4 it's useless for me. ~600USD is too much when hardware can't run the OS I want. Sure it's possible to run Linux on it, but why? I did pay 30EUR for complete 1Ghz Athlon Thunderbird PC with 512MB ram + Radeon etc. It runs Debian just fine. I wont buy 600USD Pegasos just to run Linux on it. If it would run OS4 too then I might.
Pretty much why I don't buy a A1 or a Peg. But for the love of what's right, I can buy this (http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=80152&Category_Code=AMDC&pwselect=110645,120465,800083,800127,&AFFIL=pricewatch&NR=1) for about as much as the upper end PPC card. And I can do a hell of alot more useful thing with it then I can with PPC.
Dammy
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As allready said, this is good, although expensive news ;-)
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Just out of interest...
what performance boost would I get over my current 800(133)MHz 750Fx ?
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@Piru : yes I did a bit :lol:
For those who don't know :
You can :
change the MOS start picture to the OS4 one (or whatever you like)
install OS3.9 to give a AOS style look,
install OS4Emu to run some OS4 programms and demos.
Warp3D emultation is already include in MOS.
You'll just have to install E-UAE+roms to enjoy old non WB friendly programms... exactly like you'll do with an AONE... :roll:
MOS and AOS4 are just some names, you can change them easily if you wish :-D
I know lot of people who really need these speeddy modules to perform 3D animations and games.
About the CPU connectors, the fact is that its exist some copyrights about pîns assignement, this explain why AONE, PEG, MACS.... have a different wired connector.
@Agafaster : around 1x more up to 10x for the 1.0GHz CPU module depending of what you're doing with it ...
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@Agafaster : around 1x more up to 10x for the 1.0GHz CPU module depending of what you're doing with it ...
ta.
I know basically there will be either a mathematical difference, or a quantum leap given the G3 not having the G4's altivec unit, but as a rule of thumb, I used blade-enc to encode Master Of Puppets (track) to MP3, it took about 3-4 mins (rule of thumb).
The things I use my A1 for are Web, MP3 coding, and E-UAE emulation.(and coding, but I hardly get time these days !)
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Why? As long as Pegasos can't run AmigaOS 4 it's useless for me.
Now I think that's the exact point upon which even such insane pricing can be (and were) safely built upon. Your choice - your money. I think there is nothing wrong in it in itself. I went the other route, true, but I can still understand it.
There's little reason bashing the pricing of something you wouldn't buy anyway.
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I'd hold off until its actually released if I had a A1. Otherwise..do like me..back the blue, just indirectly.. lol.
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Billt
Please tell me 3 advantages OS4 has over MOS. MOS is much more advanced and compatible with legacy apps...
magnetic
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Holy freakin' cow. I think my whole PC is worth less than the 1.7 GHz version. :-o
Remember those old Volkswagen ads where they said, "you could get a VW, washer, dryer, TV, record player, etc., all for the same price as another manufacturer's car"?
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Hey, We're not here to debate/argue/flamewar Amiga OS4 vs. Morphos.
I'm not even sure why anyone is talking about Morphos in this news item, as it is about CPU upgrades for AmigaOnes which obviously don't run Morphos. People have made thier choices, live with it.
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@magnetic
I'm really intreasted in a upgrade.. the 1.0 GHz is not really so mutch a speed up from my current
G4, then there is the 1.7 GHz which is really expencive.. ohh Im tempet but the price, that's why I'm
waiting for some test showing it off, before deciting.. If there was somthing in between that whould
proberly apeall better to me.
Let me give you some reasons why I'm intreasted
1) All the programs that use Newlib will get a huge speedup as there is now more AltiVec units as Newlib is really optimized to the G4 AltiVec unit.
2) There is the bigger cache that will improve all emulators.
3) Then there is MPlayer (last version) there had trouble playing all movies in Realtime.
4) and using GCC can also use the extra CPU power.. maybe I\m just impassion.
5) well my RC5 cruncher problerly wont complain either ;-)
RWO
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@RWO
1) All the programs that use Newlib will get a huge speedup as there is now more AltiVec units as Newlib is really optimized to the G4 AltiVec unit.
Last I checked the only functions in libc that can be really altivec optimized are the memory copy, move etc. Considering the setup time of register saving and cache considerations the speedup is really limited. Eventually the system memory bus speed will limit the gains (even with 2MB L2 cache). If you think more altivec units would give "huge speedups", I'm sorry to disappoint you. Finally, since only few of the functions are really altivec optimized, not "all the programs that use Newlib" get performance gains.
3) Then there is MPlayer (last version) there had trouble playing all movies in Realtime.
That's weird, considering 7447@1000 can easily play any movies. Only HD clips are too much.
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Holy freakin' cow. I think my whole PC is worth less than the 1.7 GHz version.
It's about 47 percent of my laptop....
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The point is to show that the A1 has a foothold as a PC competator and is keeping up with the times,
The mainstream market wouldn’t consider such solution as a "serious" competitor since AMD/Intel markets the entire platform** i.e. Turion**/LIVE and Centrino**/VIIV respectively.
**includes USB2.0, wifi, effective chipsets(DDR/DDR2, PCI-E, SATA, Ethernet, Modem), HD-Audio and 'etc'.
Note that Intel designs and sells DX9c class IGP which kills Altivec (in the area that needs extensive SIMD/MIMD e.g. video and shader accelarator task). Both ATI and Intel have demo'ed DX10 class GPUs/IGPs. Remember that today's DX9 GPUs are SIMD/MIMD processors.
You have to remember that they are trying to make a PC beater, and this is exactly the way to go about it, the price tag at this stage in the game is inevitable, demand has to increase for the tag to fall, and believe me demand will be high; just not at this point.
Hardly a PC beater even at price parity. There's more to a PC then just the CPU.
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You have to remember that they are trying to make a PC beater, and this is exactly the way to go about it, the price tag at this stage in the game is inevitable, demand has to increase for the tag to fall, and believe me demand will be high; just not at this point.
Hardly a PC beater even at price parity. There's more to a PC then just the CPU.
Wraith was joking, obviously. Weren't you, Wraith?
Please, for the love of everything holy, say you were just kidding!