in case you are interested to test new fpga accelerators for a600/a500

[IanP]

Is 500 Mhz 68020 slower than 100 Mhz 68060? if they can make a 68020 run at 500 Mhz, why can't they make a 68060 run at 500 Mz instead or even 1 Ghz?

Talking about MHz and processor version numbers isn't very useful other than to say a new core is equivalent to X @ Y MHz. The instruction set will cover the 680x0 CPUs and may be extended further, the core will use modern processor techniques so it isn't an '020 or an '060 it's something a whole lot better.

[IanP]

The development boards referred to in this thread are combo cards like this pair for the A500/A1000/A2000. A pair including an adapter board with a PLCC socket for the A600 is proposed.

[IanP]

There is a version of the FPGA board that is 4 times bigger, so space for logic/features will not be an issue for those prepared to pay for it.

[IanP]

With (large enough) FPGA you can go on extending, the core adding new features and end users can upgrade to the new core. There could be an annual release cycle for improvements in the core for some years to come. This allows a "new generation" of "classic" Amigas or "NG Classics". They still run ALL the classic software natively (chipset/bad code limitations may still apply) and also run ALL "NG Classic" software like web browsers, video players, 3D Games etc. "NG Classic" software will NOT run on "classic" Amigas without installing an upgrade card but so what! AGA software doesn't run on OCS/ECS either currently. It would be foolish to not take the opportunity of upgrading the "CPU" with an improved ISA just because the code will not run on Motorola/Freescale "CPU" limited Amigas.

[IanP]

The new ISA will be documented at the user level. Implementation will be proprietary just as it was for Motorola.

[IanP]

Motorola giving up on 68k and moving to CPU32/Coldfire/PPC/ARM was a major blow for the Amiga at a time when Commodore/Amiga International didn't have the resources to handle it. Amiga development has stalled until FPGAs have become powerful and cheap enough to pick up where Motorola left of.

[IanP]

Probably, if all versions of the Apollo shared the same ISA. It could get messy fast trying to cope with all the different options. My guess is that it will continue to change for some time yet but only Gunnar can say if that will be the case.

Public release need to be limited to major milestone versions and bug fixes only. Beta releases are another matter, assembler/compiler writers and beta testers should have access to more frequent releases.