New x86 "accelerator" for Classic Amiga?

[DrValkyer]

Amiga is today in the situation where it cannot be used as a main computer even for simple general stuff, like browsing Youtube, using some non-amiga applications and so.  Of course I understand this; Classic Amiga HW is too slow for some modern applications or porting them to AOS is impossible/difficult.

So I got this little idea, dunno if you guys have already talked about it but here it is anyway, why not use x86 hw as a accelerator for classic Amiga?  And no, I haven't smoked pot recently or drunk alcohol, thank you!  :-D

[color=800000]"WTF? A new x86 turboboard for classic? Insane! :pissed: "[/color]

No, I mean that we could use old/new x86-PC as a server for x86 programs and then only the GUI+graphics were drawn in AmigaOS like in x-windows system.  So for example we could use PC with linux + x-windows-server and modified x-windows-client on Amiga.

[color=800000]"Huh, why not use VNC / RemoteDesktop?"[/color]

Because it sucks! I want feel programs like they were native applications, not some mirrored mess in one little window. This could be achieved by using special "launch"-icons on workbench and special x-windowing-system.  

For example if I launched a special-icon (pointing to a x86-program on PC) on my workbench then it would launch a x-window-client on Amiga which itself would tell the PC to run this program and mirror it's GUI+graphics back to the Amiga by using x-windows.  When we add a twoway-networkfilesystem to this I could use Amiga files from PC program just like the PC program were running on Amiga natively.

One usage scenario could be for example to use Gimp on Linux.  At first I just clicked my Gimp-icon on workbench and then the linux-PC would start running the Gimp and I could see the Gimp GUI on my Amiga.  For next I could save the image manipulated in Gimp and save it to the AmigaHD via NFS and voi'la I would see a new image file on my Amiga machine!

In this way one could run virtually any application which exits on Linux/Unix. And think about possibility to use small ITX-PC-boards as an embedded "turbo-board" on your AmigaTower!  The small ITX board could be even clued into your empty Zorro / PCI slot :-D  and you would feel like it were a real accelerator board! :-)

[color=800000]"Ok, so what about the connection and it's bandwith problems?"[/color]

At first the x-windowing + PC-controlling could be done via normal ethernet network but this may cause problems.  I am not sure but I think that the networking on Amiga is not fast enough to be able to carry realtime-graphics even on local-network (this true?), so this would make the graphics to slowdown and jam and for example browsing internet wouldn't be so smooth anymore.  Of course a special HW-link (Amiga-PC) could be build for this and all x-windows + stuff would be transfered via this fast link.

[color=800000]"Ok, so what if it were possible? Why not just use directly the damn PC?"[/color]

Hey! I am making here the assumption that one wants to use Amiga as a main workstation at any cost, also slaving CoreDuo-PCs would be funny. What do you think?  :-?  :-D

[DrValkyer]

Sorry, I completely fail to see the point. Why not use WinUAE ...

Hell yes this is unrational idea :-D , but arent't you with the WinUAE/AROS in the same situation?  

The point is (if there is any) to be able to run x86 software on Amiga "smoothly" like they were native applications, can you do this inside WinUAE?

If windowing system were build in right way I dont think that you should need to rewrite target-programs at all only heavily modified x-server + x-client but like piru said the whole x-windowing probably wouldn't look AOS anymore.

And yes I have tried AROS a long time ago when it still were buggy (nowadays different story).

I just don't see a point using WinUAE + task switching because then I would prefer to use two desktops at same time (heh like I am doing it with Amiga right now). :lol:

[DrValkyer]

In short, imagine an Amiga accelerator. But instead of a, say, 68060, there's an X86 emulating it.

Sounds interesting :-)
Do you mean that you would attach PC somehow to the Expansion Port of Amiga?

[DrValkyer]

Oh, what about for starters to just connect expansion port to the PCI-bus of PC (emulate 68k) and so make a protype and dev-platform. For example by using PCI-FPGA board,  like Dragon (pretty expensive 300$,hmm heard that name somewhere... the most likely Dragon named turbocard we are ever going to get :-P)

[DrValkyer]

Well, you lost me. You want a X86 accelerator in a amiga with pci slots.

Nope! My first post was about running x86 apps on x86 and then showing the results on Miggy's screen.

My later post was a reply to skurk. And what I meant was that if someone is going to build an turbocard using a x86 processor which software emulates mk68 processor it would be better to start with a PCI-FPGA card which is connected to the normal PC which itself is running mk68-emulator and using PCI-FPGA card as mk68-busboard. This way you virtually dont have to do anything than connect PCI-FPGA card in right way to Amiga's expansion port and program the FPGA.

Huh, getting complex... :-D