MiniMig with AGA

[NovaCoder]

The WinUAE Amiga side P96 driver is closed source. Nevertheless the Minimig on the Replay board will have a true-colour RTG board and dedicated P96 driver (yes, I will write it). It won't happen before the 020 compatible CPU core is available (guess why).

The AGA chipset will be enhanced with chunky modes very soon. The chip memory bus access is already contention free but will be improved significantly in the near future.

Cool this is what I (and loads of other people) wanted to hear.  

How are coders (like myself) going to support these new chunky modes?   Will it be as easy as a patch to the API (eg writeChunkyPixels) to use the new modes?  In other words, patch the API so that it skips the internal C2P.

You should also have a word with Ratte (the guy behind HighGFX) to see if he can create some new WB screen modes for this sucker.

[NovaCoder]

The only problem with getting it in a A1200 case would be the height of the IO connectors. You could order a board without the PS/2, Joystick and video connectors fitted and cable it instead I guess.

I have a 1200 case in the UK I'll pick up next month, so I'll see if it fits.
/Mike

If this thing does take off you could always talk to AmigaKit to see if they are interested in funding a drop-in A1200 MB replacement option

If you did go for the replacement 1200 MB option I wonder how much work it would be include a CardBus slot (eg update the PCMCIA)?

[NovaCoder]

Where are these guides?

[off-topic]
guide
[/off-topic]

Can't wait to see this thing in Action, I hope it will grow to eventually replace the need for real hardware and offer a nice alternative to emulation.

[NovaCoder]

It's a shame one of the few remaining Amiga 'players' aren't involved with this promising product (eg AmigaKit, ACube, Vesalia, Jens) to get it out quickly and market it properly.

[NovaCoder]

Not quite. The board has a high quality Wolson DAC (WM8729) with a decent analogue supply. This supports 192KHz at 24 bit audio..
Mike

Mmm a 24bit Paula to go with the new chunky and HAM10 modes would be lovely.

Then all we need is someone to hack (patch) the OS to take advantage of the updated hardware features

I know, I know......one day.

[NovaCoder]

@MikeJ,

Is there any chance that you will have a finished and running FPGAARCADE board available to demo at the AmiWest 2010 Show in Sacramento, CA in two weeks?

This year's show is going to be the biggest show they have ever had.  They are trying to find ways to make more room for the banquet dinner seating to accommodate the number of people that want to attend.

It would be great if you could be there to show off your work, or if that is impossible, find someone else that could show it for you and ship a board to them.  I am sure it will be a great hit at the show and it seems that you are getting it finished just in time.

I'd second that....it would be one of the stars of the show if it could make it there

[NovaCoder]

Well, sadly the board will not make it to AmiWest. I'm in Taiwan at the moment and I didn't receive the boards back from production before I left. In fact they have been very quiet so I'm a bit concernced.

I'll have to send the boys round when I get back ...
/Mike

That's a shame, oh well....hopefully we'll see them soon

[NovaCoder]

Latest update, the boards have been shipped back to me so I hope to get them before the weekend

There is a video of the production as well, but I haven't got it yet.
/Mike

Good to hear, how long after you get the boards will they be available to purchase?   Are you going to be selling them from your site directly?

Also, any update on how the AGA and 68020 FPGA reimplementation’s are coming along?

[NovaCoder]

Can some kind soul wack the pics into this thread (I'm blocked from http://www.fpgaaracade.com)

[NovaCoder]

Cool thanks.

No blocked at work (can't view anything 'game' related or any hard-core porn sites).

[NovaCoder]

So, soft-core porn is OK?

I have to spend my time doing something....

[NovaCoder]

Can I ask a stupid question.

This board is meant to fix in a standard PC Mini-IT type case but the ports don't appear to all on the same side so how will this work?

Also are we going to have another ACube situ with a lack of metal with holes in type deal?



This thread is almost at 100k views (currently 99,022), that's pretty damn impressive don't ya think?

[NovaCoder]

Very impressive Yaqube my good man, you just beat my Blizzard Mk4 1230!

How much further to you think this can go...we need more speed dammit!



Can the clock go any higher than 28Mhz?

As you well know the main performance inhibitor in a classic AGA machine is not actually the speed of the CPU but the slow CHIPRAM access.   Because this AGA implementation doesn't suffer from this hindrance, in real-world terms (eg WB usage) how much faster will this thing be at 10 MIPS than a real AGA machine also at 10 MIPS?

[NovaCoder]

Finally I have had some time to make tests with my new Replay expansion board. I was very curious how fast the 060 rev. 6 can run. It was able to run very stable from 3.3V with a very small heat sink and fan at over 100 MHz.

Yes 100Mhz is no problem, just ask the Atari boys

After this board has been fully developed (FPGA + 060 add-on) it may be able to put any expanded (non PPC) A4000 to shame....