Will there be an ACA1240 or ACA1260?

[spirantho]

@AmigaClassicRule
Please don't buy an ACA because you expect a faster one later - I think it's very unlikely Jens will make one, and he's never promised he will.
Things to bear in mind:
The 68030 is based on the 68020 - it's a simple accelerator. The 68040 is NOT - it is quite different, which is why you need 68040.library and not a 68030.library. 68060 is closer to 68020 in many ways, but in other ways even more incompatible.
The 68040 is a real heat monster. This is why you should only use 68040s in towered Amigas. 68060s are better.
68060s are near impossible to find new, I believe. Chinese suppliers claim to have them but there's doubt as to how genuine they are. 68040s the same, but I don't even think the Chinese sell them.

I can't speak for Jens, but I get the strong impression that there will be never be a faster ACA than the 56MHz one - and he's already discontinued that one.
Certainly don't just buy an ACA in the expectation of getting a faster one down the line - the ACA is a fantastic accelerator as it is, buy it for that reason. Then you won't be disappointed.

Incidentally, a 200MHz 68030? Maximum speed on a 68030 is 50MHz (the 56MHz is overclocked and pushing it) I believe? 200MHz or even 100MHz is completely impossible without a major redesign - and it wouldn't be a 68030 any more.

[spirantho]

What he said, basically.

The 68060 is a dodgy deal at the best of times. Jens has worked very hard to build up a reputation of quality hardware, it just doesn't make sense that he'd risk a lot of time and money in developing a board when the only supply of processors he has is from Chinese resellers who are apparently selling chips which the manufacturer denies all knowledge of. I know I wouldn't do that in a million years.

And what is the gain of making a 68060 accelerator anyway? It's not necessary for 95% of Amiga stuff, and for the other 5% die-hard Amigans can still get 68060 accelerators on eBay or whatever - sure they're more expensive, but a lot less expensive than developing a new accelerator. Like it or not, most Amigans use 68030 because it's probably the best compromise of compatibility and speed, and often use WinUAE for stuff that depends high power. There's not really a great many people out there who would cough up the extra for a 68060, as most people just don't have the need.

I keep seeing people posting about how "x should do y" all the time. Building an accelerator isn't just a matter of soldering a processor onto a board, shoving on a few RAM chips, and packaging it in a nice glossy box. It takes a LOT of time and effort to design new hardware like accelerators, jamming a processor into a machine that was never designed for it. The more different the CPU, the more work (and therefore cost) it is - and the 68060 is very different to the 68020/30.

@donpalmera
Welcome to Amiga.org - nice to see such a useful and pragmatic poster!

@Iggy
Quite right. eBay isn't the seller, it's the person who's doing the selling who's the seller. If people only bought from reputable sellers like you or I, they wouldn't have the same problems.... but I keep seeing eBay getting the blame because they bought something cheap off a shady bloke with no feedback.
Caveat Emptor, and you'll be just fine on eBay.

[spirantho]

@ the 68060FE133 haters

Various ppl have bought them.  They used them.  Nobody has ever reported them as being fake or defective.  So why the hate?

Because according to the manufacturers themselves they don't exist. Therefore what are they and who are they by?

They may be genuine enough to work well, that's true - but if it were your reputation on the line that you'd build up over several years, would you take the risk?

[spirantho]

I remember correctly Jens is the only person in the world right now that has the schematics and the rights to produce the Apollo 1260 accelerator.

I wonder why he bought the rights for the 060 accelerator?
I wonder why he keeps cranking out 020 accelerators but not 060 ones?
I wonder why he keeps cranking out 030 accelerators but not 060 ones?

1) I don't know. But I very much doubt it was to produce 060 cards.
2) Because 020 chips are plentiful and well tested genuine parts can be found.
3) Because 030 chips are plentiful and well tested genuine parts can be found.

The 060 is a MUCH more complicated design than the 020 and 030. Development costs would be too high for the tiny market we are today, and even if he did produce one, there's no chips available. What chips there are that are guaranteed known genuine working (which is what he would require) are very expensive, and the accelerator would be more expensive than what's already available.
There's just no point in it unless he finds a good cheap source of guaranteed genuine, tested 68060 chips; and I don't think that's going to happen any time soon.