What about an A1200 accelerator with built-in USB 2.0?

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I'm all for this. I love my Subway, but its very limited in speed off the clockport with its theoretical max of 12mbit.

Seeing as Hyperion are releasing Amiga OS 4.1 classic next month, I've mentioned a few time over on Amibay that I would go one or THREE steps further (If I was say, A-EON) and make a full blown PPC Accelerator (with that nice processor in the X1000 for example running at 1.6GHz) with no 68K processor (make a shit hot 68K emulation that runs on the PPC) and instead onboard Radeon mobile chipset of some sort, Laptop DDR memory slot for 1 or 2GB (2 slots if they'll fit) and for fits and giggles add a USB header (or two) and a feature connector to add such things as standard laptop wifi modules internally. Whop it all on an A1200 accelerator and sell for around 4 to 500 Euro. They'll sell more of these than the X1000 thats for sure.

If the release of os 4.1 classic has seriously good compatibility with the AGA chipset and older software, then all that would be needed is software emulation for the 68K (which on a 1.6Ghz processor may well give better speeds than a full blown 060 at 50MHz) and we'd be looking at a seriously awesome classic amiga able to use all the new os 4 software and all the old 3.x software in one. No more need for dual partitions for os 3.x and os 4.x.

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@Phipscube

And if I had a dozen hering, I could make a bowl of fish-soup ....

a) there no way to get all that stuff functional on a PCB sized for the A1200-trapdoor slot
b) there is no way you can keep it cool enough or supply enough power to it without serious modifications to the A1200
c) since you've replaced allmost everything why bother with having an A1200-mobo dangling on it's side ?
d) there might be some level of AGA-compability in OS4.x, but it's surely not enough to run those games and apps that make still having classic worthwhile.
e) given it's small size and special need to connect to the A1200 this board would create greater costs both in development and production as the X1000
d) that price would decrease the market to a 2 figure number (at best)
f) such a small production-run will blow pricing completly out of the water


Just a reminder, there is a reason why the new ACA-board are 030-only and that price vs. marketsize. Making it an 060-board would have increased pricing so much that it would be out of the impulse-buy range and as such it wouldn't be cost-effective.

a) It could be possible without the 68K in place and a header for Wifi
 b) Would run MUCH cooler than the BPPC and BVPPC solution we have now and would need less power.
 c) To allow integrated backwards compatibility for OS 4.1 and make it  seamless without the need of E-UAE running (badly) in a window at the  speed of a 020. And to a point where one could eliminate the need for OS  3.9.
 d) You have a point here, it would need developing further to integrate AGA.
 e) I don't believe that. How? they would in effect be using parts they  already have, or have access to. The board layout would cost some dolla,  but do you really think it would be MORE than X1000 mainboard?
 d?) I think this would sell more than the X1000, but thats just my  opinion. so more 3 figure. it could be a more simple PCC only  accelerator for even cheaper. It was only an idea.
 f) The current PPC cards (if you can find one) cost more than what I  mentioned, and it would effectively be the "cheapest" OS 4 solution on  the market.
 
 I understand the ACA market and why Jens made them, but the target is  also of pure classic users that in most cases simply want to use  WHDLoad. This is a proposal for a card that could allow Hyperion to sell  more than a small handful of OS 4.1 Classic CD's as the market is now and allow clasic users the option if they wanted it, becasue the current PPC accelerators are too slow and run too hot.
 
If you can be arsed, look at my A1200D project (link in my sig) And you'll see how much fun can be had fitting crazy stuff in a standard Wedge A1200. I'm maybe a minority of guys that are willing to go nuts with the idea of a high specced classic Amiga hardware.

@kephren

I was not replying about the orginal proposal (USB-chip on simple 030-card) but to that everything-AND-the-kitchensink crapshot.

Errm.. no need to be offensive! :furious:

My mistake Kronos. yeah, that post wants a lot of stuff in the trapdoor slot.

@Phipscube:
With the total OS4 market being small, the classic OS4 market would be smaller still, amd the A1200 market even smaller (i'm guessing most OS4 classic users will be using bigbox & RTG?)
doubtfull this would be cost effective.

Now a cost reduced wedge X1000 a couple of years down the line, that i'd buy into (still like the wedge home computers, call me old fashioned!).

I would imagine IF this ever did happen, there would be an A1200/A4000 variant of each. And I do still like the wedge machines... and trying to pimp them up Just for kicks really. And I think a more realistic option is for A-Eon to make a wedge X500 shall we say further down the line..... but seieng as OS 4.1 classic is coming out (which to be honest surpriesd me) then why not release an uber cool PPC accelerator to compliment it?

Anyway, sorry for slanting this thread off the OP comments, it was just a simple airing of an idea.

I'll answer the question as I SHOULD have

YES I think an ACA 1230 with a USB option is a good idea.

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@persia
The right question isn't about who hasn't... but who has (j/k)

Seriously though... Desktop case is teh sexy shiz

I agree

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PWRficient PA6T‎ produces more heat than the 603 CPUs used in BPPC. You also need to consider the support chipset power requirements.

Parts are only part of the problem. There are much larger problems with trying to convert a full blown mobo to an accelerator. Also, the company producing the card has no amiga experience at all, which would make it much harder and more expensive.

As far as I can tell BPPC already was a borderline at being profitable at all. These days the potential market is only a fraction of the old one. No way would such an expensive and complex board be profitable now.


I very much doubt your price quotes.

Thanks for providing a more mature response Piru.

a) look at the space required by the CPU alone on the X1000
b) you may want to back up that one
c) it's still pointless for most NG-uses and won't be compatible enough for most classic-uses
d) see above
e) there is no way one could just shrink the current X1000 layout to that size, not without replacing most of the parts with varieties used in laptops and going seriously multilayered on the board (which adds even more design problems). So yes it would be a seperate design and production is gonna be costly
f) we would atleast be talking about inflation corrected prices for the orginal PPC-cards back in 1997 .... read >3000Euro IF the boards would be produced in a similar amount. But given that the market shrank by atleast 90% in the past 13 years we could easily be talking about 10000 or more.

And yes a crapshot remains a crapshot and deserves to be called a crapshot.

a)

Its not big is it? True, I was off on the fact that it runs "MUCH Cooler" what I should have said is Relative to speed. The 603e runs at approx 6W @ 300MHz the PA6T runs at 7W @ 2GHz, so 1.6 GHz could well be quite cool and at least feasable with a similar heatsink and fan placement as the Phase 5 boards.

b) I partly explained above but read here for the ratings:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerPC_600
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PWRficient

And such a chipset as the Radeon Vision for example could be used. I didn't mean the R700, just some form of Radeon MOBILE solution.

c) Why is it pointless if its the direction FORWARD for the NG Amigas according to Hyperion and A-Eon? and if it runs (for example) an FPGA implementation of various 68K cores that is transferred to the PA6T it could potentially boot classic floppy games etc.

d) I actually agreed with you as it stands now... so?

e) Errrm... Where did I mention the WHOLE of the X1000? I said The PA6T and a Radeon Mobility chip, and then a laptop sized DDR slot (or two) SATA port and USB header and POSSIBLE Wifi (if it wouldn't fit, then a connector to add as an option). Didn't expect them to squeeze the whole X1000 mainboard in the A1200! Think about the real estate a 68060 takes up, negate that and you have a heck of a chunk of space. And like I said about my A1200D, if you take the Subway, IDE Express, Delfina etc etc, even though they are seperate and added individually, they all still add up to a virtual system replacement, My idea of the accelerator having these extra features would provide someone like myself something with most if not all those things in a much neater package. And with the advancements in technology over the last 12 years I think what I said is feasable on the amount of space available on an A1200/4000 Accelerator slot. My opinoin, not fact. I also stated it would cost a bit, but I don't believe MORE than the X1000. My opinion again, not fact.

f) And how does that argument hold against the current potential market for the X1000? A-Eon must be CRAAAAZY!

Oh yeah, and a troll is still a troll. Snap! :laughing:

Yeah allmost missed that one were he wants to tell us that a miniturized version of the 1500Euro Xena-board could be sold for 500 Euro or less.....

Ok, now your starting to amuse the hell out of me. 1500 Euro gets you a rather hefty rebranded PC case with an ATX PSU, HDD, DVD Drive, Mainboard, GFX card Sound card keyboard etc... And once again I didn't say "Scuweez Teh X1000 inz da A twelve innit!" For F sake man

I can't be arsed anymore, i'm quite sure you'll respond and have an answer to all my "facts" but I wont be reading.. ta taa for now!