Check This Out! (Hoax Amiga vapourware)

[downix]

@olegil

I can actually come up with a scenario for a custom or semi-custom hardware design, one which is starting to occur:

Most computers run Windows.  Most of the rest run Mac OS X.  That means that Microsoft and Apple can apply a *LOT* of pressure on chip vendors to only support their solutions and no other.  As a result, vendors for alternative solutions have to turn to customized, or semi-customized chips just to remain competitive.

It's either that or remain forever 3-4 generations behind the market-leader, if you're lucky.  (Ever tried to get nVidia support for a non-x86 Linux?)

It's a "Customize or die" time then.

[downix]

@Doobrey

You can buy off-the-shelf chipsets, yes.  But getting support for those, that is the trick.  Having the latest and greatest GeForce FX is not going to do you any good when there are no drivers to be found, nor even any ability of getting drivers for the next 2-3 years, unless you run Windows.  

[downix]

@CodeSmith

Which is part of my point.  Now note, you can't make something to compete with even a first-generation Radeon in an FPGA, however there are other, faster, chip processes availible, and new fabbing systems have been created which reduce the cost of manufacture.  Even in low-batches, a Radeon 9800 competing chip (going by gate-count here only) would run only $400 to produce.  That's not too terribly much more than a Radeon 9800 card itself, and we're talking in batches of tens, not thousands.  And that's going soly by gate-count.  The possibilities are endless today, as custom and semi-custom chips can be produced for far lower cost than what was possible even 5 years ago.

[downix]

@CodeSmith

There are other advantages as well.  1)  no cost-overhead added from the chip fab company.  2) total control over the fabs and 3) the ability to custom-engineer *around* the fabs.  These three things combined to make the VIC-series and the Amiga-series of Commodore machines as great as they were.