UltimatePPC and everything else

[odin]

How about we keep the offtopic copyright discussion in another thread?

[Heiroglyph]

And what does Z3-DMA ?

- Deneb.... well there is USB on the board
- A4091/A4000T-SCSI .... no big loss, SATA onboard
- Fastlane ... ditto

Right, and only one at a time because Buster is Bust-ed.

Assuming the final product can't DMA into other memory, it's not a huge loss.

[Vanilla]

Right now the only reason the phase 5 boards are desirable is that there is software that you cannot run using any other way. WinUAE with PPC support would make a huge dent on the market. An Amiga PPC board that allows you to run existing ppc software ( not necessarily using existing powerup/warpup binaries ) would destroy it..

I don't think so. AmigaOS4 can use a warpUP wrapper that would be compaitible with most clean code . So existing PPC software can work. And that hasn't killed the Classic PowerPC market. As well as running MOS and OS4.

But, what would be destroyed here? A Phase5 board? So what, amazing there is a new replacement

I don't know if it's out of respect or just not bothering to put an extsting PPC emulator in WinUAE because it's harder than it looks but (most likely) but I had hoiped at least that PPC UAE would have included support for Classic PowerPC emulation using the native CPU. IT would have given the PPC Amiga platforms some edge over the PC version of UAE, With the shocking lack of any decent GUI in the UAEs we've had making them so un-Amiga like they need somethinng to stand out!

[psxphill]

But, what would be destroyed here? A Phase5 board? So what, amazing there is a new replacement

The ultimatePPC is not a replacement for a phase 5 board & neither is any of the "new Amigas". If you want an AGA machine with a PPC board that will run all software, then you have no choice put to pay the inflated price of phase 5 boards.
 
If the ultimate ppc had a CPU with the full FPU then the price of Phase 5 boards would drop. I just can't see this becoming the must have accessory.
 

So in theory you could use a soft 68K on x86 as well. Provided it was cheap because of the CPU. With that speed endianness becomes a low issue.

I agree, as the PPC they chose isn't compatible with alot of existing PPC software and will have to emulate the older processors to be able to run all software then using an X86 would make a lot of sense to run 68k & PPC software. If you could make it act like a bridgeboard as well then that would be even better.
 
There is no reason why an Amiga needs to have a real 68k at all. When you plug in an accelerator board it disables the onboard processor, on the german a2000 you had to remove the onboard processor. You'll need software to boot the machine up, which would either be an emulator that runs Kickstart or it could be something new that just configured hardware and then booted from hard disk. A boot menu could then allow you to pick between running kickstart under emulation or booting linux or windows.

[Tahoe]

Last saturday we had our Commodore GG meeting, and the UltimatePPC was shown "in the flesh".
Both delevopers were in Maarssen and brought along Samo Jordan, original developer of the WarpOS/WarpUP! software.
 
Current status is:
 
- Hardwarewise the PPC side is working and booting. The 68040 side works, but does not yet talk to the classic hardware. The card does run, standalone. But the Amiga will not boot yet with the card inserted.
 
- Active talks with Hyperion for supporting AmigaOS4.x.
 
- Driver support: lots of help pledged for building drivers for all the hardware goodies (more help is always welcome!)
 
- Support for WarpUp/WarpOS through support pledged by the original author
 
Interesting bit: The MicroSD card on the UltimatePPC holds the firmware/bootcode. This is indended to stay. That means upgrading/flashing the card can be done with a normal PC and a card reader... !!

[Lurch]

Downside is you need an A3000/A4000. But yeah if it could be standalone as well ;-)

[José Manuel]

Very good news

[Piru]

- Support for WarpUp/WarpOS through support pledged by the original author

I believe it when I see it (specifically running various WOS apps utilizing the FPU).

[Akiko]

It's very positve news that the original WarpOS author is interested, hopefully so will Hyperion and they are able to overcome the compatibility issues that have been discussed.

I wish the 040 was socketed, it would allow the end user to source their own 060 if required, even though I'm still very interested in this project.

[billt]

I wish the 040 was socketed, it would allow the end user to source their own 060 if required, even though I'm still very interested in this project.

provided they made it able to take an 060. voltage switch, socket pins, fpga support etc. all need to be there for 060 before the thing will work that way.

[esc]

Any reason you guys don't do a kickstarter project?  It seems like you are pretty serious.  I wouldn't mind kicking $100 or so for the R&D if it paid off for me somehow in the end...sorta what kickstarter is for...  

[TheBilgeRat]

That 68040 says 66/33Mhz.  Is there any way to make it run at 66Mhz as opposed to 33?

[wawrzon]

i think it doesnt make much sense for hyperion to support it if all applications would have to be recompiled to run on it. what concerns warp i dont know. as i mentioned perhaps its best to run jitted 68k emu on the ppc side having amiga hardware still accessible. thats only way to utilize it that would attract me i suppose. even if the phtos are looking great!

[nyteschayde]

Any reason you guys don't do a kickstarter project?  It seems like you are pretty serious.  I wouldn't mind kicking $100 or so for the R&D if it paid off for me somehow in the end...sorta what kickstarter is for...  

+1

[Heiroglyph]

That 68040 says 66/33Mhz.  Is there any way to make it run at 66Mhz as opposed to 33?

That isn't two options, it's the clock needed and the CPU speed.

A normal 25MHz 040 like on an A3640 is 50/25.

There is a bit more to supporting an 060 than just the voltages, you've also got timing and protocol differences.  You can make an 060 fall back to speaking 040 fairly easily but they seem to really want a surface mount chip.

I can't blame them, they have to be way cheaper and easier to source, plus if you can use the PPC as an 040 at some point, who cares?

I'm still very excited about this project, can't wait to get my grubby little hands on at least one.

[yssing]

I believe it when I see it (specifically running various WOS apps utilizing the FPU).

I just love you positive attitude

This project is great, and it looks like they can really make it happen.