Answer from Elbox regarding support for PCI 133MHz IDE Controller

[jonssonj]

Hey all!

I asked Elbox about support for a PCI IDE 133MHz controller and I got this positive mail from them..  :-D

===========================================================

> Hello!
>

Hello,

> I'm just wondering if you are going to make a driver
> for a PCI 133MHz IDE controller, so that you can use
> this controller in the mediator?

As for now we are finishing MPEG Video and Audio hardware
decoder project. The next finished drivers will be drivers
for some new sound cards.

The next developement will be the PCI 133MHz IDE controller
support.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further assistance.

Thank you for using Elbox's online support services.

Best regards,

===========================================================


I want, I want and I want... :-)

/Jörgen

[haymiggan]

Great that they're finally leaking some info. Dammit, i only have 4 PCI slots in my MED.ZIV!

Where does Shark come in ?

[jonssonj]

I went for the big one. I bought the mediator SX board with six PCI slots.

I did not asked about their shark ppc card. But if it comes I will definitely buy one. I have read somewhere that shark PPC and BPPC are going to work together, like a multi CPU system. But I don't know if it's true. But I really do hope it's true, because I have just spend some money on a BPPC card.

/Jörgen

[Effy]

Cool !! Two PPC processors running at the same time, although not equal. But about pci slots, I have an (unused) Mediator 4000Di to fit inside my A4000D and that one still allows me to use 3 Z3 slots, so that means 4 pci+3 Z3 ... for the time being a Z3 Powerflyer from Elbox doesn´t seem a too bad option ...

[adolescent]

This is promising news (the PCI 133MHz IDE Controller).  I think there is still a bottleneck of the Zorro 3 bus DMA (10MB/s?).  But, it would be nice to use a cheaper solution, and access to features like RAID0/RAID1 is nice.

Any status on the SB Live! driver?  I've got one of those sitting around waiting to be popped in when I build the system.  I guess if I get to it I'll just buy a SB128 (or I might have a compatible Ensoniq around here somewhere).

[Van_M]

I did not asked about their shark ppc card. But if it comes I will definitely buy one. I have read somewhere that shark PPC and BPPC are going to work together, like a multi CPU system. But I don't know if it's true. But I really do hope it's true, because I have just spend some money on a BPPC card.

If this is true then, the amiga is gonna become the weirdest computer architecture ever made...one 020 on motherboard, one 060 on blizzard, one PPC on blizzard and one PPC G3/G4 on PCI! If someone gets a working system like that, the next thing thing he should do is invite a PC technician/expert and show him the configuration of that amiga!!! The look on the guys' face will be worth a million dollars, hehe!

[haymiggan]

have read somewhere that shark PPC and BPPC are going to work together, like a multi CPU system.

I've not read that anywhere... the shark requres you to disable your current accelerator, what i've understood!

But yes, would be quite interesting..also imagine how many video-outputs you could have.

1xSD/FF
1xRGB
1xComposite
1xRFU
1xBVISION
1xPCI
1xAGP

[B00tDisk]

Why is that all that spectacular?  I could put a bevy of single board computers into a PC and accomplish pretty much the same effect, providing I could find someone to buy a '386 and '486 SBC from to cover the first two CPUs in terms of relative speed!

[Cyberus]

haymiggan wrote:

have read somewhere that shark PPC and BPPC are going to work together, like a multi CPU system.

I've not read that anywhere... the shark requres you to disable your current accelerator, what i've understood!

But yes, would be quite interesting..also imagine how many video-outputs you could have.

1xSD/FF
1xRGB
1xComposite
1xRFU
1xBVISION
1xPCI
1xAGP

I understood that the Shark *could* work together with another CPU (perhaps I read that on the Elbox site?), but how/whether it could work with both processors with a dual CPU card like the CPPC....
And HOW exactly would it work in any case?

[Ilwrath]

And HOW exactly would it work in any case?

It's all speculation, as no one has shown that the Shark can work, at all!

But, as I understood it from the early promotion, basically, the Shark would take over the PCI, and most, if not all, of the original Amiga would be disabled in this mode.  

Since that point, several nebulus announcements have been made, and then, of course, came the baseless speculation upon those announcements.  I think it was recently discovered, that upon the release of OS4, the almighty Shark shall descend down to us, directly from the Heavens.  Upon its arrival, the almighty processor shall eliminate all suffering on Earth.  Or something like that.  :-D

[patrik]

One thing that is for sure is that Elbox would have to do quite some technological advancements to go from producing their currents products to something like the Shark. Producing something like the Shark is in a totally different league compared to their current products both in complexity and in the manufacturing technology required.


/Patrik