Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site mips.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!oliveb!glacier!mips!kim From: kim@mips.UUCP (Kim DeVaughn) Newsgroups: net.micro.amiga,net.micro.68k Subject: Re: Amiga shown with 68020 Message-ID: <238@mips.UUCP> Date: Sat, 23-Nov-85 22:13:49 EST Article-I.D.: mips.238 Posted: Sat Nov 23 22:13:49 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 25-Nov-85 08:17:36 EST References: <310@amiga.amiga.UUCP> Organization: mips ... where RISC is a way of life Lines: 114 Xref: watmath net.micro.amiga:849 net.micro.68k:1365 [ ... go ahead, eat my bits ... ] > TITLE: Amiga shown with 68020 > > At Comdex yesterday, Computer System Associates (CSA) showed their > 68020 board for the Amiga. This board includes a 68020, a 68881 math > processor, and 256K bytes of 32-bit bus RAM. The board replaces the > 68000 in the Amiga, plugging into it's socket. The board fits under > the Amiga FCC shield. No release date was announced. I called CSA to get more information right after I read this posting. I spoke to Pat (Patricia), who was very helpful, and quite personable; she answered most all of my moderately technical questions. Here's the info I got: o With the piggy-back 68020 board, an Amiga *System* is ~$3075, and Pat quoted 4 wks ARO. I'm not sure how "full" the CSA board is at that price, as I was only interested in their 020 board. o The CSA 68020 board, with a 68881 is $1480; 1 wk ARO. o The CSA 68020 board, with 68881 and 256K of RAM is $1985, and is ~3 wks ARO. Pat said the machine at Comdex was the 1st prototype with RAM, but since they had had no trouble with it, it was going into production NOW. o The CSA board is also available without the 68881, but I didn't get a quote. I also got the *impression* that you can buy the bare board from them. o The question Pat couldn't answer was what Rev of the 020/881 chips are being used (the parts still have a couple of bugs in them depending on Rev level, according to Motorola). Of course the parts are socketed, so you can get a newer Rev of the chip(s) if you run into one of the bugs (after Moto fixes it, of course). o The 256K of RAM does not conflict with the Amiga internal expansion RAM. Pat *thought* it was contiguous with a 512K Amiga. According to the BYTE memory map, that'd put it in the 1.5M reserved area beginning at x'080000'. Hmmmm? o They don't yet have a really technical spec on the product, but Pat'll send you what they have ... sounds like marketing fluff, and maybe a price-list. Sounds like it could make the Amiga into a SuperAmiga! Now if we could just clock the thing at 16.7MHz (or even 12.5MHz). I suspect that that is a bit too tough to do though, since the 7.159+MHz clock is so intimately tied to the video display, etc; besides, who knows what the AmigaBus and the custom chips can handle? Of course the lack of an MMU becomes more of a liability now, but it should still end up being quite a machine. > The board was demonstrated using a pre-release version of the new > Amiga V1.1 system software. The V1.1 software is compatible with > the 68010 and the 68020 processors. Nice to know that the Amiga development organization is looking toward the future ... sorta makes you wonder what goodies might be coming from Commodore, doesn't it? 'Course I don't suppose that Commodore can make any comments "on products that may or may not be in development" (to borrow an expresion from Blue :-) ). > Application programmers wishing > to take advantage of such products should be sure to use the Exec > GetCC() function to get the processor condition codes. > > For those doing systems work, Exec maintains flags in the AttnFlags > field of ExecBase which describe the type of processor in your > machine. > Use the new SuperState() function for > processor independent supervisor mode entry. Hopefully, this information has been "impressed" upon 3rd party ISV's with sufficient emphasis and with enough lead-time so that most (if not all) commercially available s/w will run correctly. Some people still do use s/w timing loops, etc. tho ... > V1.1 ROMWack will correctly display information for 68010/20 address > and bus errors. Are the 68020/68881 opcodes, regs, etc. supported by the Assembler; by the Lattice C Compiler? I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who's seen the CSA board; what are your impressions of the performance improvement one can expect? Anyone have any benchmarks, or other technical info? Opinions from you 68020 gurus? Let's hear it for OPEN architectures, and 3rd-party vendor support; Thanks, Commodore!!! /kim P.S. What will happen to my warrenty if I install one of these puppies? Boring disclaimer: I'm not associated with Computer System Associates (CSA) or Commodore in any way (except I own an Amiga). All opinions are strictly my own, though they can occasionally be leased. -- UUCP: {decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!mips!kim DDD: 415-960-1200 USPS: MIPS Computer Systems Inc, 1330 Charleston Rd, Mt View, CA 94043