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From: tim@amdcad.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: The Next Amiga
Message-ID: <16093@amdcad.AMD.COM>
Date: Sun, 12-Apr-87 16:41:25 EST
Article-I.D.: amdcad.16093
Posted: Sun Apr 12 16:41:25 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 13-Apr-87 06:20:35 EST
References: <3367@udenva.UUCP> <6248@ukmj.ukma.ms.uky.csnet> <15999@amdcad.AMD.COM> <594@plx.UUCP>
Reply-To: tim@amdcad.UUCP (Tim Olson)
Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, Ca.
Lines: 33

* == me
> == Ed Chaban

* Better yet, leap-frog *everyone* and put in an Am29000.  While all of
* the others are getting their 20% performance advantage over the 68020 by
* redesigning with the '030, we could be running our ray-tracers at 15 X
* VAX 11-780 speed ;-)

In article <594@plx.UUCP> ed@plx.UUCP (Ed Chaban) writes:
>Oh Great!! now we can use an obscure CPU with our obscure operating
>system and bizarre Bus standards.  Use your HEAD man! Do you realize
>how much it costs to jump from one CPU to another?  How many Apple II's
>do you see getting sold?  Do you have it *IN* for the existing AMIGA
>product line?

While the Am29000 doesn't exist in silicon, yet (soon, though) I
certainly don't think it will be obscure in the future (I hope not,
anyway ;-) However, I was really talking about long term possiblities
for future products, not a "drop-in" CPU replacement for the current
Amiga. 

I think the cost of going from one CPU to another has been dropping
rapidly with the increased use of high-level languages and operating
system standards.  QUESTION FOR AMIGA CODE DEVELOPERS: What is the ratio
of high-level language programming to assembly-level programming that
you are using on your projects (i.e. how much do you actually see the
CPU structure)?  If you are using assembly language, what is the reason
(speed, flexibility, etc)?

	-- Tim Olson
	Advanced Micro Devices
	(tim@amdcad.AMD.COM)