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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!clyde!rutgers!cbmvax!grr
From: grr@cbmvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: The Next Amiga
Message-ID: <1674@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 13-Apr-87 16:23:41 EST
Article-I.D.: cbmvax.1674
Posted: Mon Apr 13 16:23:41 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 15-Apr-87 03:40:45 EST
References: <3367@udenva.UUCP> <1643@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> <12821@watnot.UUCP>
Reply-To: grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins)
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 26

In article <12821@watnot.UUCP> ccplumb@watnot.UUCP (Colin Plumb) writes:
>grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins) writes:
>
>Putting a 68020 in the motherboard lets the chip mem bus be 32 bits wide,
>and run at 14 (or even 21! *that* would be nice!) MHz, so the processor
>can do things to it faster.  If the graphics chips can use it as well,
>we can get things like 8 bitplanes in high-res; if they can't, it wouldn't
>be too hard to redo the I/O sections to handle the higher bus speed, even
>if the chips still run at 8 MHz internally.  (I think... please tell me
>if I'm wrong.  I suspect the 32-bit interface would be harder.)

It's a lot more practical to leave the chip memory bus alone and run the
processor out of fast 32-bit memory that runs independent of the chip
memory.

>How much would an '020 add to the price of a new Amiga?

Depends what you do.  You could probably wedge a 68020 onto the 16 bit
bus for a few hundred dollars.   If you want to go fast and perhaps add
an MMU, it gets kinda expensive.  Cheaper 68020's are needed and the
current attempts at DRAM price-fixing "fix" memory pricing isn't going
to help much...
-- 
George Robbins - now working for,	uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing	arpa: cbmvax!grr@seismo.css.GOV
Commodore, Engineering Department	fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)