Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!cbmvax!daveh
From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: 68020 Amiga??
Message-ID: <4973@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 11 Oct 88 16:53:27 GMT
References: <9897@cup.portal.com>
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 37

in article <9897@cup.portal.com>, thad@cup.portal.com says:
> XPortal-User-Id: 1.1001.2826

> Ronin Engineering (Berkeley, CA) also manufactures a 68020/68881 card for
> the A1000 and the A2000; available are 68030 upgrades and up to 4MByte (16MB
> when 1024Kx4 chips are readily available) 32-bit-wide RAM.

I've written a review of this card, which will be in the next issue of Amiga
Sentry magazine.  I looked at both 68020 and 68030 equipped boards, with and
without 32 bit memory, and with several speeds of 68881 chip.  Some of the
benchmark programs I used are freely redistributable; I'm collecting others in
the hopes of having a reasonable freely redistributable benchmarking suite
for Amiga.  Benchmarks are often questioned when run between different 
CPUs/OS/Compiler combinations, but they are much harder to debate when it's
identical OS/Compiler/Software running on slightly different 68020 card
implementations.

> It is NOT clear (to me) whether future CBM enhancements (e.g. Ami/UNIX) will
> function with OTHER than the A2620, so if that's important to you, you may
> wish to wait (or have someone buy it for you in Germany).

You'll absolutely need an MMU for running UNIX, so that excludes all 68020 based
products except for the A2620.  A 68030 system could conceivably run UNIX, but
there's no CBM support for that in UNIX at the moment.  This isn't to be
intentionally hostile, but the A2620 has certain ROM code and registers that are
used by the Commodore UNIX system.

> Summary: 68020 and 68030 with 68881 or 68882 plug-ins are and have been
> available for some time for *ALL* Amiga models (CSA mfgs one for the A500 too).

The Ronin board is also available in A1000 flavor.

> Thad Floryan [thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ...!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad]
-- 
Dave Haynie  "The 32 Bit Guy"     Commodore-Amiga  "The Crew That Never Rests"
   {ihnp4|uunet|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh      PLINK: D-DAVE H     BIX: hazy
		"I can't relax, 'cause I'm a Boinger!"