Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!husc6!rutgers!cbmvax!daveh From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech Subject: Re: Amiga 2500UX Availability & Technical Stuff + Bridgeboard? Message-ID: <6030@cbmvax.UUCP> Date: 21 Feb 89 18:26:13 GMT References: <839@amc.UUCP> Distribution: usa Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA Lines: 81 in article <839@amc.UUCP>, jhall@amc.UUCP (John Hall) says: > Keywords: Amiga 2500, 2500UX, UNIX, A2620, bridgeboard > Summary: Why have the 68000 if I want to run on the 68020 always? > OK...I have a few questions about the much ballyhooed A2500UX. > 1. Any idea when it is to be released? (I want it NAAAAAAOW!) It's been out since late December or so. > 2. Will there be a faster A2620 style card available? > 14Mhz seems rediculous. We are currently working on a > 33Mhz 68020 emulator, probably extendable to 60Mhz! Hey, Motorola's having a hard enough time building a 40MHz 68020. And we'd have a long wait for the 40MHz MMU. The CPU speed is the least of the issues, really. Priced 60ns DRAM lately? It doesn't make sense to build a faster unit until you can give it something to talk to. If enough folks are willing to pay 2x-3x what the A2620 costs now, maybe we can talk.... > 3. Why have a 68000 in the case at all? I want to run UNIX, > although I do still want to run Amiga software. As a side > issue: Why not have a 68000 in the case. They're about as cheap as sand and plastic. If you ask nicely, I'll tell you how to run the A2620 with the 68000 removed from the box l^) > 4. Can the A2620 run standalone (except for I/O?) It would be > great to have the 68000 running I/O, graphics, and other I/O > while the 68020 does the general processing. Does the A2620 > architecture allow this? No. > Does the CPU slot allow multi-master bus control? Yes. Though in order for it to work, you'd need some clever software allocation of interrupts -- you certainly wouldn't want both CPUs responding to each interrupt. The main reason we decided not to make the A2620 run in parallel with the 68000 on the motherboard was that it's not something that we could support on future 32 bit Amigas. You don't want to see the 68000 a required part of every system, now, do you? > (I have an itch about this one! I feel silly paying for a 68000 that > just heats the inside of the computer. Even if the part is cheap, so > much potential wasted! Sinful!) The 68000 is a great bargain if you're a developer! For the price of a 68000, you can save yourself the cost of an A500 for compatability testing, and still have the fast machine you want for development. For UNIX, it's a loss, but it really is cheap, probably much cheaper than you ever imagined. > 6. And only slightly related...Anyone thinking of making a > bridgeboard only, with no CPU on it? Actually, I've heard of three such projects at various times, but haven't seen one actually materialize. I think it's a good idea. > Maybe I am just strange, but > the idea of a VGA, 25MHz 80386 AND a 25Mhz 68020 with MMU and Amiga > graphics, AND the 68000 to keep the conversation between CPU's > and I/O going, in a box that is affordable to REAL people, > MAKES ME HOT!!!! Hmmmm... The '386 seems to me to be the computer hardware equivalent of a cold shower. But there are cool things on AT cards that'd be nice to get at from the 68020 -- Targa boards, SPARC, 29K, and 88K coprocessors, Weitek floating point boards, etc. Such neat stuff to put on such a stupid bus. > > Ah well, maybe I've put a bee in someones' bonnet! > > Happy daze to all.... -- Dave Haynie "The 32 Bit Guy" Commodore-Amiga "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: D-DAVE H BIX: hazy Amiga -- It's not just a job, it's an obsession