ACA500 tested

[NovaCoder]

Nice video Steve

I should probably mention that games that use the OS functions (ie AmiWolf) may run a little quicker when using a Maprom function.

[lukassid]

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

The A600 seems to run a little faster even though it's only 30mhz vs 33mhz I can use Maprom to load my custom 3.9 rom and other ACATune features that are not available on the ACA500.

I'm also using an Indivision ECS on my A600 so I can use the Indivision mode for Doom but I could of course install an Indivsion ECS in my A500+

Any difference is quite marginal really, I can double check some benchmarks some other time.

I don't own ACA630 but from what I heard 16 colours on 3.9 is slowish. On your video that 1232 is fast. Is that 16 colours? Do you have video of ACA630 running 3.9 with 16 colours to compare. I'm not interested in running 3.9 with 8 or 4 colours. Shame that my Vampire doesn't work with anything else than stock 3.1 but I know better cores are coming soon

[fitzsteve]

Hi lukassid, yes I'm running 16 colours @640x512(i)

Here is a link to a Video of my A600 using the same config

[ Show youtube player ]

[lukassid]

Aha that's fast. I'm looking for ACA630 now.

[BarryB]

Received an email from Santakit , my ACA500+ACA1232 will be delivered ominously on Friday the 13th

Looks like I need to organise someone to be in to take delivery, otherwise I'll be a miserable pup all weekend

[Schoenfeld]

Originally Posted by BarryB

will be delivered ominously on Friday the 13th

Did you know that 13 is considered a lucky number in Italy? And did you realize that Pianeta Amiga is taking place this weekend in Italy ;-)?

Jens

[Lord Aga]

Will ACA500 have its show this weekend in Italy ?
We would like some pics.

[BarryB]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

Did you know that 13 is considered a lucky number in Italy? And did you realize that Pianeta Amiga is taking place this weekend in Italy ;-)?

Jens

I'll consider Friday a 'lucky' day then if my order arrives And bring us some pizza back from 'Planet Amiga' if you're going!!

Also, a curious question, can my Microbotics MX1230 be used with the ACA500? Probably not, but just wondering if the ACA1232 will give me better compatibility with WHDLoad in my A1200 than the MX1230.

[Schoenfeld]

Originally Posted by Lord Aga

Will ACA500 have its show this weekend in Italy ?
We would like some pics.

I guess so - AmigaKit is there, and they confirmed that my shipment arrived in time before the team took off for Italy. You can already find pictures in two threads on a1k.org.

I'm hoping that we can release a new flash version during this weekend with updated languages. Polish translation is finished, and I got confirmation this morning that French and Italian are in the making. As soon as I have that, I'll merge the translated strings into the language file, so the next flash update gives you more languages in the configuration menu.

An internal beta version of the ACA500 menu already activates the Maprom function of ACA1220 and ACA1232. It's not yet working with the older 64M accelerators, but that will most likely also be fixed with the next version. The speed gain is really great!

Originally Posted by BarryB

And bring us some pizza back from 'Planet Amiga' if you're going!!

I'm not going. Too much work here - all employees are doing overtime including saturdays until Xmas. You guys are buying ACA500 faster than expected. I expected a lot, but not this storm!

Originally Posted by BarryB

Also, a curious question, can my Microbotics MX1230 be used with the ACA500? Probably not, but just wondering if the ACA1232 will give me better compatibility with WHDLoad in my A1200 than the MX1230.

I don't even know if the MX1230 works at all, and to be honest, I don't care. I have clearly said from the very beginning that anything else than an ACA12xx is not guaranteed to work. If you want the ACA500 because you want to operate it with the MX1230, then don't buy it. Well, now that you've ordered already, you might as well check if the system comes up with the MX1230 connected :-)

The ACA500 is already doing a lot for compatibility, but it can't do wonders. If a WHDload game doesn't work on an A1200, it will most likely also NOT work on an ACA500.

Jens

[fitzsteve]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

An internal beta version of the ACA500 menu already activates the Maprom function of ACA1220 and ACA1232. It's not yet working with the older 64M accelerators, but that will most likely also be fixed with the next version. The speed gain is really great!

This is great news

Will we be able to slash it at home using the recovery mode?

Also, is the IDE device on the ACA500 already patched to use larger than 4gb CF's by default? I was wondering as I've hooked up an 8gb CF card with PFS3-AIO and Thomas' check4gb tool passes

[BarryB]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

I don't even know if the MX1230 works at all, and to be honest, I don't care. I have clearly said from the very beginning that anything else than an ACA12xx is not guaranteed to work. If you want the ACA500 because you want to operate it with the MX1230, then don't buy it. Well, now that you've ordered already, you might as well check if the system comes up with the MX1230 connected :-)

The ACA500 is already doing a lot for compatibility, but it can't do wonders. If a WHDload game doesn't work on an A1200, it will most likely also NOT work on an ACA500.

Jens

The WHDLoad issues seem to MX1230 related, having to use NOVBRMOVE and NOAUTOVEC to get games running so when the AC1232 arrives I can test it in my A1200 and if it works better than the MX1230 then I can order another ACA1232, simples!

[Schoenfeld]

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

Will we be able to slash it at home using the recovery mode?

I hope you'll just flash it. The slashing part should be reserved for other vendor's inferior products ;-)

Flashing normally doesn't require the recovery mode. To flash the ACA500 to a new version, you just copy the menu500.aca file to the root dir of a FAT-formatted CF card, and put that into the AUX slot of the ACA500. Startup the thing normally, press F10 to enter the expert menu, then press F to flash the unit. This will launch a virtual disk with the whole update process in the startup-sequence, which will look for the file on the CF card. After some checks, you can press return and watch the action happening - no jumpers to be set, no complicated procedure, no hassle transferring the data, just follow the instructions on screen.

Oh, and don't panic if the LED flashes on/off during the erase/flash process. It may look like a Guru to an old Amigan like most of the people here, but it's just a confirmation that there's something going on.

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

Also, is the IDE device on the ACA500 already patched to use larger than 4gb CF's by default? I was wondering as I've hooked up an 8gb CF card with PFS3-AIO and Thomas' check4gb tool passes

You gave the answer yourself: It's 64-bit capable. This includes both methods TD64 and NSD64.

Originally Posted by BarryB

The WHDLoad issues seem to MX1230 related, having to use NOVBRMOVE and NOAUTOVEC to get games running so when the AC1232 arrives I can test it in my A1200 and if it works better than the MX1230 then I can order another ACA1232, simples!

Note that the quit-key support on the ACA500 is for the 68EC000 only. It's closely tied to the IRQ vector fetch cycle of this CPU, and the feature cannot be switched on for A1200 accelerators, because they don't provide all the required signals on the A1200 CPU interface.

Jens

[mfletcher]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

I'm not going. Too much work here - all employees are doing overtime including saturdays until Xmas. You guys are buying ACA500 faster than expected. I expected a lot, but not this storm!

Jens

Thats great news Jens, its always better to be busy than quiet

If you ever decide to produce an ACA1000, consider me a definite customer.

Thanks again,

Mark

[ElectroBlaster]

Seems to be fate for me as I stumbled upon a really nice loved A500. Also got one that just needs that last 10% of love and it will be really nice

So as the wife asked "I dont know what to get you for christmas? any thoughts?" I instantly replied "ACA500 please lol"

So I have ordered:

ACA500
ACA1220

As for the case... I did put some feelers out to somebody in Spain who has made a really cool SD2IEC for the C64 which plugs into the user port as a whole unit. It really does look nice! so I put the question too him about the ACA500 and its lack of case, he replied with "I am interest! Will look further!"

You never know something might come of it, maybe not. But somebody will come up with a design and it will sell like hot cakes I am sure

The only other thing I can forsee is maybe, A500's suddenly going up in price!

[Riempie]

Amistore and Vesalia will sell a case for the ACA-500

http://www.amistore.de/Amiga-Hard-und-Software/Gehaeuse-Cover/Acrylglas-Gehaeuse-Case-fuer-ACA-500-Turbokarte::72571.html

[Schoenfeld]

I already mentioned on the German forums that you should hold back designing a case while it's still not certain where exactly the expansion connectors (network/USB) will be located. I do have some ideas, but that's all not verified yet.

Besides, I find it a bit expensive to pay 49,- EUR for a case - it's a 79,90 EUR unit, and I've bent over backwards to achive this price. If you're willing to pay *that* kind of money, I can surely come up with something much nicer than slapping together two flat plates and a few DIN-type screws that are 7,- EUR per 1000pcs.

Jens

[BarryB]

Good Cases for Good Hardware

[ElectroBlaster]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

I already mentioned on the German forums that you should hold back designing a case while it's still not certain where exactly the expansion connectors (network/USB) will be located. I do have some ideas, but that's all not verified yet.

Besides, I find it a bit expensive to pay 49,- EUR for a case - it's a 79,90 EUR unit, and I've bent over backwards to achive this price. If you're willing to pay *that* kind of money, I can surely come up with something much nicer than slapping together two flat plates and a few DIN-type screws that are 7,- EUR per 1000pcs.

Jens

Sorry Jens I really did not think about the usb stuff! I think it still needs to sink in with me that the Amiga can have usb ports lol

But a massive thank you for making the ACA500! Soon as I heard it was nearly ready for sale that was it, I was itching to dish out the readies

In all honesty, I will pay for whatever is done regarding the case. More so if it is made to resemble something like a GVP+ or Rochard. That would really put the icing on the cake for me

[crasbe]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

I already mentioned on the German forums that you should hold back designing a case while it's still not certain where exactly the expansion connectors (network/USB) will be located. I do have some ideas, but that's all not verified yet.

Besides, I find it a bit expensive to pay 49,- EUR for a case - it's a 79,90 EUR unit, and I've bent over backwards to achive this price. If you're willing to pay *that* kind of money, I can surely come up with something much nicer than slapping together two flat plates and a few DIN-type screws that are 7,- EUR per 1000pcs.

Jens

The case from AmiStore is more than two flat plates slapped together with a few DIN-type screws that are 7,- EUR per 1000pcs.
There are also side panels and even the expansion problem isn't really one. If you release the expansions, new side panels can be cut, so it will fit.

The guys from AmiStore wouldn't make cases, if there is no demand.

It's not a price wonder, but fair.

[arti040]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

If you're willing to pay *that* kind of money, I can surely come up with something much nicer than slapping together two flat plates and a few DIN-type screws that are 7,- EUR per 1000pcs.

I do So, when?