Amiga PowerPC poll

[lole]

Hello!

I've made a small poll to check how many Amiga users would be interested in buying a PowerPC upgrade to their classic platform, maybe to run OS4.1 Classic or develop programs and games. Here it is: http://www.tonesoftales.com/amigappcpoll/

I would very much appriciate your participation!

Olle

[prowler]

You have it.

[diablothe2nd]

Have to disagree with the comments on there about "hardly any software". thanks to WarpUP/OS even existing software gets a benefit running even faster than a heavily oc'ed 060!

I also love the ability to have both a modern and classic system in one box, without needing extra space for more monitors/towers etc.

the only downside, as far as i can tell is price. if the original PPC's were/are cheaper there'd be more people using them and more software created for the user base. A second downside is size. Having to prop up your wedge on stilts because of fans/heatsinks poking out the bottom is a little unsightly and awkward.

i think from a business pov though something like an 060 with adjustable timings (50/66/72/90/100Mhz), FPU and MMU along with sata and scsi would be more commercially viable. perhaps have a port somewhere for the option to add a ppc at a later date for those that want one? but i guess space will come at a premium.

as the 060 chips themselves are both rare and expensive, surely there's a way to directly clone the chip onto FPGA?

[delshay]

You don't have to prop up the original case if cooling is done correctly not even a single extra hole to drill. You can still use the original trap door cover even at 300Mhz+
But cooling must be done correctly. Get cooling wrong and you could damage the card.

However I do recommend a little cut out internally at the trap guide to release hot air around the card area but this is not visible when original trap cover is replaced.

A1200 will look normal with no visible modification when viewed externally as its all internal.

[diablothe2nd]

yeah no chance with trapdoor closed on my 66/330 bppc

it also depends on your 68k chip. my older Blizzard 1260 used to get CRAZY hot, with it being an earlier model chip.

[NovaCoder]

I've got no interest in PPC and no interest in running OS4 either.

Give me a modern 100Mhz 060 with tons of memory over PPC any day, 100% compatibility with legacy Amiga software + the power to run new optimized 060 ports (eg games and web browsers).

I'd actually be more interested in running an 060 optimized version of something like AROS Vision

[mfilos]

@NovaCoder
+1 \o/

[DDNI]

@ Novacoder
I share your passion for the classics and 68k but, my PPC X1000 is bringing me massive joy
There is room (if not time) for both!

[delshay]

Blizzard ppc card 68k can do 93Mhz when I last checked,but watch out its going to set a new world record for dram bandwidth and hopefully get much closer to 100Mhz or may even exceed 100Mhz.

[NovaCoder]

Originally Posted by delshay

Blizzard ppc card 68k can do 93Mhz when I last checked,but watch out its going to set a new world record for dram bandwidth and hopefully get much closer to 100Mhz or may even exceed 100Mhz.

But imagine how much faster an 512MB ACA style 060 would be with fast chip ram access, even better with a built in IdeFix Express style SATA solution

Then imagine an OS that was actually complied specifically for 060 processors (even OS 3.9 contains mostly 68020 targeted code and probably some legacy 68000 code as well).

Even after all these years there is still more interesting developments in the classic scene (hardware and software) than in OS4 land which shows just how successful OS4 has been.

[OlafSch]

Originally Posted by NovaCoder

But imagine how much faster an 512MB ACA style 060 would be with fast chip ram access, even better with a built in IdeFix Express style SATA solution

Then imagine an OS that was actually complied specifically for 060 processors (even OS 3.9 contains mostly 68020 targeted code and probably some legacy 68000 code as well).

Even after all these years there is still more interesting developments in the classic scene (hardware and software) than in OS4 land which shows just how successful OS4 has been.

I could insert the 68060 versions of the libraries (where available) in a "special version" but the main libs would be the same. I do not know if there would be a real difference (I used the 68020 versions for my distribution similar to Amikit or Amigasys)

[quarkx]

The biggest problem that no one wants to address is price. if history has taught us anything, is that Amiga hardware producers want a return on their investment right away, so in order to produce a "New" PPC card, we will all be paying the same, if not more for PPC hardware, then we are now.
This of course opens up NO new markets, and does not mean any sales what so ever, because, the people that can afford them now, already have them.
Until someone comes up with a PPC board under $200 USD, the market is going to remain the same as it is now.
Once someone does break the "Budget" price, then the PPC and OS4 market will explode, and developers and games will be written.
But of course, this is all a dream, because no hardware manufacture WILL (even if they could) put out a card for that price, because the greed to milk the Amiga market is just too tempting-especially when it comes to the PPC and OS4.
I wouldn't be surprised if Hyperion wanted a kick-back or a "Fee" from every PPC hardware made.
I just thank G, that there are people like Jens, that are slowly making "affordable" parts for the market, and bucking the trend to Milk every last penny from the Amiga Community.

[jbenam]

Originally Posted by quarkx

But of course, this is all a dream, because no hardware manufacture WILL (even if they could) put out a card for that price, because the greed to milk the Amiga market is just too tempting-especially when it comes to the PPC and OS4.

Amen brother

Originally Posted by quarkx

I just thank G, that there are people like Jens, that are slowly making "affordable" parts for the market, and bucking the trend to Milk every last penny from the Amiga Community.

Yeah, Jens (and the other homebrew Amiga hardware makers ) is truly a real blessing to the Amiga scene

[_ThEcRoW]

Every amiga side business try to milk it at its finest. It isn't exclusive to the ng part.

[demolition]

Originally Posted by _ThEcRoW

Every amiga side business try to milk it at its finest. It isn't exclusive to the ng part.

All businesses try to milk their customers as much as possible, that is what business is about. If you don't do that, you probably won't stay in business for very long.

I know that many business owners might say otherwise, but maintaining a good image is also a part of maximizing profits.

Of course, if you have way too high prices, you will have a hard time selling your products, thus you're losing profits -> bad strategy.

[matthey]

Originally Posted by demolition

All businesses try to milk their customers as much as possible, that is what business is about. If you don't do that, you probably won't stay in business for very long.

I know that many business owners might say otherwise, but maintaining a good image is also a part of maximizing profits.

That is not true. Many businesses are satisfied with selling their customers what they need when they need it. Also, some businesses would rather milk a lot of customers a little rather than milk a few a lot. Our niche family business was nearly unprofitable for awhile because we didn't raise prices with inflation fast enough. Customers would experience much higher prices and might not find anyone else to do the work we do if we didn't exist. We often do some work as a service to our customers that is not profitable and that we no doubt loose money on sometimes. Of course we have other products and services that are very profitable but we are still cheaper than the competition most of the time. We pride ourselves in being both low price and high quality. Most businesses tend toward one or the other.

[lole]

Ok, I send a letter to Individual Computers about my poll. Here it is:

Dear Individual Computers,

I think I'm speaking for many of the Amiga community when I say I've long missed high-end expansion cards for the classic Amiga platform. I did this poll to check if I was right, and I was:

http://www.tonesoftales.com/amigappcpoll/

Is there any possibility that you could consider making a new 060 or 060/PPC card for A1200 (or A3000/A4000)? You could for example make a kickstart project out of it. As you can see in the poll, there are many people out there who would like to run AmigaOS 4.1 on their favorite machine.

Yours sincerely
Olle Härstedt