Zeus68k – Accelerator/IDE/RAM for the A500/2000/CDTV and others - Page 3

mr.vince · 13 July 2012, 15:35

The BootMenu is for the Amiga at the moment, but of course you can put any other 68k code in the flash and do other fancy stuff.

gunni · 13 July 2012, 15:45

I'm interested dependent on price, good work!

Twiggy · 13 July 2012, 16:10

Quote:

Why would you want ha 68000 cpu in a 68020 machine?

I was thinking more for the other benefits, IDE and RAM.

rare_j · 13 July 2012, 17:04

I wonder what this bad boy would do a megadrive or a neo geo

Your market could be a LOT bigger than you think.

mr.vince · 13 July 2012, 17:13

We think big.

that's why most of the design is fully reconfigurable via the FPGA.

However, most games weren't made for faster processors, at least not on consoles. But of course such games could be modded to take advantage of the processing power and RAM.

frank_b · 13 July 2012, 20:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.vince

[/LIST] Yes, of course.

No, as it's been made for an 68k DIL socket.

It should work in all devices that have a DIL socket. Now read that again... yes, it does not say Amiga. Although this was designed for the Amiga, reprogramming the FPGA should make it compatible with other devices as well, e.g. an Atari ST.

Toni, yes, it has Flash. Please email me with what you specifically need and I'll check.

Yes please. I'll take two. I'd also buy one for the STE

mr.vince · 13 July 2012, 20:17

For the record: The boot menu would need to be recoded for the ST and someone would need to help with the Atari quirks which we are not experts for. But since people will be able to mess with FPGA logic and Boot Menu source, this should not be an issue.

Note: Most STs have the CPU soldered onto the mainboard with very little space above. Therefore it might be necessary to build a small adapter cable. Fancy but... we should try this...

frank_b · 13 July 2012, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.vince

For the record: The boot menu would need to be recoded for the ST and someone would need to help with the Atari quirks which we are not experts for. But since people will be able to mess with FPGA logic and Boot Menu source, this should not be an issue.

Note: Most STs have the CPU soldered onto the mainboard with very little space above. Therefore it might be necessary to build a small adapter cable. Fancy but... we should try this...

I've posted this on Atari forum to see what the hardware experts there say.

mr.vince · 13 July 2012, 22:17

Erm... I actually intended to post there myself. Maybe the mods will have to combine threads...

frank_b · 13 July 2012, 22:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.vince

Erm... I actually intended to post there myself. Maybe the mods will have to combine threads...

Bigger the market the cheaper the end user cost

Reynolds · 13 July 2012, 22:34

I have some A2000s, A500/+s and a CDTV around here... all would wlecome something like this... Everything depends on the price and if it will be truly available....

mr.vince · 13 July 2012, 22:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by frank_b

Bigger the market the cheaper the end user cost

Yes, but does not help to drown in requests when you can only handle a certain amount a day...

desiv · 13 July 2012, 22:39

Weird thought..
Have you considered Kickstarter?

The only reason I mention it is that I was thinking the tricky part is figuring out the actual number of units needed...

If you think you can get a great price break at 500+ units, you could start a kickstarter with a project goal to be able to pay for the 500 units.
At $xxx dollar donation, the person gets a unit when it's done.

If it works out, great...
If not, no one is charged, but you have a more realistic number to go by...

You can have tiers as well to cover resellers. So it you kickstart $xxxx you get more units (bulk purchase)...

Probably a bad idea, but I've been engrossed with Kickstarter recently.. ;-)

Anyway, good luck with this..
My 500 and I will be watching this closely..

desiv

frank_b · 13 July 2012, 22:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.vince

Yes, but does not help to drown in requests when you can only handle a certain amount a day...

Ok Well good luck in any case

mr.vince · 13 July 2012, 23:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by desiv

Have you considered Kickstarter?

Kickstarter does not (yet) work for us. We're in the UK, and Herzi, the main dev, is in Germany. But yes, maybe some alternative, or when Kickstarter comes to the UK.

But hey, we made KryoFlux happen with the help of EAB and A1K, we'll get this baby made some or the other way...

Quote:

Originally Posted by frank_b

Ok Well good luck in any case

I posted it.

desiv · 13 July 2012, 23:25

Forgot about Kickstarter not being global yet.. ;-(

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.vince

But hey, we made KryoFlux happen with the help of EAB and A1K, we'll get this baby made some or the other way...

Yep, and I still love my Kryoflux. You make great hardware.. ;-)

desiv

mr.vince · 13 July 2012, 23:30

This accelerator is not our own design, it's solely made by Herzi and Scrat. It's our way of saying thanks, passing on the stick and helping others to get something out...

Herzi said he liked making it, but feared all things related to bringing this to market. So here we are.

XDelusion · 14 July 2012, 00:15

If this could make my 600 run at 50Mhz, I'd be all over it!

Very cool either way!

mc6809e · 14 July 2012, 07:40

I'm curious, with the CPU at 50 MHz, will Gary/Agnus handle back to back 280ns reads of chip ram if no DMA is active, or must the CPU still wait 500+ns between words?

mjnurney · 14 July 2012, 11:06

brilliant ...any ball park ££ figure?

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13 July 2012, 15:35	#41
mr.vince Cheesy crust Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hawk's Creek Age: 48 Posts: 1,383	The BootMenu is for the Amiga at the moment, but of course you can put any other 68k code in the flash and do other fancy stuff.

13 July 2012, 15:45	#42
gunni Registered User Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Dunfermline Posts: 141	I'm interested dependent on price, good work!

13 July 2012, 17:04	#44
rare_j Zone Friend Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London Posts: 1,176	I wonder what this bad boy would do a megadrive or a neo geo Your market could be a LOT bigger than you think.

13 July 2012, 17:13	#45
mr.vince Cheesy crust Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hawk's Creek Age: 48 Posts: 1,383	We think big. that's why most of the design is fully reconfigurable via the FPGA. However, most games weren't made for faster processors, at least not on consoles. But of course such games could be modded to take advantage of the processing power and RAM.

13 July 2012, 20:17	#47
mr.vince Cheesy crust Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hawk's Creek Age: 48 Posts: 1,383	For the record: The boot menu would need to be recoded for the ST and someone would need to help with the Atari quirks which we are not experts for. But since people will be able to mess with FPGA logic and Boot Menu source, this should not be an issue. Note: Most STs have the CPU soldered onto the mainboard with very little space above. Therefore it might be necessary to build a small adapter cable. Fancy but... we should try this...

13 July 2012, 22:17	#49
mr.vince Cheesy crust Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hawk's Creek Age: 48 Posts: 1,383	Erm... I actually intended to post there myself. Maybe the mods will have to combine threads...

13 July 2012, 22:34	#51
Reynolds Alien Breeder Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Szigetszentmiklos / Hungary Age: 46 Posts: 1,096	I have some A2000s, A500/+s and a CDTV around here... all would wlecome something like this... Everything depends on the price and if it will be truly available....

13 July 2012, 22:39	#53
desiv Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Salem, OR Posts: 1,770	Weird thought.. Have you considered Kickstarter? The only reason I mention it is that I was thinking the tricky part is figuring out the actual number of units needed... If you think you can get a great price break at 500+ units, you could start a kickstarter with a project goal to be able to pay for the 500 units. At $xxx dollar donation, the person gets a unit when it's done. If it works out, great... If not, no one is charged, but you have a more realistic number to go by... You can have tiers as well to cover resellers. So it you kickstart $xxxx you get more units (bulk purchase)... Probably a bad idea, but I've been engrossed with Kickstarter recently.. ;-) Anyway, good luck with this.. My 500 and I will be watching this closely.. desiv

13 July 2012, 23:30	#57
mr.vince Cheesy crust Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hawk's Creek Age: 48 Posts: 1,383	This accelerator is not our own design, it's solely made by Herzi and Scrat. It's our way of saying thanks, passing on the stick and helping others to get something out... Herzi said he liked making it, but feared all things related to bringing this to market. So here we are.

14 July 2012, 00:15	#58
XDelusion Alien Breeder Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: NW Ohio Posts: 276	If this could make my 600 run at 50Mhz, I'd be all over it! Very cool either way!

14 July 2012, 07:40	#59
mc6809e Registered User Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: USA Posts: 372	I'm curious, with the CPU at 50 MHz, will Gary/Agnus handle back to back 280ns reads of chip ram if no DMA is active, or must the CPU still wait 500+ns between words?

14 July 2012, 11:06	#60
mjnurney Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Towcester, Northampton Posts: 311	brilliant ...any ball park ££ figure?

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