A500 graphics card

[chaos]

Anyone seen this:

http://www.a1k.org/forum/showthread....ne+grafikkarte

I think it's great! I just love all the hardware projects that are cropping up lately

I just wonder were to get a graphics chip like that - time to dig in my old PC parts box ...

[pandy71]

Originally Posted by chaos

I just wonder were to get a graphics chip like that - time to dig in my old PC parts box ...

Why? FPGA can be better than CL GD5434.

[chaos]

Originally Posted by pandy71

Why? FPGA can be better than CL GD5434.

I agree, I'd love to do a CPU accelerator / graphics card / ethernet / sound card in a FPGA for the A500, if only someone would help me write the Picasso96 / AHI / SANA drivers

The Cirrus Logic GD5434 is very well available as new old stock in Hong Kong for less than 10$/pcs.!

Of course is a FPGA-design nicer, but who writes the driver? This VGA-chip has a working driver. A mixture of PicassoII+ and the PiccoloSD64, which gives you the speed of the Piccolo and the compatibility of the Picasso !

Best regards

[pandy71]

Originally Posted by Matze

Of course is a FPGA-design nicer, but who writes the driver? This VGA-chip has a working driver. A mixture of PicassoII+ and the PiccoloSD64, which gives you the speed of the Piccolo and the compatibility of the Picasso !

Then FPGA with same registers as in CL/VGA - in fact most of FPGA's video cores is VGA like... perhaps slightly modified driver is sufficient - some WinUAE compatible interface (i believe Toni emulate real HW) is a guide how to create FPGA interface (speed and additional functionality can be better than on real Picasso).

btw i don't like a1k as they prevent to display attachments (at least pictures) without login...

Of course 90% of the cirrus is standard VGA-stuff and easily implementable for FPGA-Logic, BUT (written very big!):

A VGA Chip also handles the digital to analog conversion (DAC) for RGB-Output. Furthermore the VGA-Chips compensates the temperature drift within the DAC to guaranty the color correctness.

Try this with an FPGA!

If you want RGB, you need at least a external DAC. If you want to implement DVI /HDMI/DisplayPort you can avoid this, but then the complexity of your FPGA increases. DVI looks simple but it is hard to implement, because you have to deal with a lot of bad designed Monitors...

Regarding A1k-Image policy:

AFAK that's because of German laws in combination with recent spam-bot attacks:

There have been lawyers, who cooperate with spam-bots, who post illegal stuff. Afterwards the lawyer impeaches the forum to press charges. A very nice and friendly business model! Unfortunately German law is very lawyer friendly in this case and you have little chances to get a fair trial with no costs.

So: No attachments without login and the first five posts are checked by a mod, then you can upload images.

Best regards

[jbenam]

Thanks for your replies Matze, very interesting project you have there!

Would this also work in a Zorro 2 equipped Amiga? (I can see a cut-out PCB part...)

Thanks!

[pandy71]

Originally Posted by Matze

Of course 90% of the cirrus is standard VGA-stuff and easily implementable for FPGA-Logic, BUT (written very big!):

Even today modern GPU retain old VGA structure...

Originally Posted by Matze

A VGA Chip also handles the digital to analog conversion (DAC) for RGB-Output. Furthermore the VGA-Chips compensates the temperature drift within the DAC to guaranty the color correctness.

Try this with an FPGA!

First this sound odd (this is CL datasheet?), second time when CL was released, only ancient IC technology (when compared to nowadays) was available - previously integration analog and digital at the same die was very challenging - today... today there is no FPGA with DAC integrated (AFAIK) so unavoidable is to use external video DAC - then thermal compensation is not needed. (But i can imagine single bit video DAC similar to single bit audio DAC's - not sure only if with low oversampling ratio it will provide sufficient dynamic)

Originally Posted by Matze

If you want RGB, you need at least a external DAC. If you want to implement DVI /HDMI/DisplayPort you can avoid this, but then the complexity of your FPGA increases. DVI looks simple but it is hard to implement, because you have to deal with a lot of bad designed Monitors...

That's my point - as analog video dying anyway, external HDMI/DP transmitter will be sufficient for almost all customers (high chance that in less than 5 years from now there will be no TV's with analog input at all).

Originally Posted by Matze

Regarding A1k-Image policy:

AFAK that's because of German laws in combination with recent spam-bot attacks:

There have been lawyers, who cooperate with spam-bots, who post illegal stuff. Afterwards the lawyer impeaches the forum to press charges. A very nice and friendly business model! Unfortunately German law is very lawyer friendly in this case and you have little chances to get a fair trial with no costs.

So: No attachments without login and the first five posts are checked by a mod, then you can upload images.

Best regards

Not sure about German law but this sound weird - things you describing is plainly cyber crime and as such is pursued by any normal country.

[BigFan]

Originally Posted by pandy71

Not sure about German law but this sound weird - things you describing is plainly cyber crime and as such is pursued by any normal country.

It is weird and it's not true. As a hoster you are partially responsible what means you have to delete content that violates the law immediately after you have been informed about this.

And laws in germany aren't better or worse than those in the states or uk. If you don't care, then the lawyers get a homerun.

Blackmailing like descripted above would lead to withdrawal of admission as attorney.

[kipper2k]

love the design, don't like anything external on the a500, the a500 is wide enough without taking up more desk space. especially when it's open

[s2325]

Card(s) for sale, account required http://www.a1k.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52795

[brett71]

Could someone share some pics of the device here, and some detailed specs?

[Foxman]

Originally Posted by brett71

Could someone share some pics of the device here, and some detailed specs?

http://amiga68k.de/2015/12/14/neue-g...vorbestellbar/

Your can change the language to english directly on the page.

[jbenam]

Originally Posted by Foxman

http://amiga68k.de/2015/12/14/neue-g...vorbestellbar/

Your can change the language to english directly on the page.

I was interested in this... Then I looked at the price. 229€. What.

I know it's bad form to criticise Amiga HW prices, but this one takes the cake. You can read in this same thread that the Cirrus Logic chips used are sold for cheap, so I can't fathom where such a high price is coming from - especially considering that there wasn't much software development needed at all, as it reuses pre-existing P96 drivers.

[Arnie]

I dunno, manufacturing costs (those connectors aren't cheap). Hours spent on PCB design?

It is what it is, One off Amiga stuff is expensive.

I wonder if it has a pass thru for the ACA?

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by Arnie

I dunno, manufacturing costs (those connectors aren't cheap). Hours spent on PCB design?

It is what it is, One off Amiga stuff is expensive.

I wonder if it has a pass thru for the ACA?

Recommended CPU is 020 or 030 so hogging the expansion port without pass-through will make satisfying those recommended specs... hard..

[jbenam]

Originally Posted by Arnie

(those connectors aren't cheap)

You're probably thinking of the A1200/A4000 connectors - this card uses neither, just bog standard connectors that can be bought for peanuts.

But you make a good point - he might've spent a lot of time on this. I suppose it's just for people with deeper pockets than mine

[pandy71]

FPGA is cheaper and better - some open cores with VGA++ (also 2D/3D acceleration exists with simple texturing can be added or direct integration with Amiga graphics).

[Megol]

Originally Posted by pandy71

FPGA is cheaper and better - some open cores with VGA++ (also 2D/3D acceleration exists with simple texturing can be added or direct integration with Amiga graphics).

Will you write the drivers?

[McTrinsic]

So, will you make one?

Thanks,
McT

Originally Posted by pandy71

FPGA is cheaper and better - some open cores with VGA++ (also 2D/3D acceleration exists with simple texturing can be added or direct integration with Amiga graphics).