STraTOS 1997 April & May/STraTOS 1 - 1997 April & May.iso/CD01/INTERNET/SITES/RAND/T0328/text0004.txt

Text File | 1997-02-06 | 3.6 KB | 86 lines

> > I have been told that it can handle up to 25MHz, that is absolutly the maximum
> > and I guess that all can't handle that, so 20MHz is the most used and it will
> > work with all falcons.
>
> Nope - many Falcons can cope with a bus rate of up to 27Mhz. It's the CPU & it's
> circuitry that trips up around the 40Mhz range.

Why not push it to the limits! 27MHZ it should be! :-))

> Because you can't clock the CPU at anything other than an integral multiple of the
> bus rate (without complications) then doubling 27Mhz gives you 54Mhz - which is
> out of the question.
>
> 24Mhz is the range we have picked, because the bus is stable at this rate and some
> CPU's (with our new card) will handle a 48MHz clock. Our prototype is working at
> 25/25 at the moment - and is nice and stable.

Why don't we builde our own falcons? It looks like there is enough of knowledge
around europe to do it. :-)

As the main problem is the layout, why not use a motherboard from a falcon and
strip of all the components and replace them with our own? We could sell it
as a 'builde it your own super flacon kit' and there could also be proffesional
kits (More highpowered componenets as a new DSP and higher clockrate, maybe we could
run the whole f*cking machine in 80-90MHz including the bus!!!! Arrgghh...that
would be spppeeeddddyyy... SGI here we come!). >>:-)))))

Maybe we even could buy clean mothercards straight from the factory...

Dream on Magnus. :-))

BTW. What will happen to the name Atari now when they are gone? Maybe we could
buy the rights to it? ;-)

> > According to some infos there's probably a way, but I can't imagine it.
>
> > Replacing the blitter/combel with your own. ;-)
>
> Nope - there are two ways.
>
> 1) disable the blitter

Which must be the easiest way. :-)

> 2) half-clock the blitter 16->8 / 20->10 / 24->12 / 26->13 etc..

As the Combel and the blitter is one part (probably an FPGA or ASIC?) you can't
half-clock the blitter without halfclock the combel as well, or? Doesn't the Combel
need to run in the same speed as the bus?

> Either way, the problem is solved. It is preferable to disable it in software using
> a simple auto patch.

Hmmm... does the BSS accelarator work in the same way as the FX-card? I think the
FX-card have some logic to help sync the different parts in the falcon using an
reprogrammeble FPGA. BTW. Using an FPGA is realy nice as it's easy reprogrammable.
The FPGA uses an external EPROM that is reprogrammable and when you start the computer
the content in the EPROM is downloaded into the FPGA, very nice. :-))) Ofcourse there
is also FPGA's that is burned like a PROM and can't be reprogrammed.

FPGA's is the future! :-))

I guess the BSS can't include to advanced components (as FPGA's) as it would be to
expensive only god old logic gates. :-)

Is it the same guys who are building this as did the ScreenEye (or was it another
one?), or have you some hidden knowledge in hardware as well? :-)

Last question. You have no planes to continue doing different accelerators? Maybe something
like the Hawk or Centurbo II there you have a new 030 on a card running it at a crazy
speed (60 or 80MHz as the Centurbo II) with local 32/bit fast-RAM? That would be realy
cool and as the Hawk will never be, you could sell quite a few at the right price and
it looks like you know what thigs should cost.

Just look at the Speed Resolution Card. What a joke compared with yours! More than twice
the price, maybe even 3 times the price and now I'm talking about the 60 pound price for
none Apex users (if that is correct..), and poorer performance. :-)

Just some crazy thoughts... :-)

//Magnus Kollberg