Assuming there's no port to PS3/Mac mini/x86/ARM/whatever in the near future, I'm wondering what'll happen next.

The MOS team are clearly going to the Mac mini, AROS are going everywhere, and Anubis using a Linux kernel is already everywhere.

But what about OS4 and especially, what about Sam?

Acube are obviously selling machines in some quantity, I don't think the directors have been visiting the local Porsche dealership yet but a steady stream of people appear to getting them.

The question is where next?

Acube appear to have some relationship with AMCC and I assume that'll continue. The question is given that, where can they go next and how will it compete with a Mac mini?

If they stick with AMCC they don't have a lot of choice processor wise. They are further restricted by the need for an FPU, many of the AMCC chips don't have these so it pretty much rules them out.

So, what can they do and how would it compare to the Mac mini?

I don't think a Titan machine will be possible, with their volumes it'll likely be too expensive. That said they now know they can sell machines and this will make getting financing easier, if they can raise more cash up front they can do bigger production runs and lower the cost - a lower cost board will open up the market a lot more than today.

I think their best choice might be to go for the 460EX.
What it offers:

- Higher clock speed - up to 1.06GHz.
- 256KB cache - this alone will make a large performance difference.
- 64bit DDR2 interface @ 533MHz - That's 4x faster than Sam and 2x faster then the Mac mini.

On chip I/O:
PCIe - It's only 4x but it opens the door to modern Gfx cards
SATA II
1Gb Ethernet
USB 2.0

Other hardware goodies:
TCP/IP acceleration
Crypto engine
RAID5

The CPU core is identical to before but the I/O options on the chip are much better, the additional hardware engines are also potentially useful if drivers can be found / written.

One potentially very useful but seemingly never used part of the Sam is the FPGA. This is potentially very useful but for some reason it seems to have been ignored.

I'd keep an FPGA on board but change it. Why? In a word: Minimig
If there's a big enough FPGA on board with some form of I/O that can route the Gfx O/P to a PCIe card (probably just copy the frame buffer) you get a classic Amiga built in... Ok, it's only an A500 and wiring it up an emulated 68K might be er, fun but that's lots of old stuff you can run...


Anyway, something like this with a low price might get interesting. It'll still be miles behind x86 and it'll not set the world alight but it is an advancement. It won't match a G4 Mac Mini in raw processing power but it'll have a better memory system, I/O and graphics.

Hmm, a relatively weak CPU with a lot of good stuff around it, that reminds me of a computer I had once...

_________________
Whyzzat?

@minator

I still would love to see this as an option:

YDL PowerStation

Quote:

YDL PowerStation The YDL PowerStation by Fixstars is a fast, robust, rock solid Power architecture deskside workstation. Not even when you-know-who offered a workstation did the Power community enjoy such a well supported powerhouse. Quad-core 2.5GHz IBM 970MP CPUs with native 32/64-bit processing. Single 70GB SAS drive. Up to 4 SAS drives. 2 GB RAM. Up to 32 GB RAM. Dual Gigabit ethernet. 4 on-board USB 1.0 ports. Belkin USB 2.0 5-Port PCI Express card pre-installed. 2 RS232; 1 console-only (VTY) serial via RJ45 connector. DVD/CD-RW. Yellow Dog Linux pre-installed. Deskside tower chassis with easy access to all interior components. $1125.00 Total

Last edited by fairlanefastback on 14-Aug-2009 at 11:36 PM.
Last edited by fairlanefastback on 14-Aug-2009 at 11:35 PM.
Last edited by fairlanefastback on 14-Aug-2009 at 11:34 PM.

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Amikit user, tinkering with Icaros VM (AROS)
EFIKA owner
Amiga 1200

@fairlanefastback

+1

_________________
I'm an antique. Don't light my fuse

@fairlanefastback

Who knows maybe multicore is Hyperions big secret?

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If your nose runs and your feet smell, you're upside down.

@Antique

is that +1 for fairlanefastback avatar?

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I was a ZX Spectrum owner....

@d0c

He does know how to pick a decent avatar if nothing else.

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If your nose runs and your feet smell, you're upside down.

@minator

We need software to push the hardware.
Is that happening?

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If you're going through hell, keep going. -Winston Churchill

@fairlanefastback

Quote:

I still would love to see this as an option: YDL PowerStation

So would I but what happened to the 4Ghz version?

Are they going the way of Amiga and decreasing CPU speed?

By the time we get it, it will barely run at 1Ghz, single core!

Last edited by Hypex on 15-Aug-2009 at 02:03 AM.

@fairlanefastback

Count me in on the PowerStation. I am thinking of getting one anyway.

_________________
Raptor BlackBird (awaiting a Miggy like OS)
Amiga 4000 3.9 / Pegasos II 4.1 F.E.

I have the money and I would buy a PowerStation tomorrow if AmigaOS 4.x came out on it even if just one processor was supported at first. All the hardware and bios is open and documented as well. Come on Hyperion, this is the best PPC bang for the Buck and trumps the MacMini!

@fairlanefastback

Man...I am drooling over that YDL Powerstation.

Why on earth are we not already running OS 4.x or MorphOS on that box?? Crazy. We should setup a bounty, buy a few boxes for key OS4 and MorphOS dev's and get the porting done.

_________________
AmigaOS 4.x Beta Tester - Classic Amiga enthusiast - http://www.hd-zone.com is my Amiga Blog, check it out!

@minator

I do like the Power Station, but I'd rather see an Amithlon type solution for OS4 with cell support. Put it on a 3G quad pc, an Amiga laptop would become a reality. Would just solve so many problems all at once.

_________________
Hate tends to make you look stupid...

@All

I actually like the whole idea of OS 4.x being dependent on a hardware, like a SAM version of OS 4.1 that runs only in SAM and same for MicroA1 and so on. I think it is hot * fans face *

Yes, the Powerstation would be very nice. I was actually going to buy one but decided it was too much money (not really the cost of the machine itself more the shipping and tax really bumped the price up) for yet another computer.

Off topic: I notice that Amigakit have 800mhz Sam's back in...

_________________
"We live, we die, we laugh, we cry"

Last I heard was that the PowerStation was not avail-
able any more. Sold out, more or less perminently.

It's an old developer box from IBM, that's all.

@ironfist

Quote:

ironfist wrote: Last I heard was that the PowerStation was not avail- able any more. Sold out, more or less perminently. It's an old developer box from IBM, that's all.

Not only is avaliable but now has a 10% discount price

_________________
No PowerPC, No Fun
Make Amiga Great Again

The PowerStation is a nice machine that's for sure but it appears to be an EOL'd IBM workstation, so is likely to have some availability problems.

Also while the price isn't bad for what it is, VAT, import duty and shipping are going to increase the price significantly. You also have to add a graphics and sound cards (they're not listed on the spec).

A port to G5 Macs would probably be a better option as they'll be more available and cheaper.


However... This is OT, the point of this thread was to ask what Acube's options were assuming there were no ports.

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Whyzzat?

@minator

Quote:

The PowerStation is a nice machine that's for sure but it appears to be an EOL'd IBM workstation, so is likely to have some availability problems.

You hit the nail on the head, however good it looks, it's not available for rebranding, redistribution, etc.

@COBRA
available for rebranding and redistribution as what? given the sam is just genuine embedded board and no amiga brand either so who cares anymore? i dont think there is much choice left even if i dont care that much atm that i would like to run aos4 on apple hw.

First, i' d like to see a good and optimzed version of amiga os 4.1 for sam, including video driver 2D/3D and USB ( like mos ) then we can go everywhere.. we are not using all the sam power, i have an ibook g3 500 mhz that is less powerfull than the Sam and it can do more things and better than sam+OS4.1..

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