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Announcement   Announcement : Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
   posted by DaveyD on 30-Apr-2007 18:11:19 (27883 reads)
Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Entry level product ready for Customers Summer 2007

Issaquah, Wash USA – Fonthill, ON Canada April 29, 2007 – ACK Controls and Amiga, Inc. are pleased to announce the base hardware design that will address the needs of the Amiga market as well offering expansion into other markets.

“The first product release is designed for flexibility and meeting the needs of the Amiga user, as well as offer a design that takes advantage of available hardware”, said Adam Kowalczyk President of ACK Systems


This new system will be offered at a suggested retail price of $ 489.00 and be a complete offering excluding monitor in a finished design that will provide customers with everything they need to get started.

  • Flex-ATX form factor motherboard based on the Freescale MPC8349E SoC. (400MHz to 667MHz depending on requirements and price target)
  • 1 (one) DDR2 DIMM slot expandable to 1GB using unregistered DIMMs.
  • 1 (one) 66MHz PCI slot for use with readily available graphics cards.
  • 2 (two) 33MHz  PCI slots for additional expansion.
  • 2 (two) 10/100/1Gb Ethernet Ports.
  • 4 (four) Hi Speed USB ports.
  • 2 (two) serial ports.
  • 4 (four) SATA ports provided by a Silicon Image Sil3114 controller.
  • Onboard sound provided by a C-Media CMI8738.
  • Socketed EEPROM for U-Boot firmware.
  • Atmel ATC2408A serial EEPROM (1kb of non-volatile storage)
  • Dallas DS1339 RTC with battery holder.
  • Standard ATX power supply connector.

“Amiga is please to be working with ACK Controls and believe that by using flexible designs and aggressive manufacturing practices we will be able to deliver to our customers a great product at a great price”, said Bill McEwen of Amiga, Inc.

Manufacturing partner and final ship schedule will be following soon.

About Amiga
Amiga, Inc. is the world’s premier provider of multimedia enabling technologies. For almost two decades its award-winning software has been a mainstay for motion picture studios, multimedia creators, and digital entertainment enthusiasts around the world. Today Amiga builds on this legacy leading the way in multimedia development by providing developers with hardware-independent technologies for writing and porting applications to new platforms and interactive devices. For more information visit www.amiga.com.

About ACK
ACK Software Controls, Inc. specializes in the area of embedded controls design for use in automation systems where low-power consumption and reliability is an absolute must.  Concentrating on design for manufacturing with local manufacturing facilities has allowed ACK to quickly and cost-effectively develop solutions for customers with low-volume requirements.  By integrating hardware, firmware, and device driver engineering capability in-house, ACK can provide complete turn-key solutions to customers.
    

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PosterThread
Ami603 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 16:08:35
#101 ]
Cult Member
Joined: 7-Mar-2003
Posts: 580
From: Valencia,Spain 8-)

@Ainc:

Are we going to get the 50$ discount over this hardware if we buy it?


_________________
Cuida tus piedras gordas.

A1200/030 32Mb
A4000D
A1-X1000.

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Ami603 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 16:25:13
#102 ]
Cult Member
Joined: 7-Mar-2003
Posts: 580
From: Valencia,Spain 8-)

@Ainc:

As an OS4 betatester since almost the beginning i've seen constant updates and exhausting work done by most of the development team on a daily basis.Some days even had tons of updates you almost couldn't keep with their work rythm.And that was since early days of development,yet i haven't heard a single complain from the developers mouth (several of them contributing code almost for free) in all this time.At that time you didn't even consider the AmigaOS as a viable product.Now that it is done you want to get it for you without having contributed at all during this time,and you think you can sell this back to us????

definately not for me.


_________________
Cuida tus piedras gordas.

A1200/030 32Mb
A4000D
A1-X1000.

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dan.hutch 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 16:26:47
#103 ]
Cult Member
Joined: 30-Dec-2004
Posts: 529
From: United Kingdom

Quote:
"Amiga, Inc. is the world?s premier provider of multimedia enabling technologies. "


They lose all credability with this statement alone

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dan.hutch 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 16:32:42
#104 ]
Cult Member
Joined: 30-Dec-2004
Posts: 529
From: United Kingdom

Quote:
Erm, how can this be a complete system when there is no mention of things like memory, Hard drive, keyboard, etc? It doesn't even mention what case it comes with. What kind of optical drive will purchasers be using to install Hyperio...er...AmigaOS 4?

How can you get excited when it could come with 64MB of RAM, a 4.3Gig HDD a 2xCD-ROM and a refurbished Voodoo for all you know?


Why even annouce a spec, they should just wait until it is ready to ship. How many product specs have been announced now by various parties but never materalise as an actual product. Anyone can annouce a spec and date - but delivering a few 1000 real functioning motherboards with an OS is another story.

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AmigaHeretic 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 16:44:40
#105 ]
Super Member
Joined: 7-Mar-2003
Posts: 1697
From: Oregon

Quote:
Do you believe that Microsoft Windows is the best (technically speaking) operating system?do you believe that Windows was the first multitasking operating system?


"That is a common practice in business, exaggerate a little."
With that I agree. "Exaggerate a little"

BUT...

Microsoft HAS an operating system that has over, what, 90% market share and that over a billion people use? Thats a 1 followed by 9 zeros!!

1,000,000,000 People. So they, might have room to make a little claim, like "Best" operating system.


What does Amiga Inc have again that they can claim....

"world’s premier provider of multimedia enabling technologies"

oh that's right, nothing. They take some fairly crap games, rebage them with some hockey team logos (why hockey? I guess because no one watches it and it's cheap to license?) and sell it on there website to devices that people hardly use.

Well, thanks for enabling my "multimedia technology", oh wait, you didn't and you DON'T have a SINGLE product that has ANYTHING to do with MULTIMEDIA. PERIOD!


_________________
A3000D (16mhz, 2MB Chip, 4MB Fast, SCSI (300+MB), SuperGen Genlock, Kick 3.1)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back in my day, we didn't have water. We only had Oxygen & Hydrogen, & we'd just shove 'em together

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AmigaHeretic 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 16:51:34
#106 ]
Super Member
Joined: 7-Mar-2003
Posts: 1697
From: Oregon

Quote:
Oh come on now, obviously no one believes that. Every company spews marketing-speak about how great they are. Amiga Inc. is no different.


As I put in a previous post, I know there is difference in "marketing speak" and normal reality, but in Amiga Incs, case the statement they chose to put in every press release is A COMPLETE LIE. There is nothing true about it at all.

"Worlds Premier" --- People who have sold their "games" through Amiga Inc, have stated here what the volume was like and if less than 10 is World Class, then that news to me.


I would have much more respect for them if they either didn't put anything at all like this, or put the truth that they are a small company trying to create or grow or do whatever the hell it is they are trying to do. Which looks like kill AmigaOS4 at the moment, but I digress.


_________________
A3000D (16mhz, 2MB Chip, 4MB Fast, SCSI (300+MB), SuperGen Genlock, Kick 3.1)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back in my day, we didn't have water. We only had Oxygen & Hydrogen, & we'd just shove 'em together

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Zorro 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 17:35:48
#107 ]
Super Member
Joined: 30-Apr-2003
Posts: 1081
From: Italy

@Ainc :

Ami603 wrote...
Quote:
Are we going to get the 50$ discount over this hardware if we buy it?


And the 100$ discount of the Party Pack ?


_________________
-------------------------------
AmigaOS, the last hope...

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A3K 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 19:05:59
#108 ]
Member
Joined: 8-Sep-2005
Posts: 35
From: Unknown

Quote:
People should realize this is the entry level product.



Hmmm....sorry, I don't see this as an entry level product.

An ENTRY LEVEL product would be 1.25 Ghz G4...like the entry level Mac Mini of a year ago.

The HIGH END product would be a 2.x Ghz G5.

400-667 Mhz is an embedded application board being passed off as a home computer. While AmigaOS 4.x may not require more than that to run nicely, I can honestly state that Windows XP runs quite nicely on my old 500Mhz celeron system with 256 Megs of ram. I could watch DVD's and AVI's and listen to MP3's...the problem is that no modern applications run well on it and multitasking with multiple apps is out of the question. OS4 will have no use for a "killer app" because at 400-667Mhz, the hardware will not support it...not with any amount of overhead left. The problems get worse when strapped to a slow bus with limited graphics card support.

My $0.02

A3K

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terminator3 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 19:22:37
#109 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 26-Mar-2004
Posts: 187
From: USA

"yes, and that it will run AmigaOS4 which does not require a 4GHz CPU and 4Gb of RAM to be usable..."

THIS IS EXACTLY why Amiga hardware and software can be possible in first place.
Why do some of the people here keep thinking of more Ghz like pc users. Amiga was never about that.
If we could only get linux in addition (which isn't powerhungry either) the new amiga hardware would be perfect!

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terminator3 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 19:32:07
#110 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 26-Mar-2004
Posts: 187
From: USA

And again: ACK/Adam said its entry level!!!
Be interesting to see whats poweruser system and cost/price.
thats like saying amiga 500/1200 vs amiga 4000/2000/3000 for powerusers.
Obviously amiga 500/1200 cannot do everything that A4000/2000/3000 can do. (eg Video Toaster).
If I was ACK, i would hold off production till Amiga Inc & Hyperion iron out their things in court.
So don't be surprised if this court stuff, farther delays things.

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PulsatingQuasar 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 19:34:35
#111 ]
Cult Member
Joined: 10-Mar-2003
Posts: 550
From: The Netherlands, Europe

Quote:
Quote:
I am surprised no one else had mentioned this horrible chip. This just might be the DEAL BREAKER for me on this design.. I hate these chips for the following reasons..


You know....that's like not buying a car because you don't like who supplied the battery. I know people have "preferences", but as a deal breaker, that's a bit harsh.


Yes, but what about his concerns Adam? Are we going to run into trouble when the battery dies because if so this is a not so good design choice especially since there are other better solutions.


_________________
AmigaOne-XE G3 OS 4.
A4000 PPC
A1200 PPC

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terminator3 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 19:39:32
#112 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 26-Mar-2004
Posts: 187
From: USA

LOL another post.

Entry level:
Another question would be price difference between 400 MHz and 667 MHz.
Maybe its not worth providing that option???
# 1 (one) 66MHz PCI slot for use with readily available graphics cards.
# 2 (two) 33MHz PCI slots for additional expansion.

I think thats generous for entry level.

power system (speculation):
- something with 5 pci, 1 agp and/or pci express. Although really agp may be enough (think Eyetech's specs and if pci express would be actually used).
- dual cpu's???
my guess this one will depend on success of entry level (no hardware users, no software development, no need for premier/top of the line power system). besides few people will buy it (remember cost of Amiga One with Eyetech?)

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Nibunnoichi 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 20:10:44
#113 ]
Cult Member
Joined: 18-Nov-2004
Posts: 969
From: Roma + Lecco, Italia

@CodeSmith & Wiesel

Quote:

Atmel ATC2408A serial EEPROM (1kb of non-volatile storage)
Used to keep data that remains even after the computer is switched off. Since it's only 1KB, I imagine it will be used for configuration data (eg UBoot variables)

Dallas DS1339 RTC with battery holder.
This is the chip that keeps track of date and time. It's got a battery so it can keep accurate time even when the computer is switched off.

Thank you for explaining it... i was hoping they were meant for something "more special"

Last edited by Nibunnoichi on 01-May-2007 at 08:21 PM.


_________________
Proud Amigan since 1987
Owner of various Commodore and a SAM440ep\OS4.1FE
See them on http://retro.furinkan.org/

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CodeSmith 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 21:12:11
#114 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 8-Mar-2003
Posts: 3045
From: USA

@CaptainN

Quote:
The Dallas chip is a Real Time Clock (RTC), which means that is the clock crystal used for saving data, usually BIOS settings... the problem is that it is glued on top of the system battery.

Um, I've just looked at the datasheet for that chip and there's no reason for it to be glued to the top of the system battery. In fact, it's a surface mount chip so it's much more likely that it's soldered on the mainboard, simply because surface mount chips are very hard to work with in any other configuration. It is possible that the battery is mounted on top of the chip, but I'd be very surprised if it was the other way around. Do you have a picture of the new ACK board that shows this?

[edit] In fact, the description says "...with battery holder", which to me means the battery is not soldered on the mainboard at all, but rather there's a receptacle for it just like all computer boards made in the last few years.

Last edited by CodeSmith on 01-May-2007 at 09:17 PM.
Last edited by CodeSmith on 01-May-2007 at 09:16 PM.

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A3K 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 22:14:04
#115 ]
Member
Joined: 8-Sep-2005
Posts: 35
From: Unknown

Quote:
I think thats generous for entry level.


You must be using some obscure definition of the word "Generous" that I and most others are not aware of.

A Mobo with integrated sound and ethernet with PCI expansion slots. Whhoooohooo! Too bad it is connected to a CPU designed to compete on the desktop level with Pentium 2 processors 8 years out of date.

Bump it to 1.25 Ghz with a PCI Express slot and you have "entry level." Right now you have kiosk board. Take a step away from the forest and see the trees. That spec is entry level in the way that a mo-ped is an entry level car. A complete solution with that (1.25Ghz & PCIx) spec would have me whipping out the credit card, even if it was $100-200 more. Sub-$500 does not get me excited unless it is worth owning.

I would like to see a speed comparison between that system and a $500 modern PC running UAE and OS3.5. I have a feeling I know which one would benchmark faster. A 3 Ghz Athlon 64 with a gig of ram would do a fair job I imagine and the price would be comparable. You cannot release a new machine that could be comparably emulated on comparably priced PC hardware and expect to generate much excitement. Before you go there, I know that OS4 is PPC only and UAE will not run it...irrelevant given the application availability.

My $0.04

A3K

Last edited by A3K on 01-May-2007 at 11:41 PM.

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debrun 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 1-May-2007 23:29:16
#116 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 1-Oct-2006
Posts: 347
From: New York

Quote:
You can't turn a terminally underpowered product into something attractive simply by calling it 'entry level'.


Yes they can.

Get off your throne(s)!


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

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debrun 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 2-May-2007 0:01:18
#117 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 1-Oct-2006
Posts: 347
From: New York

Quote:
Do you believe that, "Amiga, Inc. is the world’s premier provider of multimedia enabling technologies. " ?


No, but who is?

Muhammed Ali said he was, "The Greatest!". Was there somebody else in the world that could have whipped the snot out of him? Or... is that negative nit-picking... LMAO !


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debrun 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 2-May-2007 0:19:52
#118 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 1-Oct-2006
Posts: 347
From: New York

Quote:
I think thats generous for entry level.


Yes, it IS !

We need a wake up call on this thread!

The previous entry level:

# RAM: 2048 kB Chip-RAM
# CPU: Motorola 68EC020 (14.32 Mhz NTSC, 14.18 Mhz PAL
# Sound: 8 bit 4 channels Stereo, 29Khz
# Floppydrive: 880kB (DD, Double Density)
# Harddisk: none (also available with 40MB or 80MB 2.5' harddisk)
# Operating System: Kickstart 3.0 or 3.1 (later) (in ROM)

BTW, Wiki claimed the A1200 went for £399, $599 in the states.

Read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_1200


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A3K 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 2-May-2007 1:52:59
#119 ]
Member
Joined: 8-Sep-2005
Posts: 35
From: Unknown

Quote:
Yes, it IS !

We need a wake up call on this thread!

The previous entry level:

# RAM: 2048 kB Chip-RAM
# CPU: Motorola 68EC020 (14.32 Mhz NTSC, 14.18 Mhz PAL
# Sound: 8 bit 4 channels Stereo, 29Khz
# Floppydrive: 880kB (DD, Double Density)
# Harddisk: none (also available with 40MB or 80MB 2.5' harddisk)
# Operating System: Kickstart 3.0 or 3.1 (later) (in ROM)

BTW, Wiki claimed the A1200 went for £399, $599 in the states.

Read more here:


????????

That further proves the point that the announced design is horribly underpowered, even for an entry level machine. The A1200 was cutting edge when it was released, and it was the little brother of the A4000. It outperformed PC hardware that was 3x the cost! The PC I bought in 1993 was a 386sx @ 33Mhz for $799 that came standard with 256K video ram. Tandy introduced the first ever "Mutimedia PC" in 1992...a 486sx/25 with 8 bit stereo audio, a single speed CD rom drive, and svga graphics, and it sold for $2,200.00. It was the best PC out there at the time (considered by some to be one of the top 10 PC computers ever) and the Amiga 1200 could do the same things at half the price.

The newly announced "Amiga" is 8 years out of date. It is outperformed by 3 year old pawn shop PC's sold at 1/3 the price and is comparable to PowerMac hardware from 1999-2002. For under $100 you can get a 400Mhz G4 Power Mac and refurb'd 1Ghz iMac's with tft displays and superdrives run less than $600 online...why not release OS4 for them and require a USB dongle?

I am not saying that the new Amiga hardware should be cutting edge for cheap...I understand economies of scale...but how hard would it have been to bump the specs to a 1.25Ghz G4 and a PCI express card slot? Given that the Mac Mini had that CPU a year ago and was selling at $599, I don't think the CPU is that big of a price factor.

My $0.06

A3K

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ackcontrls 
Re: Entry Level Design Details from ACK Controls and Amiga
Posted on 2-May-2007 4:37:09
#120 ]
Member
Joined: 22-Apr-2006
Posts: 92
From: Unknown

Quote:
I don't think the CPU is that big of a price factor.


And this is where you are complete wrong. It doesn't take long to hit $275.00 USD in component cost for a host bridge and a MPC7447A in low volues. Depending on how many lanes you want to feed the PCI Express graphics slot, add another $20 to $50 USD.

Most people in the Amiga community want a cost effective solution. You will be more interested in the high end board that will exceed your expections.

Adam

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