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Conference hydra::amiga_v1

Title:AMIGA NOTES
Notice:Join us in the *NEW* conference - HYDRA::AMIGA_V2
Moderator:HYDRA::MOORE
Created:Sat Apr 26 1986
Last Modified:Wed Feb 05 1992
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5378
Total number of notes:38326

2020.0. "I saw an A2500 this weekend!" by BSS::DULL (Let the meek have the earth..we'll take the stars.) Mon Dec 19 1988 14:28


     I dropped in with Computer Discount (Denver Headquarters) late
Saturday evening, just to see what was in stock for Christmas.

     Well, Santa is alive and well... there sitting and awaiting my
fond keystrokes was an A2500.

     Per one of the Sales Reps, it is priced approx $1300, it includes
the Autoboot Hard Drive Controller, 40 MB SCSI Hard Drive, 1 Floppy,
3 MB 32bit Physical Memory, 1084S monitor, 68020, 68881, and 68000,
mouse, keyboard, etc..

     The Rep was not very knowledgeable on the subject of the 2500, and they
were closing, (trying to get me out I might add) as such I could not get much
information on the machine (as well in all honesty, I think my technology 
query skills had abandoned me).

    The following (as limited as it is) I did find out.

1) The original 68000 is still in the machine, and is software selected upon
   boot, this is to allow compatibility with software that was not written to
   allow for the changes in 68020 instruction placement -vs- original 68000, or
   other problems (there is a 3 choice menu for 68000, 68020, 68020 UNIX, 
   presented upon boot conclusion).

2) The 68020 selection can be made the default via hard jumper, to allow for
   bootable games to make usage of the 68020.

3) The A2000 - A2500 upgrade will be out sometime soon (January?) but... will
   only be available for a limited time (something like 10 months).

5) F-18 runs like a bat out of hell.


    I'll definitely take time off to go down to Denver this week to find out
more (Now that I can rationally think), such as... 

    o Is the Enhanced Chip Set in there? (Doubtful considering the 1084S was
      included).
    o Clock Speeds (programmable?).
    o 32 bit ZORRO resident memory operation implementations.
    o On-board 32 bit memory operation implementation.
    o Existing 16 bit memory compatibility/operations.
    o A2000 - A2500 upgrade availability/pricing.
    o What the 68020 board looks like (etc..).
    o How the Floating Point is implemented.


    Anyone have anything else they want to know (ask quick, as I might take
tomorrow off).

                                        - Jeff
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2020.1How much?????HPSTEK::SENNAMon Dec 19 1988 14:362
    I think you typed the price wrong!!!!!
    
2020.2try $3300..BSS::DULLLet the meek have the earth..we'll take the stars.Mon Dec 19 1988 14:553
 

     Rats... yeah I did... its $3300... sorry.
2020.3Memory...ALAZIF::WHERRYMon Dec 19 1988 15:1713
    
    Are you sure it was 3 MB of 32 bit memory??  Or is it, 
    
    	512KB Chip Memory
    	512KB Slow Memory (becomes chip memory with new graphics chips)
    	2MB   32 Bit wide Memory?
    
    Twould be neat if they moved chip memory into the 32 bit wide memory,
    but that seems like it would be a real pain in the rear, of course
    I am no hardware engineer.
    
    brad
    
2020.4A2500 *IS* an upgraded A2000NSSG::SULLIVANSteven E. SullivanMon Dec 19 1988 15:3677
RE: .0

>   fond keystrokes was an A2500.

    Gee...  did  it  have  the  A2500  label.  I have heard they just
started shipping last week. The only way to  distinguish  between  an
upgraded A2000 and an A2500 is the label (assuming the same hard disk
is used: a Quantum Pro40S).

>   Per one of the Sales Reps, it is priced approx $1300, it includes

    As you corrected... that was $3300

>   the  Autoboot  Hard  Drive  Controller,  40 MB SCSI Hard Drive, 1
>   Floppy,  3 MB 32bit Physical Memory, 1084S monitor, 68020, 68881,
>   and 68000, mouse, keyboard, etc..

    An  A2500  is an A2000 plus A2090A SCSI/ST506 controller, Quantum
Pro40S disk, and A2620 68020 processor accelerator  with  68881  FPP,
MMU, and 2MB of 32 bit dma-able on-board RAM.

>  The original 68000 is still in the machine, and is software selected upon

    I *is* an A2000 with add-in cards. BTW, when you select the 68000
option  you  lose access to the 2MB 32bit ram and have a A2000 system
with 1MB.

>  The 68020 selection can be made the default via hard jumper

    The  selection  of  processor defaults to the 68020 AmigaDOS, but
can be jumpered to 68000 or 68020 Unix. Manual selection is performed
by pressing both mouse buttons at bootup. That is  how  you  get  the
processor selection menu.


>  The A2000 - A2500 upgrade will be out sometime soon (January?) but... will
>  only be available for a limited time (something like 10 months).

    Huh?  Perhaps  this  is referring  to  a  special  package  deal.
Certainly  the  A2090A and A2620 boards are going to be available for
quite some time. For people with a A2090A all they will  need  is  an
A2620.

>   o Is the Enhanced Chip Set in there?

No, it is a ways out yet... nuf' said.

>   o Clock Speeds (programmable?).

    The  clock  speed can not be selected by program control and only
the 68881 is adjustable via soldering and component replacement.

>   o 32 bit ZORRO resident memory operation implementations.
>   o On-board 32 bit memory operation implementation.
>   o Existing 16 bit memory compatibility/operations.

    The  32bit  memory  and  bus is only on the A2620 processor card.
Thanks to consideration by Dave  Haynie  and  some  extra  logic  the
memory  is  accessible  by DMA peripherals. It is NOT special in the
sense of RONIN or CSA 32 bit memory  and  exists  in  the  autoconfig
space.  Thanks  to  trickery  on  the  A2620 ROMs the 32bit memory is
always first on the fast memory list.

>   o What the 68020 board looks like (etc..).

    Fits  in  the  co-processor slot in the A2000. It is fullsize and
has 2MB of ZIP packaged 256X4 chips out at the  far  end.  There  are
patterns for another 2MB (total 4MB). There are NO sockets for memory.
It is soldered to the board.

>   o How the Floating Point is implemented.

    68881  and  68882  are  supported with optional independent clock
speed. FPP's have been  tested  up  to  25Mhz.  Upgrade  is  by  chip
replacement, clock module and soldering iron.

	-SES
2020.5BAGELS::BRANNONDave BrannonMon Dec 19 1988 16:345
    Only 40 Megs for a Unix system?  Didn't Apple ship with 80 Megs
    for their A/UX?  Is 40 Megs reasonable for a Unix system?
    
    enquiring minds want to know...
    -Dave
2020.6At a GUESS (but AT&T != Amiga)ALAZIF::WHERRYMon Dec 19 1988 17:4411
    
    I used to maintain some AT&T Unix PCs (model number 7300) for my
    university when I was a student.  They came with 40 meg hardrives
    and 20 meg hardrives.  They were of course running UNIX SYS V
    (bleck!)  You needed a shoehorn to get it into a 20.  The 40
    wasn't as bad, a good analogy is installing VMS on an
    RD52 (40 MB).  There is about 15k-20k blocks free (7 - 10 mb) on
    the disk for a VMS install and for unix sys5 on an AT&T 7300 about
    10 -15 megabytes.
    
    brad
2020.7Unix version gets 80 meg diskNSSG::SULLIVANSteven E. SullivanTue Dec 20 1988 13:208
RE:.5


>   Only 40 Megs for a Unix system?

The "Unix" version will come with an 80 meg Quantum Pro80S.

	-SES
2020.84Mb nor 3MbNLCFLS::ELLISMWed Dec 21 1988 05:228
    The details I've seen about memory is :-
    
    3Mb of 32bit RAM
    1Mb of chip RAM
    
    so 4Mb in all
    
    Martin
2020.9CANIS::RIESFrank W. Ries Jr.Wed Dec 21 1988 15:4715
>    The details I've seen about memory is :-
>    
>    3Mb of 32bit RAM
>    1Mb of chip RAM
>    
>    so 4Mb in all
>    
	Question, is the 1mb on the mother board accesable from the 68020
	board, and likewise, is the 2 (or 3) mb on the 68020 board accesable
	from the 68000? I may be interested in this board, and was also
	thinking of buying some more memory. If though, the memory on the
	68020 board is accessable from the 68000, then I wouldnt need to
	buy more memory.

	Frank
2020.10some guessesSAUTER::SAUTERJohn SauterWed Dec 21 1988 16:2913
    I don't have an informed answer to your question, but I feel sure
    that the CHIP ram must be accessible to the 68020, otherwise the
    68020 couldn't deal with the display!  That probably means that
    all of 68000 memory is accessible to the 68020, but that is less
    certain.
    
    I suspect that 68020 memory is not accessible to the 68000, since
    it is 32 bits wide.  However, since you can DMA into it, they may
    have "gone the extra mile" and made it accessible to the 68000 also.
    
    I have held off on adding more memory to my A2000, in the expectation
    that the A2620 would give me as much as I could effectively use.
        John Sauter
2020.11Ask!LEVERS::PLOUFFCider Season Has BegunWed Dec 21 1988 16:346
    Dave Haynie, the design engineer for this product, is scheduled
    to speak at South Metro Amiga Users Group (SMAUG) in January, meeting
    to be held in Norwood MA or nearby.  You might want to ask him.
    
    From the comments Haynie has made on Usenet, I wouldn't be at all
    surprised if he has "gone the extra mile."
2020.12No, Yes on A2620NSSG::SULLIVANSteven E. SullivanThu Dec 22 1988 13:4019
RE: .8

>>    3Mb of 32bit RAM
>>    1Mb of chip RAM
>>    so 4Mb in all

    Check  again. The A2620 board can be configured for 2 or 4 meg of
32 bit ram. Not 3 meg.

RE:.9

>	Question, is the 1mb on the mother board accesable from the 68020
>	board, and likewise, is the 2 (or 3) mb on the 68020 board accesable
>	from the 68000?

    No. If the 68020 is not used the memory on the processor board is
not accessable. Sigh! Maybe a A2620A is in the future?

	-SES
2020.13CANIS::RIESFrank W. Ries Jr.Thu Dec 22 1988 19:2217
>>	Question, is the 1mb on the mother board accesable from the 68020
>>	board, and likewise, is the 2 (or 3) mb on the 68020 board accesable
>>	from the 68000?

>    No. If the 68020 is not used the memory on the processor board is
>not accessable. Sigh! Maybe a A2620A is in the future?
>
>	-SES

re: 12

Are you sure about this? I talked to the folks at the memory location this
morning, and also picked up a brochure on the 2500. They were pretty sure
(and the brochure implies) that the memory on the A2620 is accessable by
the 68000. I'm still confused :-(.

2020.14LEDS::ACCIARDITime to change this damn messageFri Dec 23 1988 00:3237
    
    There was a shiny new A2500 at the Software Shop today.  It even
    had an official 'Amiga 2500' label on the front.
    
    I inquired about the A2620 board; Moe felt that it would be available
    in February or so.  He thinks he'll be selling it for around $1600.
    That's really not too bad when you consider the price of RAM these
    days.  Plus, the last time I looked, a 68020/68881 chipset was running
    around $400 or so.
                                     
    Re: accessing 32 bit memory from the 68000...
    
    It was my understanding that all program code tries to load into
    the uppermost memory region that's available, even if it's up in
    32 bit land.  (The exception is AmigaBASIC, a brain-dead Mac port
    written with 24 bit addressing).  Of coourse, all code that the
    custom chips need will still be sent to CHIP land.
    
    What's funny is that I loaded and ran AmigaBASIC on Moe's A2500.
    Not only did it run just fine, but it was actually fast.  This was
    puzzling, since Amazing Computing had an article on accelerator
    boards a while back, and they commented about the AmigaBASIC problem
    with 32 bit memory.  Maybe Moe's copy had been patched (yes, there is
    a patch) and he just didn't realize it.
    
    My overall impression is that the A2500 is a real killer system. The
    closest competitor is still the Mac II at nearly twice the price. Dave
    Haynie hinted a while back that the A2500 would suck it's headlights
    out in a drag race, too.  (Get out your benchmarks, boys) Now all CBM
    needs is a 24 bit video board and the score will be even until the next
    escalation.
    
    Ah, tax refund time is on the horizon...
    
    Ed. 
        
    
2020.15Just the facts...NSSG::SULLIVANSteven E. SullivanFri Dec 23 1988 16:589
RE: .13

>>    No. If the 68020 is not used the memory on the processor board is
>>not accessable. Sigh! Maybe a A2620A is in the future?
>
>Are you sure about this?

Yes.
	-SES
2020.161600 seems kinda steepTAPE::WHERRYFri Dec 23 1988 18:019
    
    if list price is 3300.00 for a 2000, 2090A, 40mb drive, and 68020,
    then 1600.00 seems kinda steep, or do you get controller, and drive
    besides the 68020 board???  Seems like at 3300.00 the 68020 board
    should be about a grand.  (This assumes an amiga 2000 is listing
    at 1800 or so)
    
    brad
    
2020.17Flame on software shop...HPSTEK::SENNAFri Dec 23 1988 22:5721
    <FLAME ON...>
    
        re: .14
    
    Well Ed, You must be good friends with Moe! I've been in that place
    three times and bought some software twice. Each time I've gone
    in I got the same kind of treatment as everyone else who talked
    to him! I would never ever send anyone new to the Amiga there! He
    must make too much money, cause his attitude stinks towards customers.
    He's not rude but he sure acts like he would rather not deal with
    customers. My first two trips in there, I just thought he was just
    an employee. This time I heard someone use his name. He even told
    me I needed to by a genlock to use with DigiView...my first time
    in! When I asked a few questions, he was confused and mumbled and
    walked away. Why have I waited so long and why did I go back? Like
    I said, I thought he was just a drone not the owner. His prices
    are great but I don't feel like I just did something nice...I felt
    like I just got out of the Dentists office! Just MY experience but
    I'd rather not again!!! Sorry!
    
    <FLAME OFF>
2020.18I could make a fortune with Moe's store...LEDS::ACCIARDITime to change this damn messageSat Dec 24 1988 00:1514
    
    Well, it's not like I've ever said that Moe was charming, ya know...
    
    I think Moe and I understand each other.  If he raises his voice
    to me, I go right into his face and scream right back at him.
    
    If you want good service, you might want to use another dealer.
    The best way to do business with Moe is to go in, know exactly what
    you want, pay for it and leave.  I agree that it's a lousy way to
    run a business, but you have the option of not shopping there.
    
    Ed.
    
    
2020.19WJG::GUINEAUMon Dec 26 1988 09:5010
You gotta remember that The Software Shop is MAIL ORDER. Moe is nice (?)
enough to let local customers come in, browse and buy (cheap!).

Moe and I get along just fine, now. Ed's right, when you go in, Know
what your after and just ask Moe general things like "do you have...",
and "where/how much is it?"


John
2020.20Moe seemed OK to meZEBOP::RMEYERSRandy MeyersThu Dec 29 1988 17:5519
Re: .17, .18. ,19

When I was shopping for a monitor compatible with my FlickerFixer, I
visited the Software Shop.  Moe was kind enough to connect two or three
different models of monitors to the Amiga he has in the store.  He even
disconnected the monitor he had attached to the AT clone in his office,
hauled it over to the Amiga in the sales room, and hooked it up.

I had never been in his store before.  I thought he paid me the proper
attention.  But, I was making a $700-$800 purchase, and it was a quiet
day at the store...

I didn't ask him any technical questions--I usually don't trust store
personnel anyway.  It's like the joke:

	What's the difference between a computer salesman and
	a used car dealer?

	The used car dealer knows when he is lying.