#PowerPC
30 messages in this thread
Here is a very simple question (maybe) Will it be possible to use the new
power PC processor in A1200 and A4000?
The Power PC chip is not a chip designed for PC's. It was actually
designed for machines such as the IBM RS6000 line. A little overkill
for a A4000, let alone a A1200. Their are rumors that C= wishes to
come out with a RISC based machine, though it is said that it will be
a Windows NT machine and not compatible with the current line.
If you think you need more power than the 68040, I suggest you look
at equipment geared toward that kind of work. RS6000's and Sun
Sparcstations can give you all the power you could ask for…or
afford.
Eugene,
No…at least not directly. It's neither pin, nor software compatible
with 68xxx chips or programs.
Much like tring to put an Intel 80×86 chip in an Amiga, just won't
go….unless it's installed as a separate board such as a BridgeBoard.
Don
Hmm, what about new macs that currently have 68040, but are PowerPC
ready? My friend told me that power PC chip will be installed through
logic board and that it will run both Mac and PC software.
The Mac's with a PowerPC will run 68000 code as an emulation, just like an
Amiga run's Mac or PC code. In this case, it's a software emulation, and
not to terribly fast, considering how fast a PowerPC is.
When the come out with native PowerPC code, then it'll be pretty fast.
Ok, thanks. So basecly the AGA chipset can not work with PowerPC?
Nope… Don't need it anyway. (The 68060 is going to be a LOT
faster at running 680×0 code than the PowerPC) (I would like to have
the PowerPC, but for totally different reasons.)
So, when is 68060 supposed to come out? And will I be able to istall it in my
A1200 (heat problems?) And by
the way is the 150 pin slot on a1200 a 16 bit or true 32 bit?
Well, from what I've heard, the 68060 wont come out till early next
year (don't really know on this.) And, I assume someone will make an
accelerator board for the 1200 with an '060. Also, I understand that
there will be less heat problems with the '060 then the '040. (I
believe it's a lower power design.) The 150 pin slot in the 1200 is
full 32 bit, while the PCMCIA slot in the side is 16 bit.
In 'OEM Magazine' Motorola has a two page spread for all of there
68xxx processors and in that ad, it says that the '060 will be out by
years end.
Cool! I'm looking forward to the '060!
_This_ years end????
it wouldn't suprise me. Over a year ago, they decided to leap frog
the '050.
Yes… The Motorola ad claimed that the '060 due out in Q4CY93 which
means by year's end in the November issue of OEM Magazine says that
it would outpace Intel's Pentium. It even had a sidebar with graphs
and everything. Sounds like it's going to be pretty cool. Now, when
we see it available for our Amigas is a different question.
Also, a friend of mine who works at Amdahl and uses Motorola
processors for sub-control systems says that they have been using the
060 (prototypes) in several prototype boards for one of Amdahl's new
minis…
Thanks for all that info. I will probably start saving for an 060 now.
Your welcome!
Bob Comer — Flying high and fast with my A1200HD'030 on Autopilot!
From Cheyenne, Wyoming U.S.A.
Bob (replying to an earlier message here, not wholly applicable),
Did you know that the new low-end AS/400's are planned to be PowerPC
based? Hmmm…
That the PowerPC will run a RS/6000 native and that the plan is to
interupt/software emulate 68xxx or 8086 code on chip? Hmmmm…
It's not 'really' an 060 from what I heard but, a RISC based chip. IBM
and Apple are actually going to merge System 7 and OS/2??? Ya got me
on that one. I've been preaching any to any I guess…
I knew about the AS/400/PowerPC… I'm an AS/400 programmer 😀 And the
only other type of computer that I like as much as the Amiga!
I believe all the new RS/6000's coming out are PowerPC's.
(That's why I've been saying I want a PowerPC CPU for the Amiga!)
(I want my AS/400/PC/Mac/Amiga at home!!)
Bob Comer — Flying high and fast with my A1200HD'030 on Autopilot!
From Cheyenne, Wyoming U.S.A.
I still am not sure if instruction set that the PowerPC will emulate for
Macs will have any Mac specific code in it or will be a direct emulation
of a 680×0. Do you know?
It would be pretty darn nice too have one here in mi-Amiga!
They'll probably be using them, to some extent (maybe just support
precessors), in the ES/9000's also! Incredible! all these diverse
architectures finally on the same path…
And since it's RISC it doesn't run nearly as hot as the Pentium and it'll
be alot cheaper!
Robb
You're confusing the main processor (CPU) with the rest of the
chips in the machine
Presuming you were designing a new Amiga, and wanted to use a
different CP…there's no intrinsic reason why you couldn't keep the
rest of the chips in today's Amiga. Of course, since the CPU would
be different than the current Amiga's CPU…none of the current
software would work in it….including the operating system.
Now it is possible for one type of machine to emulate another
machine…such as the original 'Amiga Transformer' software. It
allowed the Amiga to run code designed for the Intel processors
(MS-DOS) to operate using the Amiga's 68000 CPU. It did this by
software only, it read the Intel code, annd then executed 68000 code
that performed the same function. Because of all the translation
involved….it ran sMS-DOS software significantly slower on a 7MHz
68000 than the same software ran on a 5MHz Intel 8088/86.
Hey, did everyone catch the dramatic announcement from Apple? One of
the business news shows breathlessly reported a new technological
breakthrough allowing Apple to offer a new model Macintosh with a 486
CPU on board (not the PowerPC chip) so you can run MS-DOS software,
too! Wow! I wish Commodore had thought of trying something like this!
<g>
"Hey, did everyone catch the dramatic announcement from Apple? One of
the business news shows breathlessly reported a new technological
breakthrough allowing Apple to offer a new model Macintosh with a 486
CPU on board (not the PowerPC chip) so you can run MS-DOS software,
too! Wow! I wish Commodore had thought of trying something like this!
<g>"
I haven't heard of the announcement so don't know any of the details.
However, CBM never did think of anything like this. Sure they had the
2088, 2286, and 2386 Bridgeboards but it wasn't a part of the system
itself, and were always overpriced to begin with. Now if Apple can put
a 486 on a Mac motherboard along with a 68040 and put a reasonable
list price with it, they will probably sell a bunch of them. And I
agree, I wish Commodore had thought of trying something like this.
Actually, C= apparently *has* been thinking about it lately, as it
reportedly has agreed to bundle Emplant emulator cards with A4000s
shipped in Europe, and may do likewise in the US. Remember, too, that
the Mac that will do this is one model only, that one carrying just
one empty card slot (not much to plug into that 486 PC!). Still,
Apple is figuring out fast that it must develop an array of product
niches or die. PowerPC is just the ultimate expression of that
strategy.
I've kept quiet here but, that last message about Apple finding
product niches or dying just made me say—I still can't believe that
the PowerPC is a product of Apple, IBM and Motorola working together.
Just a couple years ago I wouldn't have hardly thought those guys
even recognized the others' existence (well IBM has use 68xxx's in a
few machines and the Mac and Motorola have an obvious tie but,
still!).
I heard a pretty funny new word at an ATM Road-Show by IBM a couple
days ago to describe this: 'co-op-etition'. Pretty, silly how the
corporate world comes up with these things…
Well the only reason that CBM is able to bundle the Emplant in Europe
is because they have a little more leanient copyright laws so the
Apple ROM's are a little easier to obtain. In the US it's a different
story and Apple goes to great lengths to protect their firmware.
However Newtec (not the Toaster company) will be the solution for the
US end. So I guess CBM is finally waking up as far as offering some
kind of PC/MAC compatability.
Ron,
Sorry, I have to disagree.
Apple has developed the PowerPC WITH IBM. IBM will be marketing
their own machines with the PowerPC as I would guess will Compaq.
This would dictate a new direction for both Mac and PCs as the 601
PowerPC is MUCH faster than the Pentium. The 620 PowerPC chip slated
for sometime next year will SMOKE the 601 (I've read 20-50 times
faster). Intel will need to go RISC to match it. No longer will X86
cut it.
Well, I agree. The X86 machines won't cut it much longer. So all
those folks who jumped into PC clones because of "compatibility"
concerns are going to be surprised. Sure, the PowerPC and Pentium
machines will run MS-DOS or Windows software, but probably not with
the utility most people will expect. Software will have to be
rewritten to take advantage of the faster processors, which means
massive upgrading costs. It'll be worth it in the long run, maybe,
but in the short run lots of folks just won't bother to budge, their
current investments holding them back. I expect chaos in the PC
industry to hold sway for a few years as multiple processors and OSes
duke it out. Meanwhile, I'll be here in Amigaland, getting useful
work done on my capable, "compatible," and paid-for 68030. — Ron
Apple too has seen the light….they are a dying breed, except
for a few specialized applications.
The plain simple fact of the matter is…right or wrong from
a technical standpoint…if you want to make it bigtime in computers
today, you MUST be able to run MS-DOS code….and run it well.