X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11]
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.i-amiga
Date:         Wed, 30 Sep 1992 00:39:38 AST
From:         "(Mario Alvarado UCV)" <malvarad@CONICIT.VE>
Subject:      Re: A4000?
              29, 92 3:18 pm

>
> I posed this question to MEDIA-L, but since someone mentioned the existence
> of this list, I figured I'd repeat it here.
>
>
>         Has anyone heard anything about the new Amiga 4000 to be introduced
> next month?  I got a spec sheet from our local dealer which has a lot of info
> on it, but I was wondering if anyone else knows anything about it.  ex. Does
> it work with the Toaster?  How much is it?  Does it really kick butt?  I'm
> new to this list, so if anyone has any info, I'd really appreciate it!
>
> p.s. If anyone is interested, I can post the entire spec sheet to this list
> (like I did with MEDIA-L)
>

Enjoy This information...

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   \_\_X_/	INTERNATIONAL	 \_X_/_/ 		 SPECIAL EXPO
EDITION #3



   Amiga 4000

    This powerful new machine features Commodore's Advanced Graphics
    Architecture TM custom co-processor chip set that enables users to
    display and animate graphics in multiple resolutions at up to 256,000
    colors from a palette of 16.8 million.  The new hardware features are
    driven by AmigaDOS Release 3, the newest version of Commodore's
    multitasking operating system, in combination with the machine's main
    processor, the Motorola (R) 68040.	While this new version of the
    operating system takes advantage of the latest hardware features, it also
    maintains backwards compatibility with Amiga software not written
    specifically for the Amiga 4000.

     The Amiga 4000 will come standard with a 120MB hard drive, 6MB of memory,
     a dual speed high-density floppy drive, and CrossDOS which enables users
     to read and write to MS-DOS (R) formatted floppy and hard drives.  Other
     key multimedia features include: a dedicated slot for video devices;
     selectable NTSC scan rate compatibility; four voice dual-channel digital
     audio; up to 8 sprites, enabling high speed animations; and full hardware
     video overscan.  The Manufacturer's Suggested List Price for the Amiga
     4000-040/120 is $3699.00.


       AmigaDOS Release 3

	The newest version of the Amiga operating system adds several software
	enhancements to the previous 2.04 operating system.  Among the new
	features are: CrossDOS, allowing access to MS-DOS formatted
floppy and
hard drives; a new Installer utility; and a Postscript printer driver.
Additionally, AmigaDOS Release 3.0 offers full support for the new
Advanced Graphics Architecture chip set featured in the Amiga 4000.




    TITLE: Press Release (2 of 6)
    Amiga 4000 Technical Specifications

     CPU:
     - Motorola (R) 68040 series 32-bit processor
     - 25 Mhz clock speed
     - Removable processor module

      MEMORY:
      - 2 MB 32-bit Chip RAM
      - Up to 16 MB 32-bit Fast RAM
      - Easily expandable via standard SIMM units
      - Additional standard RAM is supported by the Amiga's proprietary
      AUTOCONFIG (TM) capability

       SOFTWARE:
       - 512 KB 32-bit ROM
       - AmigaDOS (TM) 3.0 Multitasking Operating System
       - Supports programmable resolutions
       - Supports outline fonts
       - Localized for multiple language/countries
       - CrossDOS MS-DOS (R) file transfer utility

	INTERFACES:
	- Keyboard
	- Mouse/Joystick/Lightpen/Tablet ports (2)
	- Serial (RS-232)
	- Parallel (Centronics)
	- Video (RGB analog or RGBI digital)
	- Right and Left stereo audio
	- Internal and External floppy disk drive ports
	- Internal AT IDE port. Optional SCSI adapter

	 SYSTEM SLOTS:
	 - CPU slot (200-pin) supports high-speed memory and advanced processors
	 - Amiga system bus - Four 16/32-bit Zorro III expansion slots (100-pin)
	 with AUTOCONFIG
	 - PC bus - Three PCAT T(M) slots

	  VIDEO SLOT:
	  - Extended 24-bit Video slot
	  - In line with standard 100-pin Zorro slot for easy
integration of Zorro
and video boards

  Zorro III Slots
  			 ____________________________________________
			 			|															|
								1
| [==========][======]	[=================]	|
		2	| [==========][======]	[=================]	|
				3	| [==========][======]	[=================]	|
						4	|	[======][=========]	[=================]	|

|_ 						____
  _|
  			  |_________________|	 |_________________|

			   1, 2, 3 = PC/AT Slots; 4 = Video Slot

			    How the Slots Work: If MS-DOS compatibility
is desired a Bridgeboard
may be placed in slot 1, 2 or 3. When a Bridgeboard is installed, the
empty PC slots are capable of supporting a wide variety of XT or AT-
style boards. The remaining Zorro III slots support both 24 & 32-bit
Zorro boards.

 KEYBOARD:
 - Detachable
 - 94 keys, including 10 function keys
 - Separate numeric keypad
 - Separate cursor keys (inverted "T" layout)

  MOUSE:
  - Opto-mechanical
  - 2-button design

   DISK DRIVES:
   - Built-in 3.5-inch high density disk drive (880 KB/1.76 MB formatted)
   - Hard Drive models pre-formatted and pre-loaded with system software
   and utilities
   - 2 rear and 2 front 3.5-inch drive bays
   - 1 front 5.25-inch drive bay

    GRAPHIC MODES:
    - AGA custom chipset produces resolutions ranging from 320x200 to
    1280x400 (more with overscan), including 800x600
    - NTSC and PAL video resolutions
    - Color palette of 16.8 million colors
    - 2 to 256,000 user-definable colors displayable on screen

     VIDEO DISPLAY OUTPUT:
     - Works with RGB analog VGA or multiscan monitors (not all modes
     supported with non multiscan monitors)
     - Horizontal scan rats 15 kHz - 31 kHz
     - Vertical scan rates 50 Hz - 72 Hz

      SOUND:
      - Four channel stereo sound, capable of reproducing complex waveforms
      - 8-bit D/A converters
      - 6-bit volume

       DIMENSIONS:
       - 15 1/4" deep x 15" wide x 5" high

	WEIGHT:
	- Approx. 20 pounds

	 POWER REQUIREMENTS:
	 - 110 volt/60Hz 150 watt power supply

	  A4000 CONFIGURATIONS:

	   A4000-040/120
	   - Amiga 4000 with Motorola 68040 Processor, 6 MB RAM,
internal 3.5"
1.76 MB Floppy Drive and 120 MB IDE Hard Drive
- 94-key Keyboard
- 2-button Mouse
- AmigaDOS Release 3.0 System Software and Utilities
- Gold Service Warranty Package


  AmigaDOS (TM) Release 2.1 System Software Upgrade Technical
  Specifications

   NEW FEATURES:
   - Dynamic Localization of Programs to different languages and locales
   - Includes CrossDOS for easy transfer of MS-DOS (R) and Amiga (R) files
   - Includes Postscript (R) Printer Driver
   - Supports Multiple Serial and Parallel Printer Preferences
   - New Preferences Editing
   - Motorola (R) 68040 compatible
   - Screen mode requester added for selection of screen mode or video
   mode

    FONTS:
    - Supports Agfa Compugraphic Intellifont scalable typefaces
    - Includes CG Times, CG Triumvirate and LetterGothic typefaces
    - Supports scaling of bitmap fonts
    - Better control of font rendering for Desktop Publishing applications

     AREXX PROGRAMMING:
     - Includes ARexx, a powerful inter-process communication language
     - Can be used to control applications which support ARexx
     - Allows the integration of different applications that support
ARexx into
a single environment
- Ability to launch applications from within other applications


  USER INTERFACE:
  - Professional three-dimensional look
  - Improved ease of use and consistency
  - Extensively configurable through Preferences Editors
  - Standard file and font requesters
  - Supports scrolling screens larger than the monitor
  - Select Locale/Country by clicking on World Map
  - Keyboard selection in Input Preferences

   WORKBENCH FEATURES:
   - All files are accessible from the Workbench
   - Files are accessible by name or by icon
   - Drag selection of multiple icons
   - Includes New Drawer command
   - Easier cleanups and positioning of icons
   - Icons can be "left out" on the Workbench backdrop for easier access

    OTHER FEATURES:
    - General purpose installer added with installation activation of Keymaps,
    Monitors, Printers and DOS Drivers
    - Select keyboard from Preferences Editor
    - Printer Drivers for popular printers added
    - Spline animations on blanked screens
    - Support for European monitors
    - Enhanced reliability even under low memory situations
    - Faster and more reliable floppy disk access
    - Improved Icon Editor

     SHELL ENHANCEMENTS:
     - AmigaDOS commands are faster, more powerful and require fewer
     keystrokes
     - New commands handle environment variables and links
     - Cut and Paste in shell windows
     - Extended wildcard capabilities
     - Backtick feature allows embedded commands within commands
     - Shell windows have a close gadget
     - ARexx scripts can be run directly from the Shell

      ECS FEATURES:
      Enhanced Chip Set Required
      - 640x480 non-interlaced Productivity Mode (requires 31 kHZ-capable
      monitor)
      - 1280x200 and 1280x400 Super-HiRes Modes
      - 800x600 requires Multisync
      - New genlock features

       HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS:
       - Requires any 2.0X ROM-ready Amiga 500, 600, 2000 or 3000 series
       computer
       - Amiga 2500, A2620 or 2630 requires rev-06 or greater ROMs on the
       accelerator card
       - ECS features require optional Enhanced Chip Set
       - Contact nearest Commodore reseller for details and installation

	ORDER INFORMATION:
	AS215   AmigaDOS Release 2.1 Software Upgrade includes:
			  - 6 disks
			  		  - 3-manual set

					   AS216   AmigaDOS Release 2.1
ROM and Software Upgrade includes:
		  - 2.0X ROM
		  		  - 6 disks
				  		  - 3-manual set

						   Contact your
Commodore reseller for details. To locate a Commodore
reseller in the U.S., call 1-800-66-AMIGA; in Canada call 1-800-661-
AMIGA.



   DESCRIPTION
   ~~~~~~~~~~~
   The A4000 is a box that measures 15 x 15 1/4 x 5 inches.  This is a bit
   larger than an A3000.  The color is the same "platinum" as the A600 --
   brighter than the A3000.

    Five drive bays include two externally-accessable 3 1/2" and one
external 5
1/4" as well as 2 internal 3 1/2".	One of the 3 1/2" external is
taken up by
the built-in floppy drive, and I assume the hard drive occupies one of the
internal bays.

 Leonard Poma's (Consultron) CrossDOS is now a part of AmigaDOS (2.1 and 3.0)
 so the new machines can read/write DOS format disks.

  Deinterlacing is done in software/firmware so there is only one
RGB-out port
on the back of the machine.  I believe the deinterlacer on/off switch is
gone, too.	Obviously the external SCSI port is gone.

 RAM is now back to SIMM modules, and you don't have to completely disassemble
 the machine to get to it (like the A3000).  Chip RAM, while still
limited to
2 Mb, is fully 32-bit wide, now.  The DMA bandwidth is over 4x that of an
A2000 and over 2x an A3000 which allows for super-fast animation at even the
highest of resolutions.

 The CPU is on a removable daughterboard, making for simpler replacement and
 upgrade.

  The list price is $3,699 and a few dealers are already reported to
have set
retail price at under $3,000.  That is *far* below the introductory
price of
the A3000.

 Oh, yes.  THE NEWTEK VIDEO TOASTER HAS AS MUCH CHANCE OF FITTING IN THE A4000
 AS IT DOES IN THE A3000!  (In other words, not without a hack.)
Besides, the
video slot has been "enhanced".	I don't know if it is compatible with the
older A2000/A3000 video slot.  Yes, it is still inline with a Zorro III slot.



   GRAPHICS
   ~~~~~~~~
   The new AGA chipset supports all of the old and ECS resolutions as
well as
adding one of it's own.  The major advantage is that AGA really expanded
color support for all resolutions.

 All resolutions can display Extra Half Brite and HAM.  All resolutions can
 display
 *true* 6, 7 and 8 bit color (64, 128 and 256 colors) as well as 8-bit HAM
 (256,000+ colors).  All this from a palette of 16.7 million (24-bit) colors!

  This all includes VGA resolutions of 160, 320 and 640 x 480 (non-interlaced)
  as well as an 800 x 600 resolution (which requires multisync monitor).

   Yes, folks.  This means that we can now do *true* VGA and *true* Extended-VGA
   (800 x 600), but not quite Super VGA (1024 x 768).  No more PC-game writers
   whining about having to use 16-colors only or EHB for Amiga games.

    There was a demonstration of the new graphics in the way of a HAM-8, Super
    Hires (1200 x 480) picture that was supposedly *awesome*.

     The new HAM-8 gives you 64-base registers to work with, and since
it can be
used in the higher resolutions, fringing will most likely occur only
when you
want it to (sort of like Jim Hendrix using feedback on purpose in a concert).

 The new AGA chips set *IS NOT* available for current machines.  It is not
 plug compatible with the A3000 or ECS chips.

  Sprites are now changable.  They can be the same resolution as the screen,
  including interlaced.  They can be a maximum of 64 pixels wide.  (Hires,
  interlace sprites & pointer!)


    SOUND
    ~~~~~
    Sound is the same.  Nothing has changed.	Except....Commodore has
said they
will have a 16-bit DSP upgrade for the A4000 by spring of 1993.  This allows
for 100% hardware compatibility with existing software as well as some
professional quality sound for those who need it.


  DRIVES
  ~~~~~~
  The floppy drives are the new high-density, 1.76 Mb drives.  Using CrossDOS
  (now supplied with AmigaDOS, like ARexx) you can read/write MS-DOS formatted
  720k and
  1.44m disks.  I suppose it would work with 5 1/4" disks, too.

   IDE has replaced SCSI as the hard-drive controller on the motherboard.	This
   has gernerated the most heat for Commodore, by far.  Why replace SCSI (DMA,
   7 device support, non-hard drive support) with IDE (non-DMA, 2
device, hard-
drive only)?

 Blame has been placed on Bruce Syndes, ex-VP in Charge of Engineering for
 Commodore...the same man responsible for the IBM PCjr and the IBM "chicklet"
 keyboard.  Still, he is only one man, and VP or not, I doubt his will
was the
only reason for the change.

 There is no doubt that IDE is inferior to SCSI.  IDE is not DMA-able, which
 means that the CPU has to do all the work.  This shouldn't be any real
 problem on a machine that uses a 25 MHz 68040 (it will be more
noticable on
the A600HD) *unless* you are doing some realtime video work or intensive
multimedia.  Then IDE will prohibit realtime video-from-hard drive transfers.

 So why?

  1) IDE is smaller and cheaper.  An IDE controller and supporting hardware
  take up much less space on a motherboard than a SCSI one.  IDE hard drives
  seem to average between $5 and $10 (retail) cheaper [I got that figure by
  going through a couple of issues of Computer Shopper and comparing
prices on
similar/same drives].  This may mean only pennies per drive to
Commodore, but
when you are talking 500,000 to 750,000 drive per year, it adds up.
Reportedly, IDE controllers are costing CBM about $1 each in quantity,
whereas SCSI controllers were costing around $15 each.  This can mean
anywhere between $50 and $200 price increase to OEMs and $100 - $500 retail
increase.

 2) SCSI doesn't cut it, either.  Yes, you read that right.  On a
machine like
the A4000, with the data transfer rates of the Zorro III bus, SCSI is an
insult.	Commodore has announced a Zorro III, SCSI-2 board to be shipping
BEFORE CHRISTMAS (this year, ha ha).  SCSI-2 is *fast*.	SCSI-2 on a 32-bit
bus like Zorro III will *scream*.  Commodore didn't anticipate having SCSI-2
ready by the time the A4000 was ready, so it is possible they chose the
simple, cheap IDE instead.  SCSI-2 is going to be a dream come true for
people who want realtime data transfer rates.

 So use the included 120 Mb, IDE hard drive for a system drive, where time
 critical data and programs aren't.  Plug in Commodore's SCSI-2 card and
go to
town on time sensative data.	Can't wait for the SCSI-2 and need to
use all
them SCSI peripherals now?  Buy an A2091 card.	They are currently selling
for about $100 and I've seen them as low as $75.  A drop in the bucket
considering you'll be paying $3,000 for the computer and $600+ for a monitor.
Considering the cost of adding SCSI-1 to the motherboard probably would have
risen the price of the A4000 *higher* than the extra $100 for an A2091,
you're getting a controller (IDE) for free.



   SOFTWARE
   ~~~~~~~~
   The graphics modes on AGA are added late in the boot sequence.  It is
   possible for a program to boot using the ECS modes only.

    Well behaved programs should work fine.  Compatibility is high, but poorly
    written programs, particularly games, will have problems.  (Who buys
a 68040
based machine with 6 Mb of RAM for *games*???)


  [A4000 Motherboard description from upper left, going down, following
  edge of board and returning - Solar:
  .
  -internal audio plug
  -Video-DAC (ADV7120)
  -Paula (8374R7)
  -Alice (new Agnus 8374R2)
  -Lisa (new Denise 4203R2)
  -Super Buster (Zorro-III buscontroller)
  -32 bit memory (SIMMs, chip- and fast-RAM)
  -Bridgette (gate array)
  -slot for daughterboard (on which Zorro-III slots and video slot)
  -Ramsey (RAM-controller)
  -Kickstart-ROM (V39) [notice: 2 ROMs]
  -processor card slot
  -Fat Gary
  -IDE harddisk interface
  -floppy interface
  -CIA A and B (CIA 8520) ]
  The new chips can access the chip-RAM four times quicker than before, so
  that now in all modes upto and including productivity or super-hires
  interlaced up to 8 bitplanes are possible. More information about this is
  placed in a seperate article.

   ok... the following is an article I read today. It's about the a4000,
a test.
I translated it from german to english so everyone can read it.
It is the first of three, the two of which I will translate if I have time
(and anybody wants to read them. lemme know.)

 Amiga Plus 10/92 p. 20-23
 by Holger Lubitz - translated by Solar from German in English.
 .
 The new Amiga 4000 - Advanced Amiga
 .
 Amiga 4000: Finally Commodore releases the Amiga with the long awaited new
 chipset. Do the improvements make the Amiga competitive again?
 .
 .
 Over two years have passed since the introduction of the Amiga 3000,
and to
many Amiga fans that seemed much too long. As a matter of fact, the Amiga
has fallen behind the competitors in the MS-DOS market: and this in the
graphic area, her former root discipline. But - the Amiga 4000 proves
this -
Commodore has not let this long time slip by. Not only does the 25 Mhz 68040
processor in the top model set standards, also with the new graphics chipset
there's no need for the Amiga 4000 to hide for the competition.
Be aware that this test is based on a pre-production model. Until the sales
it can not be ruled out that small changes will occur. Especially the
devellopment of the 3.0 system software is not finished yet. The first
machines will probably, like the Amiga 3000, provide a possibility to start
new kickstarts off the harddisk. Visually, the A4000 is clearly similar to
the Amiga 3000. Indeed, our pre-production model was not equipped with the
eventual case, but it appears to be established that the Amiga 4000 will be
supplied in the from the Commodore PC-line familiar case. It offers at the
front one half-height shaft for one 5.25" device and two 1" shafts for 3.5"
devices, which are placed on top of each other. One floppy shaft in the
middle is left closed, in the first instance to prevent heating of the
processor module, which is positioned below it. Internally, there is room
for 3.5" harddisks.
Furthermore, from now on the Amiga 4000 is turned on at the front. The
mouse ports (at the left side) and the keyboard port (at the back) have
moved. An advantage is, that all there is to do in order to open the new
case is to unscrew two screws and the lid kan be opened. The mouse and
keyboard plugs do not have to be removed to do so.
The keyboard is also in old Amiga 3000 design but just a bit brighter
colored and now uses the from CDTV familiar mini-DIN plug. Besides the
keyboard port, the back has the already familiar audio and video outputs (at
this moment still a 23-pins port), furthermore a serial, parallel and floppy
port.
The real innovations are hidden in the case. The processor is not (like in
the previous models) mounted on the motherboard, but sits on a CPU-card,
which occupies the from amiga 3000 familiar fast slot. This way, updates to
faster processors are no problem. Our test machine was provided with a 25
Mhz 68040-card; other CPU-cards, e.g. with the 68EC040, are planned. Here
Commodore has clearly listened to the critisism regarding the in the Amiga
3000 build in 68030- and 68882 processors. The new solution has worked.
The slots of the Amiga 4000 are positioned, like already in the Amiga 3000,
on a daughterboard, which is stuck perpendicularly on the main board. It
provides for in total four Zorro-III-slots, of which three are
positioned in
line with AT-slots and one in line with the videoslot. The videoslot has
been expanded with some pins to allow the full 24-bit color pallete to be
available at the videoslot.
This way, the mainboard could stay very small, which is also a consequence
of the usage of SMD-technology. Just the essential chips are sit in sockets,
under which are besides the 68040 the CPU-board of the kickstart ROMs and
both new customchips Alice and Lisa (see next article), which replace Agnus
and Denise.
Although the case almost has the old measures, the board fills just two
third of it. On it are besides Alice and Lisa also many old acquaintances
from the Amiga 3000 like Ramsey and Buster, who were partly revised. Our
photo of the board shows all important chips of the Amiga 4000 and their
functions.
.
[A4000 Motherboard description from upper left, going down, following
edge of board and returning - Solar:
.
-internal audio plug
-Video-DAC (ADV7120)
-Paula (8374R7)
-Alice (new Agnus 8374R2)
-Lisa (new Denise 4203R2)
-Super Buster (Zorro-III buscontroller)
-32 bit memory (SIMMs, chip- and fast-RAM)
-Bridgette (gate array)
-slot for daughterboard (on which Zorro-III slots and video slot)ced in a
seperate article.
Not revised was Paula, unfortunately, so that the sound abilities of the
Amiga 4000 the same as what they always were. She is now built-in using SMD
design, like the ports 8520.
Numerous jumpers have joined. For instance the DF0: drive can be configured
as being external. There is nothing that keeps away a diskless workstation
with this board. Still the test model was provided with a (previously
unofficial) HD-drive with which HD disks are formatted to 1760 KBytes.
(which was, by the way, already sold in numerous Amiga 3000s).
The memory on the main board is expandable to 2 Mbyte chip-RAM and 16 MByte
fast-RAM - used for this are SIMMs, which are easier to apply than ZIPs. The
test machine possesed a 2 MByte module with 60 ns access speed in the chip-
socket, two of the four fast-RAM sockets were filled with 1 MByte SIMMs, so
the available memory totalled 4 MByte. It is preferred that Commodore will
supply the serial products with a 4 MByte fast-RAM module instead. The 1
MByte modules can't be used to expand the computer to it's full potential,
unfortunately.
The used SIMM type is at the moment still a bit exotic. In the interest of
easier equipping, they did not use the traditional 8-bit-SIMMs, but 32 bit
wide modules. This has the advantage that memory can be expanded with some
modules instead of always four SIMMs.
One chip and the connector which accompanies it is sadly missing in the
A4000: the new Amiga doesn't posess an integrated SCSI host-adapter.
Instead, an IDE- interface for traditional AT-bus harddisks was integrated,
which is already known from the Amiga 600. Unfortunately, the speeds that
can be reached are limited by the AT-bus.
.
[table follows: Amiga 4000 - IDE
.
			512	 4096   32768	 262144
			.
			Create  28895	162392  328160  458864
			Write   29738	193190  478921  759364
			Read	 158462	211755  282068  297161
			.
			RSCP 650240 .
			The test model was equipped with an 80-MByte
harddisk from Western Digital,
the serial models will be available with either 40 or 120 MByte harddisks,
presumably from Quantum. The position of harddisk and processor card is
choosen a bit unfavourable. The harddisk covers half of the voluminous
cooler of the 68040. In relation to the fast SCSI-DMA host adapter of the
A3000 the interrupt controlled polled I/O of the A4000 certainly is a step
back. However, 50 per cent of processor time still forms more computing
power than 100 per cent on the 68030 in the A3000.
All this leads to the conclusion that the A4000 is not placed entirely at
the top of the group of new models, but rather should cover the middle
market segment. We have to wait if and when Commodore will expand the models
further to the top.
The manuals of the A4000 were not ready with the test product. It seems
there will be seperate manuals for installation, AmigaDOS, Workbench and
ARexx, with which the problems with the bursting manuals of OS 2.0 will be
solved.
The euphoria which was reached at the introduction of the first Amigas is
not entirely there. For this the computer arrives a bit too spartan and also
a bit too late. Not just the missing SCSI bus is meant. For the Multimedia-
Computer, as Commodore also sees the A4000, there are still numerous
abilities missing, which were technically absolutely feasible. A serial
production connector for a low cost network of own brand would make the
exchange of data between multiple Amigas much easier. A DSP, like in the
recently introduced Atari Falcon, could assist Paula which has fallen behind
and also support other applications. These expectations are not yet
fulfilled with the A4000.
Still, when testing now and then a real Amiga feeling appeared. It is plain
fun to work with this Amiga - fast, colorful and above all payable. If the
plans of Commodore are met, you should be able to acquire the A4000 already
in September at all Commodore dealers. The expected price will be clearly
under 5000 Mark [about $3200 - Solar] and with that aproximately at the
price to be paid for a 68040-turboboard alone until today. If this price is
settled, even the shortcomings of the new computer are bearable. A few
dreams stay open - but already in March there will be the CeBIT: Commodore
will not let it pass without new introductions. (rb)
.
High speed due to 68040:
.
			  A3000, 25 Mhz:	A4000, 25 Mhz:
			  .
			  CygnusEd 		 6.10 				7.92
			  LHarc 			 5.67
  12.65
  Mandelbrot		 4.91 			  14.68
  ImagineFP		 8.70 			  14.20
  .
  All speed factors are based on an A2000 7.09 Mhz.
  .
  EVALUATION A4000
  .
  Positive: high performance through 68040-CPU ; strongly improved graphics
  and bandwidth ; well-considered case.
  .
  Negative: no high-resolution graphic modes ; no SCSI-bus ; RAM on mainboard
  currently limited to 2 MB Chip-RAM and 16 MByte fast-RAM.
  .
  Conclusion: In the essential areas performance and graphic abilities the
  A4000 forms the flank for the next years of Amiga history. There are good
  opportunities for her in the tested configuration and expected price below
  5000 Mark [$3200].
  Without SCSI-bus and really high-resolution graphics modes she can not be
  regarded as real high-end model indeed, but this computer will find her
  clients at any rate: both SCSI and graphic cards as well are
obtainable and
the price of the machine is more than competitive.
.
info: Commodore Buromaschinen GmbH, Lyoner Str. 38, 6000 Frankfurt 71,
Tel. 0 69 / 66 38 - 0.
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU