From: barrett@iastate.edu (Marc N. Barrett)
Subject: Re: Commodores AGA uppgrade board.
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1993 22:40:32 GMT

In article <1993Jan20.203636@informatik.uni-kl.de> c_feck@informatik.uni-kl.de (Christop Feck) writes:
>
>In article <C15zt6.27v@news.iastate.edu> barrett@iastate.edu (Marc N. Barrett)
>writes:
>>In article <1993Jan20.162046.13424@random.ccs.northeastern.edu>
>>jsg@ccs.northeastern.edu (Jonas S Green) writes:
>>>In article <C13z92.1DK@news.iastate.edu> barrett@iastate.edu (Marc N. Barrett)
>>>writes:
>>>>
>>>>   To me, an A3000 with an AGA board would be infinitely more preferable than
>>>>an A4000,
>>>
>>>To me it would be an overpriced hack. The key word here is OVERPRICED.
>>> 
>>>>especially if the AGA board could be designed so that the original
>>>>chipset and display enhancer could be switched-in through software.
>>>
>>>You wouldn't consider adding a de-interlacer to a 4000 JUST IN CASE
>>>would you. (I mean what DTP designer would use a non flicker mode when
>>> they could use 640 x 400 interlace instead )
>>>
>>>> This would provide the SCSI interface that the A4000 lacks,
>>>
>>>How about an AGA machine with SCSI II on the main board instead of
>>>IDE. (Now how can I hook my IDE drive up to my A3000 ??? )
>>
>>   Let's compare prices.  An A4000 with a SCSI II card and a deinterlacer
>>card versus an A3000 with an AGA board:
>>
>>A4000: 		$2700
>>Deinterlacer card: 	$250
>>SCSI II card: 		$250
>>total: 		$3200
>>
>>A3000/25: 		$1200
>>AGA upgrade board: 	$700
>>Amiga HD floppy drive: $150
>>Total: 		$2050
>>
>>Savings: 		$1150
>>
>>   Sure, the A4000 also has an '040, but for my purposes I don't need an
>>'040.  The resulting system, but upgrading the A3000, is MUCH nicer, with a
>>better-looking case and a far more integrated system (more on the motherboard
>>and less on plug-in cards means more reliability).  It also has some 
>>capabilities that the A4000 does not have, namely multiprocessing capability
>>if an '040 card is added to the CPU slot.  Finally, it is every bit as 
>>upgradable to '060 cards as the A4000 is.
>
>Apart from the '040, you missed:
>- A4000 comes with OS 3.0

   Amiga OS 3.0 could be made available with the upgrade board.  Or
one could wait until Commodore offers it for other systems.

>- A4000 can be expanded with 64 bit RISC/Gfx chips

   So can the A3000.  The CPU slot in the A3000 is exactly the same as
the one in the A4000.

>- A4000 can hold 5,25 drives (NOT floppy disks, but your all important CD-ROM)

   CD-ROM could be made external.  BFD.

>- A3000 was MUCH over $1200 when it hit the market.

   It's $1200 for a good one.  Besides, we're talking about upgrading 
a system that a person would usually already own.  

>You are wrong:
>- A4000 has a built in flicker fixer.

   Mode-promotion is a kind of "flicker-fixer-emulator" in software.  It
does not work with games or demos that take over the system.  For people
who own monitors that cannot sync to less than 31 Khz, they have to buy
a hardware flicker-fixer or a second monitor.

>- I've never seen a '040 card for the A3000 which is capable of running the
>  '030 and '040 simultaneously.

   The limitation is in software, not hardware.  I suespect that the
third-party '040 cards for the A3000 can do it, electronically-speaking.
But the software is not available to do it.

---
| Marc Barrett -MB-  |  email: barrett@iastate.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------
"I suppose if I had two X chromosomes, I'd feel hostile too."
                              - Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes)

Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy