From: bloc1469@ee.ee.uwm.edu (Gregory R. Block)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: The Real A4000 Argument.  Barrett Bashing, Too... :)
Date: 12 Oct 1992 20:38:33 GMT
Organization: Electrical Engineering Dept. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.2.33

In article <OD.6badnetOA92-901-302p0_5141bc6f@piraya.bad.se> Roger_Nordin@atb.bbs.bad.se (Roger Nordin) writes:
>> If someone were to purchase an A3000...   $1450.00
>> And "upgrade" to A4000 stats
>...then (s)he also needs to add a SCSI host adapter, and preferably a 
>flickerfixer. I didn't see you list these items. Also, the A3000/VGA user 

SCSI, yes.  FF, no.  AGA handles that quite nicely.

>would need to dump his monitor too, as the A4000 lacks a flickerfixer that 
>converts the 15Khz resolutions to 31KHz, so (s)he would need a more expensive 
>multisync monitor.

You're right.  Instead, you turn on Screen Promotion and AGA will
promote Hires-interlace into DblPAL/DblNTSC.

>I was under the impression that this figure was for the doublebuffered 
>Release3 routines in the kickstart. A3000 runs Release3 very well, in case you
>didn't know. Developers have been running Release3 on A3000 machines for a 
>long time now.

(And that 2000-figure was not achieved on the A4000/040, it was on
something less.)

>Only concerning graphics colours and improved bandwidth. There's no SCSI bus. 

There are slots, and there's SCSI-II on the way.

>There's no Zorro III one on the marked to add either, to match the A3000 host 

But one shall exist soon, wont it?

>adaptor. A3000 can be powered with higher-speed '040 cards right from the 
>start if desiried. The A3000 supports cheap VGA monitors. It also runs hires/
>lace applications with a non-lace 31Khz output. What does the A4000 offer 
>instead? More colours and chip bus bandwidth. Which do I think is most 
>important? This is the question you must ask yourself. My choise is already 
>made. But if an imporoved A4000 is released soon, I guess I have to reconsider
>it.

It also offers you the new video slot, the new HAM8 and 8-bits in all
resolutions, a system which causes far less conention than the 3000
for high-res work which will give you better results and throughput, a
VERY nice 040...

(Which reminds me, would someone settle rumors that the 040 in the
4000 does or does not do copyback?  I've heard that it doesn't.)

...a beta of OS3.0 (which doesn't matter if you're a developer...),
support for de-interlaced resolutions such as DblPAL and DblNTSC which
effectively toss the need for a deinterlacer, and the advantage of
being able to sell your old cpu card when you replace it for a new one
and not having a useless one sitting on your motherboard...  and lets
not forget the best of all:  The second-ugliest case design in Amiga
history.  Nothing since the 2000 has EVER been this ugly.  :)

>The A4000 could be a proper high-end machine, if only C= would finish it with 
>8Mb CHIP RAM and a SCSI bus. Right now, it feels like a "beta" sort of 
>computer design, only half finished!

I don't believe it IS going to be the high-end machine, do you?  High
end machines is Dave's area, and I don't see his signature on the
4000...

Greg
--
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