From: mks@cbmvax.commodore.com (Michael Sinz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Subject: Re: AA & A3000???
Date: 15 Sep 92 01:27:07 GMT
Reply-To: mks@cbmvax.commodore.com (Michael Sinz)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA

barrett@iastate.edu (Marc N Barrett) writes:
>   Remember when the A3000 came out, and Commodore reps and engineers said that
>it was 'impossible' to get the 2M Agnus chip to work in A500s and A2000s?  A
>friend of mine recently designed a 2M Agnus adapter board for the A500 and
>A2000 in his free time that uses ONE chip in addition to the Agnus chip.  Third
>parties have had adapter boards available for about a year.
>
>   OK, the bandwidth isn't there.  Yes, I realize that the bandwidth isn't
>there.  I assure you that I am FULLY AWARE that the bandwidth isn't there.
>But what does bandwidth have to do with it?  The chips would go on a card
>for the CPU slot, with the same electronic connection to the CPU that the
>AGA chips in the A4000 have.  It would probably necessitate unplugging
>the ECS agnus and Denise, transferring the Paula to the AGA board in the
>CPU slot, and disabling the chip RAM on the motherboard and replacing it
>with the faster chip RAM on the AGA board, but it would be totally
>feasible.

Well, Marc, since you know so much as to how to build computers (you
are always saying we don't do it right, so you must know more than we
do) why don't you do something constructive for the Amiga and the Amiga
users such as yourself and build this device?  I mean, you have even
said it was so simple and "totally feasible" to build.

Now, I can not say it is 100% impossible to build an AGA hack for the
current ECS machines.  However, from why "little" I know of the hardware
involved, it will be rather hard to do.  In fact, it would be more
than just rather hard.  Best of all, it would cost a rather healthy sum
for such a device and with the 68040-based A4000 with 6meg of RAM and
a 120meg hard drive selling for under $3,000 (street price) it does not
sound like it would be a very cost-effective device for the users...
Unless they already have a 68040 board A3000 and wish to use that, but
you are saying to replace the CPU board...  Oh well, guess I have to have
a 68030 and throw away that 68040...

But then, why would you want "AGA" in the A3000 anyway?  You have already
stated that you do not like the A4000 because it is simply an A3000 plus
68040 plus AGA and that it was a "kludge."  (Your words, sir, not mine)
So, if that was so bad that you think the A4000 is not worth it, why
would anyone spend money on the A3000?

But then, Marc, why am I even writing this?  After all, you are really
not worth it...

/----------------------------------------------------------------------\
|      /// Michael Sinz  -  Senior Amiga Systems Engineer              |
|     ///                   Operating System Development Group         |
|    ///   BIX:  msinz      UUNET:  mks@cbmvax.commodore.com           |
|\\\///                                                                |
| \XX/     "I think not." said Ren'e Descartes, then he vanished.      |
\----------------------------------------------------------------------/
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc