From: rtillery@crash.cts.com (Rick Tillery)
Subject: Re: No AGA for current users!?! *Excuse Me?*
Organization: CTS Network Services (crash, ctsnet), El Cajon, CA
Date: 14 Sep 92 18:24:50 PDT

I'll start by saying that not only do I own a 3000, but previously I owned
a 30Mhz 68030 A2000 with a de-interlacer---very nearly a 3000.  I upgraded
to a 3000 FOR THE EXPRESS REASON THAT I MADE THE (mistaken) ASSUMPTION THAT
IT WOULD BE UPGRADABLE TO THE NEXT 32 BIT CHIPSET.  Dave Haynie himself said
I shouldn't have made my decision based on that assumption...after I'd already
done it.


In article <AHANSFOR.92Sep13172548@wpi.wpi.edu> ahansfor@wpi.wpi.edu (Andrew L. Hansford) writes:
>>>>>> On 13 Sep 92 19:53:48 GMT, bdnee@silver.lcs.mit.edu (Bandes Dessinee) said:
>
>
>bdnee> Time to stop buying Commodore products, i think, unless they
>       get their act together and start treating their userbase decently.
>bdnee> Charley
>
>Well if there are technical reasons that it won't work then it won't
>work.  I do not blame C= for coming out with new technology that
>makes the amigas they made last year a little dull.  What I would like
>to know is could not have such a move been anticipated and allowances
>made to upgrade 3000s?  Maybe not.

One of the problems with IBM improvements is just what you say.  IBM
didn't want to piss too many people off when they introduced the new
models.  Unfortunately, at some point you have to decide whether to
take a small upgrade step so as not to anger the current users, or make
the giant leap of technology and keep your machine competitive.

>Perhaps a low end model will come with AGA on a motherboard that fits
>in a 3000 case.  Probably not.  

I doubt it.  The A4000 case will reportedly house the A2020 (the 68020
version) and the 68030 version (didn't hear a name).
>
>If C= moves to a more modular design and standardize on a motherboard
>form factor, then perhaps motherboard upgrades will be possible.
>Already we have the SCSI, and CPU moved off the mother board.  So lets
>hope that the 4000 and some tower version will be standardized so that
>when the 4200 or 5000 comes along we can pop out the 4000 motherboard, and
>put in the 5000 motherboard with the AAA chipset, and still keep our
>same SCSI-2 card, our 060 CPU card and our AT&T DSP Card.

I think this move is designed to do just what you want...only for the
future machines.  It's unfortunate that C= didn't think of that sooner.
>
>Modularity adds to production and sales cost but certainly makes
>upgrading easier.  (I'd much rather pay $600 for a new motherboard
>that only has the custom ships, the port controls and the bus
>controller. )
>
>I do understand the feeling of the 3000 owners.  The 500, and 2000
>owners had a way to expand to 3000 capabilities (Although this was
>not cheap if you wanted all of the 3000 options sans Zorro3.)
>The 3000 owners seem not to have these abilities.  C= would do well to
>give the 3000 owners a good deal.
>

And here I give a hearty HEAR HEAR!  As I stated above, I used my EE
degree and knowledge that the ECS in the A3000 was on a 32 bit bus
along with the contention that the next generation was logically a
32 bit set to come to the conclusion that as much as the A2000 could
be expanded to nearly the A3000, the A3000 would be expandable to the
A4000 level.

You know what they say about ASSuME-ing :-)

Rick Tillery
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.graphics