Why nobody cares about 030 A1200 accelerators

68030 + SDRAM + IDE

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terriblefire
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Why nobody cares about 030 A1200 accelerators

Post by terriblefire »

I've had a luke warm response to the TF1230 release.. Not masses of interest really. Except today where we got attacked by the TS1230 guys... but really nobody cares about 030 AGA Amiga ... here's why..

1. PiStorm is out on A1200.
2. Buffee is coming for A1200 (in a free TF1200).
3. The TF1260 is the same price as a 030 accelerator and its open source now.
4. Warp1260 is out there and doing great.

There isnt much space in the A1200 market anymore. Its saturated. I've no idea how Jens expects to get his development costs back from his ACA1260.. he'd be better just flipping the 060 chips.

EDIT: Oh and there are a load of Vampire things coming soon too.. Really unless you want to try and do a cheaper Warp, or tap into the 040 + FPU potential in a cheap card there isnt much space left in the market here.
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brostenen
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Re: Why nobody cares about 030 A1200 accelerators

Post by brostenen »

I might be one of those few that care about 030 for Amiga1200.

I will say this. I am old school. I grew up with C64's, Amiga's and PC's from various places and at various people's homes. I used all these platforms throughout my childhood from around 1985'ish (I am born in 1976) and through my teenage years. I knew the Amiga from back then, and I want my Amiga's to be what we knew back then. The home market was more or less stock Amiga, with a few minor upgrades that today seems like an underpowered Amiga. We were kings in the school yeard, if we had an HDD for the Amiga. We used floppy disks and we had good use of what we had back then.

In this light, I am one of those that want it simple. I want as near stock experience as possible. Just with a tiny bit of umpfhhh.... I want to party as if it was 1994 again. (when we speak Amiga1200). I use floppy disks on my Amiga's. I want a clean and simple design, and nothing like maprom or any fancy stuff that I am not going to use. I have seen 030-50's with 128mb of ram on eBay at 900 euro the other day. Yes, yes, yes. FPU and all that jazz, but at 170 Euro for an 030-50 with 64mb Ram. Oh yeah baby.... And you could even leave out the IDE port.

To say it short. People like me, want an TF-1230. We want our Amiga1200 with just a bit of extra and that is that. Heck. We could even be happy with an 16mb edition.

And then again. I am not like everyone else, and there are not many Amiga users like me. I will just say. Pick the right tool for the job.
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Re: Why nobody cares about 030 A1200 accelerators

Post by Steve »

Well I think the main reason for the luke-warm response is mainly down to the fact that 030 accelerators have been around and available for so long, I think anyone who needs one already has one.

Take me for example. I'm an Atari guy but always wanted to get a nice a1200. A couple of years ago I got a nice one from a local advertiser and then bought an ACA1233n. It was pricey but there was no other options at the time, but besides that I've been more than happy with it. Very stable and fast. It had a bunch of OS tools/tweaks I installed, and not being an 'Amiga guy' I'd be too afraid to change the accelerator now because I don't understand the OS enough to reconfigure it.

Today though, if I bought my a1200 recently I 100% would have got a TF1230 and an 030 CPU from Exxos.
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Re: Why nobody cares about 030 A1200 accelerators

Post by terriblefire »

The idea of the TF1230 was that it should be as cheap as a 8Mb ram card up until now. Looking at the BOM. if you put a $10 CPU and 40Mhz clocking in there you could sell them for £80.
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Re: Why nobody cares about 030 A1200 accelerators

Post by Steve »

brostenen wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:02 pm there are not many Amiga users like me. I will just say. Pick the right tool for the job.
I'm like you. I don't have much of an interest in anything faster than an 030 for my a1200. I got it for the classic games, an the 030 works wonders for that.
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Re: Why nobody cares about 030 A1200 accelerators

Post by terriblefire »

Well i'm an original hardware aficionado. The idea of putting a pi in my chase hq cab makes me sick... thats a hint at what i'm working on btw.
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Re: Why nobody cares about 030 A1200 accelerators

Post by brostenen »

terriblefire wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:06 pm The idea of the TF1230 was that it should be as cheap as a 8Mb ram card up until now. Looking at the BOM. if you put a $10 CPU and 40Mhz clocking in there you could sell them for £80.
Still cheaper than a 128mb blizzard 030-50. :D
I bitterly regret selling my 1200 with GVP TurboJaws-II 030-50 back in 2006. So your design is perfect for me, as 1200's are not exactly cheap machines anymore.
brostenen
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Re: Why nobody cares about 030 A1200 accelerators

Post by brostenen »

terriblefire wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:08 pm Well i'm an original hardware aficionado. The idea of putting a pi in my chase hq cab makes me sick... thats a hint at what i'm working on btw.
I build an 500 board into an old Unisys Desktop case from 1994. And I have an PiStorm in that. It is sitting on the shelf, for when EMU68 is more mature. If you are interrested, then I can post a link to my blog or YouTube channel, were I show off that machine... I know... Totally self promotion (or something)
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Re: Why nobody cares about 030 A1200 accelerators

Post by brostenen »

Steve wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:06 pm
brostenen wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:02 pm there are not many Amiga users like me. I will just say. Pick the right tool for the job.
I'm like you. I don't have much of an interest in anything faster than an 030 for my a1200. I got it for the classic games, an the 030 works wonders for that.
Yup.... TF-1230 is a god sent device. :) :)
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8 Bit Dreams
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Re: Why nobody cares about 030 A1200 accelerators

Post by 8 Bit Dreams »

terriblefire wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:06 pm <snip> if you put a $10 CPU and 40Mhz clocking in there you could sell them for £80.
ive tried that, no luck unfortunately, card doesn't boot if clocked @40MHz atm.... :)
sent out some TF1230's without CPUs, since im out of these that can run @50MHz.....
Retro computer hardware & repair in Germany
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