PowerUp-to-date
|
PowerUp-to-date
|
»March 23, 1999: Update on the
Only four days after the first announcement of the Cyberstorm G3/G4 project, we have seen a very positive and exciting feedback by the Amiga community, which we highly appreciate and which supports our hope that we can realize this project (although we still have to collect a large number of preorders).
At the same time, a lot of questions came up, and also a lot of comments about the features of the board. We have taken those into consideration, and can today already announce that we have improved the specifications of the CYBERSTORM G3/G4 Accelerator; please read below about the new feature. We would also like to address some questions which remained open or have been asked by many Amiga users, so please read on to hear the latest news about this stunning project.
Specification Update: UW-SCSI on board at no additional cost
Reacting on the large number of requests, we have decided to integrate an Ultra Wide SCSI II controller (Fast-20 standard) on the Cyberstorm G3/G4 board, which will perform SCSI bus transfers in single-ended and differential mode with up to 40 MB/s (synchronous Ultra SCSI (Fast-20) transfers). This SCSI chip is based on the same core (and comes from the same vendor) as the powerful SCSI controller which is already standard on our Cyberstorm MkIII and Cyberstorm PPC Accelerators. And yes, it's true: This powerful add-on will cost the Amiga users, who decide to buy the Cyberstorm G3/G4 board, not a single Cent more than we have announced on March 19, 1999.
Dealer inquiries Welcome!
Dealer inquiries for the Cyberstorm G3/G4 board are welcome. We are happy to take pre-orders from dealers and distributors, as well as OEMs and VARs all over the world, who can show their support for the Amiga with such preorders, and prepare for future business. Dealers will receive a common discount on the regular list price of the Cyberstorm G3/G4 board, when placing preorders at the listed preorder conditions. If you are a dealer/OEM/VAR and want to place orders, don't hesitate: simply enter your customer number, select "dealer" on the order form, and enter the quantity of Cyberstorm G3/G4 boards you would like to purchase in the comments field. We'll get back to you with the pricing we can offer you, depending on the quantity.
Now here are some answers to typical questions (or concerns) that we have seen in the past days:
Why do you need so many preorders (which you may not get)?
The quantity of 1,000 perorders is important to justify the investments into this new product. It must not be underestimated how much technology knowledge is necessary to realize it on our side. But there is also another important factor, which we have considered: Once the project starts with 1,000 secured sales, it provides the security of a minimum installed user base for developers. We doubt that developers would like to start optimizing software for a base of several hundred users only.
Why don't you offer cheaper versions with slower processors?
There are two major reasons for that:
a) Price/performance relation: As a large part of the cost of the product goes into the board logic and development cost, the use of a cheaper processor would not save so much. Right now, e.g. a 300MHz version would only be DM 300 or 15% cheaper, but offer 25% less performance (and CPUs below 300MHz are not longer built by IBM and Motorola, and will therefore probably not be available in the second half of the year).
b) Absolute performance: To emulate 68k code at least at the performance level of appx. an 68060 (and maybe even offer improved performance for emulated 68k software, with highly optimized emulators), we have evaluated that 400MHz G3 performance should be an entry level product. We don't want to offer a product which may be a drawback for current high-end users (please also see the next question/answer about emulation speed).
How fast will the Cyberstorm G3/G4 operate in 68k emulation?
This can currently only be estimated, based on reports of emulation performance on 604e based boards, and by evaluating emulation performance for other CPUs on other G3 based systems. Based on currently available benchmarks, an optimized software emulation on a 400MHz G3 with 1MB backside cache and 100MHz SDRAM memory (as provided by the Cyberstorm G3/G4) e.g. compares well to a 120MHz Pentium chip. This performance, together with preliminary 68k emulator benchmarks, gives us good hope that even emulated 68k software can run some 50-80% faster than a real 68060. Of course, lots of already existing PPC applications will really fly on this board...
Why is the Cyberstorm G3/G4 board so expensive?
A question we can't understand - as the Cyberstorm G3/G4 is offered for very a reasonable price. A ZIF CPU module for the PowerMac currently costs some DM 1,700 in Germany or US$ 800 and up in the US - and this is only a CPU module, without memory subsystem, PCI bridge and interface, or SCSI controller. And there is definitely no other solution for the Amiga available, or announced right now, that would offer the same performance at a comparable or even lower price.
Another cost-reducing advantage, especially compared to other solutions, is that the user who purchases a Cyberstorm G3/G4 can sell the existing CPU card on the second-hand market, as the Cyberstorm G3/G4 fully replaces the current CPU. By selling e.g. an existing 68060 processor card, the cost of upgrading to the Cyberstorm G3/G4 can be reduced significantly. This is not possible with solutions e.g. for the Zorro slot, which require the 68k CPU and don't allow the user to sell it.
Can I use my CyberVisionPPC on the Cyberstorm G3/G4?
Likely not. If someone uses a CyberVisionPPC, he also owns a Cyberstorm MkIII or PPC. We recommend in such a case to sell the CyberVisionPPC together with the Cyberstorm Mk III or PPC, when upgrading to the Cyberstorm G3/G4. With the prices of new 3D PCI gfx cards as low as never before, we recommend to go for a new generation gfx card then. We also encourage other developers (and will happily support them) to bring new technologies such as 3Dfx Banshee, ATI Rage 128, or others to the Amiga.
Why don't you built an 1200 board?
There are too many technical restrictions on such a product, because of which a development does not make sense. It must also be noted that such a product would require a tower case with a stronger power supply at least (there is no chance to design it to fit into A1200 desktops). We will discuss with manufacturers of tower cases, if e.g. a simple and inexpensive interface between the A1200 slot and the A4000 compatible CPU connector on the Cyberstorm G3/G4 can be realized (as already available as a part of Zorro-III expansion boards). With such a solution, the Cyberstorm G3/G4 could be used in A1200 tower systems without significant additional costs.
Why don't you build a complete new system?
There are several issues which would need to be resolved before we could decide to built such a system. Just to mention two major factors, we would need a) full support for such a project by Amiga, Inc., and b) a demand strong enough to sell 3,000-5,000 units of a stand-alone system. It might be a project for the future, but yet we can't say if the circumstances will allow us to go for such a development.
That's it for today. If these informations and the specification update answer your questions, and have convinced you to participate in this exciting new development project, then go ahead and
BESTELLEN SIE NOCH HEUTE IHR CYBERSTORM G3/G4-BOARD!«
(Quelle: Phase 5 digital products)
