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From: [e-mail] (Doug Peters)
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Subject: Re: Amiga 2000 060 cards.
To: [e-mail] (Joe Angell)
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 1995 18:38:21 [phone] (CDT)
Cc: [e-mail]
In-Reply-To: <[e-mail]> from "Joe Angell" at Sep 8, 95 09:14:21 pm
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>
>
> > I think AAA is pretty much a shoe-in, but the hombre chip may not be
> > compatible with the AAA.  Then again, Hombre (3D-RISC & DSP & stuff)
> > wasn't far along in develpoment, either.  Nevertheless, RTG should finally
> > surface.  ;)
>
> Hi.  Could you throw all that at me?  I know little about the

Sorry, it's too heavy to lift.  ;)

My info comes from posts and mail from Dave Haynie, once a C= Amiga Guru,
and now working for SCALA.  There is so much too explain, I'd rather not
since I would probably get it wrong.  But as I understand it, Hombre was
intended to be the next generation video and audio chip for the next
generation CD32 (CD64?) using a RISC, while a 68030 was actually the
primary processor.  This would have reduced costs for the next generation
of Amiga game machines.  It incorporated a special DSP instruction chip or
set of instructions by AT&T, who LOVED programming for the Amiga over any
other platform.  The DSP would have been the most sophisticated presently
available, pushing a simple (at development cease) real-time 3D rendering
engine so that graphics could be kept as data instead of prerendered, also
offering more of a "Virtual Reality" (but not designed FOR that,
specifically).

It also included advanced instructions that would have made a modem
obselete, and upgrading from the stock 2400 would have been a software
upgrade to a 14400 or 28800 (or whatever comes next) so that people could
link over phone lines, etc.

The Graphics Architecture of the chip was well in advance, as well.  It
didn't utilize AAA at all, but it's sprite engine was massive.  You could
have Quad Playing Fields, WAY advanced collision detection, all sortsa
neat stuff.  C= UK was the first to speak of incorporating it's Realtime
3-D engine at all, (as far as I know) and incorporating it into Desktops,
to provide a direction and instill faith among us Amiganauts AND it's
Backers in the Liquidation process.

Audio would be true (8 Voice? ...stereo for sure, maybe surround sound?) CDROM
quality 16Bit Playback.

However, this "HOMBRE" Chip was not incorporating any Amiga CD32 or CDTV
backward compatibility in order to reduce development costs.  This may
have been done at a later date when the Hombre made it back to Amiga
Computer Systems.

> next-generation Amigas, and would like to know all I can (be technical).

No one really knows much about the Hombre, EXCEPT the few higher-ups
(like Dave Haynie)  in C= when the genius who was working on it, was
working on it.  I may have gotten ALOT of stuff wrong... but I think that
that is pretty much the general jist of it.  I do know it was a much more
involved asspiration than I was letting on, though.  I just can't remember
all the stuff.  But Hombre would have made a big impact on 3D Rendering
when it did hit the Desktops.  This is something that the Amiga has needed
for a GREAT long time, since the 4000 lost it's speed advantage shortly
after introduction.  But, BOY, would Lightwave benefit with the custom
AT&T DSP on a custom RISC!

> Also, where did you get the $800 price quote for the 060?  I'm gonna get

Sopftwood's advertisement in this month's AMIGA COMPUTING... $799.00 (or
like that) ...page 51 (if I remember right)?

> an A2000 version if I can find it cheap (and $999 IS cheap!)  Thanks for
> all the Amiga info...  Let's hope ESCOM doesn't screw up... :)

The 2000 version is advertised as well, but it's a bit more.  Tek Magic
(sp?) ...the former GVP... also has a 2000 060, but I hate GVP so much...
(AHRG!!!  They told me to take a leap, HUNG-UP the phone on me, when I
needed Tech support for a BRAND NEW Accel/RAM/SCSI Board just out on the
market that was SEVERELY BUGGED)

and DKB also has a 2000 060 board that looks real nice (can use 64bit
DIMMs for when you make the upgrade to the next generation PCI Bus, I
guess).

See Ya, Joe!
(Hope that helped an eeny bit)

Oh, what do *I* think the next generation Amigas will be like?  That's
COMPLETE speculation, you know, ESCOM & AMIGA TECH are EXTREMELY tight
lipped.  They have announced that they will be producing PCI Bus Amigas
next year, but I doubt it.  They only have 50 Engineers, and they are
re-inventing the Amiga!  If they do it as scheduled, I doubt they will be
providing backwards compatibility.  C= had 150 Engineers, in it's hay-day.
And we all know that it wasn't the Engineering Dept. that sucked... THEY
EXCELLED!!!  But with no marketting... you are inventing a big secret.

The Amiga is losing ground, and only the move to the PCI Bus with AAA or
other 24Bit retargettable graphics will save it.  The OS still outshines
anything available, especially DOS, MAC, and Windows 95!  Motorla has
abandoned serious development of the 680X0 series, which I think is
unfortunate, but they need to remain competitive, and the 680X0 isn't
really going to fill the bill much longer.

I would love to see LOTS of stuff, but it *IS* neccessary to make Amigas
compatible with the rest of the world.  When they come, I expect to see
just that, anything for a PCI machine will work on an Amiga, and anything
for an Amiga PCI machine will work with a PCI Bus PC equipped with an
Amiga "Working Enviroment" board.

3D-RISC would be the nicest and best bonus for me...  I mean, I can't
afford a 333mhz Alpha (any time in the NEAR Future, anyways).

[e-mail]

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