home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- {center}
- {subhead}ELBOX COMPUTER{def}
- {left}
- {p} {p}
- 04 September 2000
- {p} {p}
- The breakthrough product developed by us: the MEDIATOR PCI,
- has caused many changes in the Amiga world. Changes for better,
- one has to admit.
- {p} {p}
- People who cannot approach this excellent product with honour
- and respect due to its design, spread rumours, which give false
- information to Amiga users.
- {p} {p}
- In order to make this situation clear and show our respect to
- all those dedicated users of Amiga computers, we feel obliged
- to clarify the information.
- {p} {p}
- Below you find our answers to such rumours:
- {p} {p}
- 1. *** MEDIATOR PCI 1200 can only have access to 8 MB address
- area, so the latest Voodoo III cards with 32-64 MB address
- area could not be used. ***
- {p} {p}
- Answer: Not true.{p}
- Elbox MEDIATOR PCI 1200 enables access to the entire 4 GB
- PCI Memory Space and to all the required I/O space.
- Execution of access to the full memory area in PCI (4 GB)
- through the 8 MB Amiga memory window is done with MEDIATOR's
- hardware on the basis of the MEDIATOR offset registers.
- {p} {p}
- 2. *** Designing MEDIATOR PCI 1200 in such a way that
- it works with all the existing turbo cards for Amiga 1200
- (i.e. within the 8 MB address window) will result
- in modern graphics cards major crippling in the transfer rate
- between the processor and graphics card. ***
- {p} {p}
- Answer: Not true.{p}
- Data exchange between the processor and graphics cards
- within the 8 MB address window does not affect transfer rate.
- {p} {p}
- E.g.: Writing to a graphics card of 32 MB of data within
- the 8 MB address window means execution of just 3 additional
- writing operations for over 8,000,000 writing operations.
- In practice, transmission over 8 MB of data to a PCI graphics
- card is very rare, as majority of modern PCI graphics cards
- memory is allocated for storing textures.
- Current data exchange is thus executed within the one 8 MB
- window, anyway.
- {p} {p}
- 3. *** PCI graphics cards themselves are now increasingly hard
- to obtain and will be obsolete in a few months time. ***
- {p} {p}
- Answer: Not true.{p}
- Many new graphic chipsets are and will be produced in both
- the PCI standard and the AGP Intel standard.
- This is clear, as PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)
- is an industry standard independent of the processor platform
- by definition. Graphic cards in this standard may work
- equally well in PC, Mac or Amiga computers.
- {p} {p}
- 4. *** Elbox will produce a PCI/AGP busboard to be directly
- connected to the expansion connector on the BlizzardPPC.
- It will come equipped with 3xPCI slots, 1xAGP slot and a
- socket for SDRAM. ***
- {p} {p}
- Answer:{p}
- Who came up with this one?
- Preparing such a busboard, connected directly to the
- BlizzardPPC card in the place of the BVisionPPC card,
- would require redesigning the BlizzardPPC card.
- Replacing one PCI slot with an AGP slot in the busboard
- for A1200 does not result in any major benefits.
- {p} {p}
- Instead of SDRAM memory in the busboard, we will offer
- a far better solution, to which MEDIATOR PCI 1200 is
- totally ready, of which we will write more in one of our
- coming announcements.
- {p} {p}
- Best regards,{p}
- Mariusz Wloczysiak{p}
- ELBOX COMPUTER, Press Department
- {p} {p}