Neues von Titan Designs
Finn Bastiansen
ich habe mal auf der Homepage von Titan Design nachgesehen, was den PCI-
Adapter angeht und dabei folgendes gefunden (Darunter eine Seite über
einen neuen Beschleuniger mit 68040!)
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PCI Adaptor A New Dawn for the Atari Falcon Eclipse is a new
development by Istari Software of Sweden for Titan Designs, to bring
you the best graphic enhancement hardware for the Falcon. British
Mettle forged with Swedish Steel! --- Product under development---
Eclipse is an adaptor that accepts standard PCI cards and can be used
within a standard Falcon case! This is achieved with a two-part design
- the main interface plugs in via the Falcon expansion connector, and
a box (sitting on the Falcon case) containing the PCI graphic card.
Recased Falcons may not require the external box providing there is
sufficient room inside to house the PCI card and adaptor. Eclipse will
open up a new dimension for the Falcon. Rather than be constrained to
640x480 resolutions, Eclipse can offer a massive 1600x1200 with up to
16-bit colour and high refresh rates.
With the custom software and advanced chipset of the graphic card,
Eclipse will offer the best performance of any graphic adaptor.
PCI Cards
PCI cards are commonly used in later PC and Mac computers. The most
popular use is support for graphic cards for which Eclipse is
primarily intended. Other cards which could be supported include
Network and Sound, however, these would require separate driver
software.
Why not have multiple PCI slots?
Although it is possible to have multiple PCI slots supporting a
variety of cards, there are three very good reasons why Eclipse was
designed to only support a single (graphic) card; Cost, Time & Price.
* Cost: Adding a further slot would involve greater circuit
complexity thereby increasing the production costs.
* Time: The added complexity would entail an increase in the
design time and it would also be necessary to write the driver
software to support other cards.
* Price: The accumulation of these two points would inevitably
result in an increased retail price - perhaps as much as p50.
As most Falcon users only require advanced graphic support, including
more slots means the majority of Falcon users would have to support
the higher retail price for those few users requiring multiple slots.
Sorry, but that's the way it has to be.
Price
While this development is still being prototyped we expect the Eclipse
adaptor, complete with VDI driver software and graphic card, to retail
for
199 pounds
including VAT.
The graphic card is expected to be;
* ATI Charger with 2MB of VRAM. This will be the basic card
offered.
Future support could include Virge DX and Matrox Mystique, however
Matrox have already confirmed they no longer intend to produce PCI
cards and are shifting production over to AGP (Advanced Graphic
Adaptor).
We also expect the current memory constraint of other graphic card
adaptors, i.e. only allowing 4MB of system memory, will be overcome.
Graphics
Following is the expected maximum resolutions and colours that could
be achieved, depending on monitor and the amount of VRAM installed
(Bracketed figures indicate 4MB VRAM needed).
n
1) Resolution
2) Bit planes
3) Max.nColours
4) Refresh[1]
1) * 640x480
* 800x600
* 1024x760
* 1280x1024
* 1600x1200[2]
2) 8,16,248,16,248,16,(24)8,(16,24)8,(16)
3) 16.7 million 16.7 million 65K/(16.7M) 256/(16.7M) 256,(65K)
4) 200Hz 200Hz 150Hz 85Hz 65Hz
Notes:1. Maximum achievable refresh rates quoted for the ATI Charger
graphic card. This, and the resolution, depend entirely on the
suitability of the monitor.
2. 1600x1200 is not possible with the 2MB ATI Charger, therefore the
figures quoted are for guidance only. A 21" monitor is recommended for
this resolution.
Availability
Eclipse is expected to be available for demonstration by early October
in time for the Neuss show in Germany and could be ready for
distribution at the UK Atari show in November.
All in the following fields and press the 'YES' button to submit your
details. We will inform you when more details are available.
Name:
E-mail:
YES! I want to know when...
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Coldfire Acceleration
A New Speed for the Atari Falcon
Tempest is a new development by Istari Software of Sweden for Titan
Designs, to bring you the fastest accelerator hardware for the Falcon.
British Mettle forged with Swedish Steel!
--- Product under development ---
n
| About | Price | Features | Availability |
About
See also our current development - ECLIPSE - a PCI adaptor supporting
the latest ATI Rage II graphic cards.
Tempest uses the very latest Motorola 'Coldfire' development of
processor, which is based on the 68040 family. This new range of
processors have the advantage of realising speeds up to 40MHz (perhaps
50MHz) without a fan or heatsink.
Price
While this development is still being developed we hope the Tempest
accelerator, complete with driver software, will retail for
199 Pounds
Including VAT.
Please note this is a provisional price for guidance only.
Features
On-board we are hoping to include;
* AGP [1] (Advanced Graphic Processor) slot.
* SDRAM [2] support for adding from 16MB right up to 256MB TT-RAM.
* Through port expansion allowing Eclipse to interface and giving
the user even more flexibility.
* Switchable to standard Falcon 030 operation for total, 100%,
compatibility with any current Falcon software.
* Easy install [3] - no soldering!
* Fitting to a standard [4] un-modified, Falcon case!
Notes:1. AGP is the latest introduction of graphic support for PCs.
2. SDRAM memory modules offer increased capacity at lower cost than
SIMMs.
3. Tempest can be installed with no soldering, however some programs
may have to use the 030. For improved compatibility across a wider
range of software, a few wires will need soldering to the Falcon
motherboard.
4. The top metal shielding will need to be removed. If Eclipse is also
fitted recasing is definately required.
Availability
Eclipse is expected to be available for demonstration by early October
in time for the Neuss show in Germany and could be ready for
distribution at the UK Atari show in November.
Fill in the following fields and press the 'READY!' button to submit
your details. We will inform you when more details are available.
Name:
E-mail:
YES! I want to know when...
Tempest
Eclipse ... are
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Tschüss
Finn
Michael Schwingen
FB> * Cost: Adding a further slot would involve greater circuit
FB> complexity thereby increasing the production costs.
ROTFL!
Wenn der eine Slot bereits voll Busmaster-fähig ist (sonst ist das eh kein
echtes PCI), dann ist der Mehraufwand für weitere Slots minimal.
FB> * Time: The added complexity would entail an increase in the
FB> design time and it would also be necessary to write the driver
FB> software to support other cards.
Man hätte ja einfach existierende Treiber verwenden können ... schade,
das wäre die gelegenheit gewesen, eine schnelle Netzwerkkarte an den
Falcon zu bekommen.
cu
Michael
Michael Luckow
> Wenn der eine Slot bereits voll Busmaster-fähig ist ...
>
> Man hätte ja einfach existierende Treiber verwenden können ... schade,
> das wäre die gelegenheit gewesen, eine schnelle Netzwerkkarte an den
> Falcon zu bekommen.
Vielleicht möchte man einfach auf dem Niveau des F030 bleiben:
Von der Idee eine gute Maschine, aber an allen wichtigen Ecken halbherzig
und unausgereift zusammengeschustert ...
Gruß
Michael