Amiga 5000

[Ortiz Ullery]

AmigaOneis a series of computers intended to run AmigaOS 4 developed by Hyperion Entertainment, as a successor to the Amiga series by Commodore International. Earlier models were produced by Eyetech, and were based on the Teron series of PowerPC POP mainboards. In September 2009, Hyperion Entertainment secured an exclusive licence for the AmigaOne name and subsequently new AmigaOne computers were released by A-Eon Technology and Acube Systems.

A week ago we shared with you our joy as we move towards the rebirth of the Amiga desktop platform. The AmigaOne and AmigaOS4 are projects that have occupied almost every day of our lives for the last two years. For the community, the wait and the false dawns have been unbearable.

Originally in 2000, AmigaOne was the name of a project for new computer hardware to run the Amiga Digital Environment (DE),[2][3] later plans replaced by AmigaOS 4.[4] Initially it was managed by Eyetech and designed by the German company Escena GmbH.[5] The AmigaOne motherboard was to be available in two models, the AmigaOne-1200 and the AmigaOne-4000 as expansions for the Amiga 1200 and Amiga 4000 computers.[6][7] This would probably not have been actually possible. This AmigaOne project was cancelled in the design stage in 2001, mostly due to the inability to find or design a suitable northbridge chip.[8][9] Eyetech, who at this point had invested funds into the project, was forced instead to license the Teron CX board from Mai to form the basis of the new AmigaONE computer range.[10] The first fruit of this partnership with Mai, AmigaOne SE, was announced with a connector for an optionally attached Amiga 1200, in order to use the old custom chips of an Amiga for backwards compatibility.[11] However, no such solution was ever introduced.

The main difference between the ATX-format AmigaOne SE and AmigaOne XE was that the SE had a soldered-on 600 MHz PowerPC 750CXe processor, whereas the XE used a CPU board attached to a MegArray connector on the motherboard. While the MegArray connector is physically similar to the Apple Power Mac G4 CPU daughtercard connector, it is not electrically compatible. There were G3 and G4 options with a maximum clock frequency of 800 MHz and 933 MHz. The G4 module originally used a Freescale 7451 processor which was later changed to a Freescale 7455, both without level 3 cache. The G4 CPU runs hotter and requires a better heatsink than that supplied on some machines. Consequently, the G4 was often supplied underclocked to run at 800 MHz. In 2007 Acube offered 1.267 GHz 7457.[12][13] The Micro-A1 was announced in two configurations, under the Micro-A1 I (Industrial) and Micro-A1 C (Consumer) labels.[14] Only the C configuration was produced.

AmigaOne (SE and XE) motherboards had several hardware issues including conflicts between the onboard IDE and Ethernet controllers,[15] problems with USB device detection[16] and initially no support for the on-board AC97 audio. Due to the mistaken belief that the on-board AC97 audio could not be supported, the AC97 codec was removed from later builds of the motherboard. The technical issues preventing AC97 audio support were later resolved.[17]

When the AmigaOne boards first became available, AmigaOS 4 was not ready: they were supplied with various Linux distributions.[18] From April 2004 onwards, boards were shipped for developers with a pre-release version of OS4. The Final Update of OS4.0 was released in December 2006, for AmigaOne computers only, with the PowerUP version being released in December 2007. AmigaOS 4.1 for AmigaOne was released in September 2008.

MAI Logic Inc. went bankrupt, and consequently the supply of Eyetech AmigaOnes dried up.[19] Eyetech Group Ltd retired from the market in 2005,[20] selling their remaining Amiga business to Amiga Kit.[21]

In September 2009, as part of the resolution of a dispute over ownership of AmigaOS Hyperion was granted (among other provisions of the Settlement Agreement with Amiga, Inc.) an exclusive licence for the AmigaOne (or Amiga One) name.[22] This Settlement Agreement thus created a legal basis for a new generation of AmigaOne computers.

In February 2010, a new Belgian company A-Eon Technology CVBA, in co-operation with Hyperion Entertainment, officially announced a new AmigaOne model, the AmigaOne X1000,[23] first presented at the Vintage Computer Fair at Bletchley Park in June 2010.[24] The project was delayed but the new platform was launched in 2012 with AmigaOS 4.1.5.[25]

Also at Amiwest 2013, A-Eon Technology Ltd, a British computer company, announced three new AmigaOne motherboards,[31][32] with the project named Cyrus. A-Eon had a list of proposed names which could be voted for[33] and in January 2014 A-Eon Technology announced names for new models as AmigaOne X5000/20, AmigaOne X5000/40 and AmigaOne X3500.[34][35] The new motherboards were aimed as replacements for the AmigaOne X1000. The AmigaOne X5000/20 was released in October 2016[36][37] and - unlike the X1000 - sold via various distributors.[38] ArsTechnica review of the AmigaOne X5000 commended its compatibility with old Amiga applications and games, but criticised the very high price and lack of new software.[39]

Lastly, A-Eon Technology Ltd announced at Amiwest 2013 that A-Eon had signed a 1.2 million-dollar investment contract with Ultra Varisys for the ongoing design, development and manufacture of PowerPC hardware for its AmigaOne line of desktop computers.[40]

In January 2015, Acube Systems started selling AmigaOne 500 computers based on the Sam460cr motherboard, a cost reduced version of original Sam460ex.[41] Features that were removed included the Silicon Motion SM502 embedded MoC and 1 SATA2 port.[42]

In autumn 2015, A-Eon Technology Ltd announced a new motherboard with the project development name Tabor[43] based on a P1022 1.2 GHz SoC. The motherboard design is a microATX form factor with single PCIe slot and SODIMM memory slots. The full system is to be designated as the AmigaOne A1222.[44]

The Sam460ex mainboard (complete with AMCC 460ex SoC, PowerPC 440 core) is an embedded motherboard launched by Acube Systems in April 2010. AmigaOS 4 was released for the Sam460ex in January 2011.A cost reduced version, the Sam460cr, was released with AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition on January 8, 2015.

The A5000 was the product of desperation rather than guesswork.There were many Amiga owners, writers, and developers that believedthe A4000 was a substandard product that should never have beenreleased. Rather than brooding on past failures, the Amiga Formatteam created a true successor to the A3000 - a machine that wouldcompete with the Mac and PC clones for years to come - theA5000.

The machine specifications were based upon a combination ofspeculation and fact. It was well known that Commodore weredeveloping the AAA chipset. Amiga Format predicted that this wouldprovide 24-bit graphic display, aiming the machine at themultimedia presentation market. This would be combined with 16-bitsound, internal CD-ROM drive, and SCSI2 interface.

The machine described on this page is the product ofspeculation and the desires by various Amiga magazines on whatwould make the perfect Amiga. In other words, THEY ARE PUREFICTION. They reveal a great deal on the state of themarket at the time and the perceived needs of the Amigaconsumer.

BACK

The AmigaOne X5000 is a high-end Amiga computer developed and released by A-EON Technology in 2016, with a focus on delivering modern performance while maintaining some sort of compatibility with classic Amiga software and hardware. The X5000 is power by a dual-core Freescale PowerPC CPU and provides fast and efficient performance, making the AmigaOne X5000 a powerful machine for modern Amiga computing. The Amiga platform has a long history of support for PowerPC architecture, starting with accelerator cards From Phase5 in the 1990s and with the release of the AmigaOS 4.0 operating system in 2007. AmigaOS 4.0 development was based on the AmigaOS 3.1 source code originally developed by Commodore, as well as on AmigaOS 3.9 developed by Haage & Partner. The development of AmigaOS 4.0 was carried out by the Belgian company Hyperion Entertainment under license from Amiga, Inc. The PowerPC support has allowed the Amiga platform to evolve and keep up with modern computing standards, while still preserving its classic heritage. This has enabled the continued development and release of new Amiga hardware and software, such as the AmigaOne X5000.

Overall, the X5000 is a powerful and versatile machine that provides a platform for experimentation, development, and creativity. The AmigaOne X5000 is indeed a unique and fascinating computer. With its powerful unique PowerPC hardware and innovative design, it provides a glimpse into an alternate universe where the Amiga platform continued to thrive and evolve. The fact that both the hardware and operating system were produced is a testament to the passion and dedication of the people at A-EON Technology and Hyperion Entertainment, who have worked hard to keep the Amiga platform alive and relevant in the modern computing landscape. Their work has helped to ensure that the Amiga community continues to grow and thrive. However, both companies should really start considering a CPU architecture switch, it would drastically change the hardware and design costs of a new system and will push the Amiga legacy into a new era. But this decision is probably tainted with the still ongoing legal battle surrounding the Amiga trademark.

Both of these provided a wealth of information on next-gen systems, and I was particularly pleased to see Epsilon received his X5000 only a few days before I got mine. I know there will be a fair amount of overlap between my blog posts and theirs, but I hope my take on the X5000 will maybe help convince a few more old Amigans to join the party!

I also received a USB drive pre-installed with AmigaOS 4.1 FE pre-release for the X5000 and A-Eon Enhancer Software. This can be used as a recovery drive, so the first thing I did while I was getting the rest of the kit ready was to copy the contents to my NAS using an Apple Macbook Pro laptop and the dd command, so I have the USB image safe somewhere else in case I ever need it.

3a8082e126