AmigaOne
AmigaOne is the name of a computer platform, running AmigaOS 4, and based on the Teron series of PowerPC POP mainboards designed by Taiwanese-American integrated circuit producer Mai Logic. The trademark name AmigaOne is used with agreement of Amiga, Inc. by U.K. computer vendor Eyetech Group, exclusively for the purpose of selling various hardware for running AmigaOS 4.
Originally, AmigaOne was the name of a project for new Amiga hardware, managed by Eyetech and designed by the German company Escena GmbH. The AmigaOne motherboard was to be available in two models, the AmigaOne-1200 and the AmigaOne-4000. It was to have connectors for an optionally attached Amiga A1200 or an A4000 respectively, in order to utilise the old custom chips of an Amiga. This AmigaOne project was cancelled in 2001, mostly due to the inability to find or design a suitable northbridge chip.
Once the Escena design was consigned to the scrapheap, Eyetech looked around for an alternative route. The result was that they in 2002 decided to use the Teron CX PowerPC evaluation motherboard for the AmigaOne SE. Later, the AmigaOne XE was based on the Teron PX motherboard, followed by the Micro-A1 (also known as µ-A1), based on the Teron Mini. The Teron is based on IBM's PowerPC Open Platform specification, and uses the U-Boot firmware.
The main difference between the ATX-format AmigaOne SE and XE was that the AmigaOne SE had a soldered-on 600 MHz PowerPC 750FX processor, whereas the AmigaOne XE used a CPU board attached to a MegArray connector on the motherboard. This MegArray connector, whilst physically compatible, is not electrically compatible with those on Apple Computer's Power Mac G4. There were G3 and G4 options with a maximum clock frequency of 800 MHz and 933MHz. The G4 module uses a Freescale 7455 does not have any level 3 cache. The G4 CPU runs hotter and requires a better heatsink than that supplied on some machines. Consequently, the G4 is often underclocked to run at 800 MHz. The latest Teron motherboard used by Eyetech was the Teron Mini, series of motherboards, which were somewhat similar to the Teron PX but made in a Mini-ITX formfactor and with some additions, such as onboard graphics, and a better 750GX CPU. The Micro-A1 was to be offered in two configurations, under the Micro-A1 I (Industrial) and Micro-A1 C (Consumer) labels. Only the C configuration was produced.
From April 2004, these boards were shipped with a "developer prerelease" version of AmigaOS 4, which does not have all the features proposed for the full version.
Current Status
MAI Logic Inc. had financial and legal problems because of hardware bugs on the Articia chipsets. MAI Logic Inc. cannot supply additional chipsets to Eyetech Group Ltd.
Eyetech Group Ltd had financial problems because of the chipset problem. Eyetech Group Ltd was sold to AmigaKit.
There is a shortage of AmigaOne board on the market. The AmigaOne motherboard is no longer manufactured.
Models and variants
| Model name | Motherboard | Timescale | RAM (base) | OS Version | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AmigaOne SE | Teron CX | 2002 - 2004 | Varies | (pre)4.0 | ATX format motherboard |
| AmigaOne XE | Teron PX | 2003 - 2004 | Varies | (pre)4.0 | ATX format motherboard |
| Micro-A1 - C | Teron Mini | 2004 - 2005 | 256 MB | (pre)4.0 | Mini-ITX format motherboard |
| Micro-A1 - I | Teron Mini | never produced | 256 MB | (pre)4.0 | Mini-ITX format motherboard |
For other consumer PowerPC hardware, see also
- Apple Power Macintosh.
- Be BeBox.
- Culturecom E-Book, POS.
- Genesi Pegasos.
- Project BlackDog.
- Soft3 Samantha.
- TotalImpact briQ.
- YARC Hydra PowerPC RIP processor.
External links
- Eyetech Group, Ltd.
- Amiga, Inc.
- Mai Logic
- Hyperion Entertainment
- www.amigaworld.net - Fan-site with an AmigaOne support forum
- AmigaOne model comparison table
- AmigaOne weblog, French blog about AmigaOne and Amiga OS4
- Official AmigaOS 4 homepage - from Hyperion Entertainment.
- Power.Org