AmigaOne X1000
| File:AmigaOne X1000 case.jpg AmigaOne X1000 computer system. | |
| OS | AmigaOS 4.2 |
|---|---|
| Design firm | Varisys |
| Manufacturer | A-Eon Technology |
| Type | Workstation / Personal computer |
| Processor | 64-bit dual-core PWRficient PA6T-1682M (PowerPC) |
| Frequency | 2.0 GHz |
| Memory | 4× DDR2 SDRAM slots |
| Coprocessor | 500 MHz XCore XS1-L2 124 |
| Connection | 10× USB 2.0, 1× Xorro slot, 2× PCIe x16 slots (1x16 or 2x8), 2× PCIe x1 slots, 2× PCI slots, etc |
| Ports | 4× SATA 2, 1x IDE |
AmigaOne X1000 is a PowerPC based computer intended as a high-end platform for AmigaOS 4. It was announced [1] by A-Eon Technology CVBA in partnership with Hyperion Entertainment and is expected in late 2011.[2] Its name is influenced by the Amiga 1000 released by Commodore in 1985.
History
A-Eon Technology is a privately funded company formed by Trevor Dickinson, Anthony Moorley and Ben Hermans in 2009 for the sole purpose of developing new hardware for the AmigaOS, specifically Version 4 and beyond. The focus of A-Eon is on the high-end, with the goal of the X1000 project being broadly to create a computer to continue the original Amiga's legacy.
A partnership with Hyperion Entertainment was formed early on to allow discussion with key AmigaOS 4 developers about what such a next generation AmigaOS 4 computer would need. One important decision made during this early phase was that the AmigaOne X1000 should be a complete system built around a bespoke motherboard with a customised case and peripherals.[3] This contrasts with the adapted reference design strategy used by Eyetech for the original AmigaOne series.
Even before the 'wish list' was completed, hardware design company Varisys had been chosen as a partner based on their track record both with the PowerPC architecture and with parallel computing. The decision to form a partnership with Varisys had the consequence of bringing XMOS chips to the AmigaOne X1000, as it is the connection between XMOS and the Varisys team, dating back to earlier work on the Inmos Transputer, that led to the suggestion of including an XMOS XCore chip on the X1000 motherboard.[4] This XCore chip is referred to by A-Eon as the 'Xena' Coprocessor.
The first prototype machines were manufactured during mid-2009 and Hyperion Entertainment began the process of porting the AmigaOS to the X1000 in late-2009. By mid-June 2010, the X1000 was booting AmigaOS from hard disk and the machine made its debut at the Vintage Computer festival at Bletchley Park on the weekend on the 19 and 20 June 2010,[5] with a joint presentation and demonstration by Hyperion Entertainment, A-Eon Technology and Varisys during which the partnership and progress report was announced.
Release
The original intention was that the machine would be available by Summer 2010, but A-Eon technology announced at the Vintage Computer festival that the release had been delayed.[6] By August 2011, hardware designer and manufacturer Varisys had begun the first production run of revision 2.1 boards, intended for shipping to AmigaOne X1000 beta tester customers.[7][8]
Specifications
The specifications from A-EON Technology's website:[9]
- Black Pearl PC case, White Case also available[10] with Boing Ball
- ATX Formfactor
- Dual core PWRficient PA6T-1682M 2.0 GHz PowerISA v2.04+ CPU[11]
- Co-processor: "Xena" 500 MHz XCore XS1-L2 124 SDS
- ATI Radeon R700 graphics card
- Audio: 7.1 channel HD audio
- Memory: 4× DDR2 SDRAM slots
- 10× USB 2.0
- 1× Gigabit Ethernet
- 2× PCIe ×16 slots (1×16 or 2×8)
- 2× PCIe ×1 slots
- 2× PCI slots
- 1× Xorro slot
- 1× Compact Flash
- 2× RS-232
- 4× SATA 2 connectors
- 1× PATA connector
- 1× JTAG connector
'Xena' coprocessor
'Xena' is a new feature of the AmigaOne line. It is the name A-Eon have given to the XMOS XCore XS1-L2 124 located on the X1000 motherboard connected to the 'Xorro' slot, a modified PCI-express slot. XCore XS1 is an event driven architecture made scalable by the low-latency links between cores and zero-latency communication between threads on the same core. [1] 'Xena', a single-core XS1, has eight hardware threads that together provide a maximum of 500 MIPS.
Roughly one quarter of Xena's I/O lines are directly connected to the CPU local bus, while the remaining three quarters are connected to the Xorro slot. These I/O lines to the Xorro slot are configurable in software using 'XC', a set of extensions to the C programming language. They provide a low-latency connection both to the main system and to any Xorro expansions, allowing data sampling or custom hardware control over Xorro. This also makes it possible to link additional XCore chips to Xena via Xorro, scaling up the co-processor's performance accordingly.[12]
See also
References
- ^ "Hyperion Entertainment CVBA and A-EON Technology CVBA announce strategic partnership". 2010-02-20.
- ^ "New Amiga Sports Programmable Co-Processor, Dualcore PPC". OSnews. 2010-01-05. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
- ^ "Interview with Trevor Dickinson". Obligement Magazine. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
- ^ "A-Eon and Varisys Announce Partnership" (PDF). A-Eon Technology CVBA. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
- ^ "More line up for Britain's first Vintage Computer Festival 19–20 June". National Museum of Computing. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
- ^ "The Vintage Computing Festival 2010- The AmigaOne X1000". Dennis Publishing Limited. 2010-06-26. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
- ^ "AmigaONE X1000 beta boards in production". 2011-08-04. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
- ^ "AmigaOne X1000 To Ship to Beta Testers Next Week". 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
- ^ "AmigaOne X1000". A-EON Technology. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ "Fractal Design's Black Pearl computer case". Fractal Design. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
- ^ "A-EON Reveals AmigaOne X1000 Processor... Through Cake". OSNews.com. 2010-12-20. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
- ^ "A-Eon Technology Q&A Session". Amigaworld.net. Retrieved 2010-07-16.