PowerUP (accelerator)
Encyclopedia
68k
The Motorola 680x0/m68000/68000 is a family of 32-bit CISC microprocessors. During the 1980s and early 1990s, they were popular in personal computers and workstations and were the primary competitors of Intel's x86 microprocessors...
–PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
accelerator boards designed by Phase5 Digital Products
Phase5
Phase5 Digital Products was a computer hardware manufacturer that made boards for the Amiga computer. Their best known products were accelerator boards which replaced the CPU with a faster model...
for Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
computers. They had two different processors working in parallel, sharing the complete address space of the Amiga computer system.
History
In 1995 Amiga Technologies GmbH announced they were going to port AmigaOSAmigaOS
AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. It was developed first by Commodore International, and initially introduced in 1985 with the Amiga 1000...
to PowerPC. As part of their Power Amiga plan, Amiga Technologies was going to launch new Power Amiga models using the PowerPC 604e RISC CPU and in co-operation with Amiga Technologies Phase5 would release AmigaOS 4-compatible PowerPC accelerator boards for old Amiga 1200
Amiga 1200
The Amiga 1200, or A1200 , was Commodore International's third-generation Amiga computer, aimed at the home market...
, Amiga 3000
Amiga 3000
The Commodore Amiga 3000, or A3000, was the third major release in the Amiga computer family. Released in June 1990, it features improved processing speed, improved rendering of graphics, and a new revision of the operating system...
and Amiga 4000
Amiga 4000
The Commodore Amiga 4000, or A4000, is the successor of the A2000 and A3000 computers. There are two models, the A4000/040 released in October 1992 with a Motorola 68040 CPU, and the A4000/030 released in April 1993 with a Motorola 68EC030....
models. However, in 1996 Amiga Technologies' parent company ESCOM entered into deep financial problems and could not support Amiga development. Due to a lack of resources, the PowerPC project at Amiga Technologies stalled and Phase5 had to launch accelerators without a PowerPC-native AmigaOS. As a stopgap solution, a new PowerUP kernel was created allowing new PPC-native software run parallel with 68k Amiga OS. To complicate things even further, former Commodore International chief engineer Dave Haynie
Dave Haynie
Dave Haynie is the former Commodore International chief engineer on high end and advanced projects. He is still quite vocal in the Amiga community.-Beginnings:...
questioned Phase5's plans to develop PowerPC boards without Amiga Technologies: "Their approach on the software front is kind of a hack, and on the hardware front it's just too much like the old Commodore; at best, they'll wind up with interesting, non-standard, and overpriced machines that can't keep up with the rapid changes in the industry."
Nevertheless Phase5 had decided to go their own way and develop a PowerPC-based AmigaOS-compatible computer without Amiga Technologies. They also announced plans to write a new Amiga OS-compatible operating system. Wolf Dietrich (managing director of phase5) earlier commented that "we found that Amiga Technologies offers us no sort of outlook or basis for developing into the future".
There is no detailed information about how many PowerPC accelerator boards Phase5 (and later DCE) sold. According to Ralph Schmidt in an AmigActive article featuring MorphOS
MorphOS
MorphOS is an Amiga-compatible computer operating system. It is a mixed proprietary and open source OS produced for the Pegasos PowerPC processor based computer, PowerUP accelerator equipped Amiga computers, and a series of Freescale development boards that use the Genesi firmware, including the...
, there were about 10,000 people using Phase5 PowerPC accelerator boards. The unofficial PowerUP support page estimates similar figure.
PowerUP software
PowerUP kernel is a multitasking kernel developed by Ralph Schmidt for Phase5 PowerPC accelerator boards. The kernel ran alongside the AmigaOS where PPC and 68k native software could run parallel.The PowerUP kernel used ELF
Executable and Linkable Format
In computing, the Executable and Linkable Format is a common standard file format for executables, object code, shared libraries, and core dumps. First published in the System V Application Binary Interface specification, and later in the Tool Interface Standard, it was quickly accepted among...
as the executable format and supported runtime linking, relocations and custom sections; it used GCC
GNU Compiler Collection
The GNU Compiler Collection is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain...
as its default compiler. This caused controversy in the Amiga community when developers thought that phase5 was bringing "too Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
ish stuff" to Amiga.
It was feared that PowerUP kernel introducing shared objects and dynamic linking would replace the original shared library
Library (computer science)
In computer science, a library is a collection of resources used to develop software. These may include pre-written code and subroutines, classes, values or type specifications....
model and shared objects were indeed adapted into AmigaOS.
Another controversy was caused by different designs and purposes of Blizzard PPC and Cyberstorm PPC boards. The Blizzard PPC was designed to fit Amiga 1200 as a standalone device which would not need installing additional software but utilised Amiga's unique AutoConfig
Autoconfig
Autoconfig is an auto-configuration protocol of Amiga computers which is intended to automatically assign resources to expansion devices without the need for jumper settings...
feature. This caused problems to some 3rd party developers who developed their own PPC kernels for PowerUP cards since they could not work on Amiga 1200 without removing the PowerUP kernel first.
A few hundred titles were released for PowerUP including TurboPrint
TurboPrint
TurboPrint is a closed source printer driver system for Linux, AmigaOS and MorphOS. It supports a number of printers that don't yet have a free driver, and fuller printer functionality on some printer models. It integrates with the CUPS printing system....
PPC, Amiga datatypes, MP3 and MPEG players, games (Quake and Doom video games to mention few) and various plugins including Flash Video plugin for Voyager
Voyager (web browser)
Voyager is a web browser for the Amiga range of computers, developed by VaporWare.Voyager supports HTML 3.2 and some HTML 4, JavaScript, frames, SSL, Flash, and various other Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator features....
web browser.
Blizzard 2604e
On May 12, 1997, Phase5 announced PowerUP accelerator board for Amiga 2000Amiga 2000
The Amiga 2000, or A2000, is a personal computer released by Commodore in 1986. It is the successor to the Amiga 1000.-Features:Aimed at the high-end market, the original Europe-only model adds a Zorro II backplane, implemented in programmable logic, to the custom Amiga chipset used in the Amiga 1000...
computers. The card never got past the prototype stage and hence never released to the public.
- PowerPC 604e at 150, 180 or 200 MHz
- 68040 at 25 MHz or 68060 at 50 MHz
- Four 72 pin SIMM sockets accepting 128 MB RAM, 64 bit wide
- Ultra Wide SCSI controller
- Expansion slot for the CyberVision PPC
Blizzard PPC
This accelerator board was designed for Amiga 1200 and plugged into the trapdoor slot. It used a low cost, low end PowerPC 603e processor designed for portable and embedded use.- PowerPC 603e at 160, 200 or 240 MHz
- 68040Motorola 68040The Motorola 68040 is a microprocessor from Motorola, released in 1990. It is the successor to the 68030 and is followed by the 68060. There was no 68050. In keeping with general Motorola naming, the 68040 is often referred to as simply the '040 ....
or 68LC040 at 25 MHz or 68060 at 50 MHz - Two 72 pin SIMMSIMMA SIMM, or single in-line memory module, is a type of memory module containing random access memory used in computers from the early 1980s to the late 1990s. It differs from a dual in-line memory module , the most predominant form of memory module today, in that the contacts on a SIMM are redundant...
sockets accepting 256 MB RAM, 32 bit wide - Ultra Wide SCSISCSISmall Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
controller (Blizzard 603e+ models only) - Expansion slot for the BlizzardVision PPC
CyberStorm PPC
This accelerator board was designed for Amiga 3000 and Amiga 4000. The accelerator board was notorious for its high performance due to its 64 bit wide memory bus and PowerPC 604e processor. According to Phase 5 it could sustain memory transfers up to 68 MB/s on the 68060 and up to 160 MB/s on the 604e.- PowerPC 604e at 150, 180, 200 or 233 MHz
- 68040 at 25 MHz or 68060 at 50 MHz
- Four 72 pin SIMM sockets accepting 128 MB RAM, 64 bit wide
- Ultra Wide SCSI controller
- Expansion slot for the CyberVision PPC
CyberVision PPC and BlizzardVision PPC
CyberVision PPC and BlizzardVision PPC was a graphics board add-on for CyberStorm PPC and Blizzard PPC accelerator boards. BlizzardVision PPC could be fitted into an Amiga 1200 desktop case. They had a RAMDAC with a bandwidth of 230 MHz capable to display resolutions with 80 Hz vertical refresh rate up to 1152×900 pixels at 24 bits or 1600×1200 pixels at 16 bits.- Permedia 23Dlabs3DLABS was the name of the fabless semiconductor company that originally developed the GLINT and PERMEDIA high-end graphics chip technology that was used on many of the worlds leading computer graphics cards in the CAD and DCC markets, including its own Wildcat and Oxygen cards.In 2006 the company...
GPU - 8 MB 64-bit-wide SGRAM
- 3D LCD shutter glass connector
- CyberGraphXCyberGraphXCyberGraphX , is the standard ReTargetable Graphics API available for the Amiga and compatible systems. It was developed by Thomas Sontowski and Frank Mariak and later adopted by Phase5 for use with their graphics cards...
V3 drivers - CyberGL 3D library
| Resolution | 8 bits | 16 bits | 32 bits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 640 × 480 | 60 – 140 Hz | 60 – 140 Hz | 60 – 120 Hz |
| 800 × 600 | 60 – 120 Hz | 60 – 120 Hz | 60 – 120 Hz |
| 1024 × 768 | 75 – 120 Hz | 75 – 120 Hz | 75 – 120 Hz |
| 1152 × 900 | 75 – 120 Hz | 75 – 100 Hz | 75 – 100 Hz |
| 1280 × 1024 | 60 – 100 Hz | 60 – 90 Hz | N/A |
| 1600 × 1200 | 60 – 80 Hz | 60 – 75 Hz | N/A |
CyberVision 64/3D
- S3 ViRGES3 ViRGEThe S3 Virtual Reality Graphics Engine graphics chipset was one of the first 2D/3D accelerators designed for the mass market.-Introduction:...
GPU - 4 MB 64-bit DRAM
| Resolution | 8 bits | 16 bits | 32 bits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1024 × 768 | 75 – 120 Hz | 75 – 120 Hz | 75 – 120 Hz |
| 1280 × 1024 | 60 – 100 Hz | 60 – 90 Hz | N/A |
| 1600 × 1200 | 60 – 80 Hz | N/A | N/A |