Re: Alltech Electronics-- full-speed accel?

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

ericlob writes ...
>
> ....
> OK, this is never going to happen, but...
> 
> Now that fast memory is so cheap, wouldn't it make more sense for an
> accelerator designed today to just include the full 4 (or 8) MB of RAM on
> board and run it at full speed? I know you'd have to drop down to 1MHz
> for I/O and the like, but...

     Something very much like the approach you describe was done 7-8
years ago by a group of users; and, it worked. There was some talk of
producing boards but the project never progressed beyond the prototype.

     Today, with lots of cheap, fast RAM, putting 16MB of RAM on an
accelerator card probably makes better sense than messing with tag RAM,
etc.. It might even be cheaper to produce such an accelerator.

     The chief obstacle would be the presence of so many installed
Zip-GS and TWGS boards. At 20MHz, the new accelerator would deliver a
bit better than twice the speed of a 10MHz Zip-GSx (which tops out at an
equivalent 9MHz GS "System Speed").  It would be nice to have the extra
speed; but, at another $200-$250, many current accelerator owners would
question its value. An even "zippier desktop", faster Awks-GS scrolls,
etc. are not super attractions.

     In fact, by the time you get to the 9MHz 32kB Zip-GS, you have
plenty of speed (and reliability) to handle virtually any current GS
application. (And, if a user is annoyed by the speed at which JPEG
utilities work, then he/she will still be annoyed at 20MHz.)

     It is difficult to sell a merely 'nice' speed increase without the
expectation that the speed will be used for something interesting. If we
go to the trouble to put a fast uP, an osc module, an EPROM, and 16MB of
RAM on a card, why not add a decent video controller + SVGA interface,
and better sound system? The price might shoot up to $400 (or $399.95!);
but, we would have a much more interesting product.

 
Rubywand