Falcon owners

samf · Post by **samf** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 1:56 am

Would like to know your thoughts on the new Coldfire (M5484Lite & M5485EVB) boards/machines being worked on by Mark Duckworth and Didier Mequiqon?

The latest news: http://www.atari-source.org/?q=node/56

What are the thoughts of you who have added to your Falcons by purchasing/ordering the ct60revb, ctcm module, memory, atx psu, tower case, ethernat, and ctpci?

I will definitely highly consider one of the models, probably the high end but, I have to ask myself, I could I possibly recoup the monies (not easy to come by) that I have already spent on my Falcon? And since I haven't gotten my ethernat yet (already paid for) and I am on the list to get a ctpci (have not paid for yet), do I just cancel both of those and ask for a refund?

I am truely both elated and perplexed, so that is why I'm asking for your thoughts/feelings on this wonderful news.

Thanks folks!!

christos · Post by **christos** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 8:04 am

Hi,
First there are some more news, check Didier Mequignon's page
http://perso.orange.fr/didierm/ct60/ctpci-e.htm

Well I haven't really upgraded my falcon but here is my opinion. The coldfire machines are the way to the future of the atari platform. A 200Mhz coldfire is much faster than an 100Mhz 68060 so it is much more better suited for everyday applications such as dvd viewing than the 68060. But it won't come out tomorrow. It will take long for it to be availiable so all your investments on the ct60 will most certainly pay off and there is no need to cancell them. IMHO the reason that these machines could come out is exactly the relative success of the ct60 that showed that there is demand for a fast atari. Another thing is that there will be more incompatibility issues than with the ct60.
I don't believe that when these machines become availiable anyone will just magically stop using the falcon or the st but hopefully they might be able to take the place of the pc or the mac.
I feel that there are two questions you should ask to your self. Do I want to take the falcon to the max? and Can I wait long enough for the coldfires to come out?

Post by **simonsunnyboy** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 11:40 am

Addressing the "incompatibility" - why not supply a decent software emulator to run on the CF than? At least for 8MHz ST legacy stuff, it should do IMHO...

earx · Post by **earx** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:15 pm

For me this coldfire thing would have been nice.. 8 years ago.. (sorry for the cynism). Such a system won't be hardware compatible. And as far as software compatibility goes you'd have to settle for GEM: quite horrible to program, and lacking almost anything a modern GUI has to offer. At least we're able to start some GEM programs without requiring to boot windows

).

Still, i might eat my comments with some wasabi sauce when this baby gets released. Didier is certainly the right man for the job. And they have the right look at things: use an off-the-shelf evaluation board instead of designing your own (what the ACP team wanted and only good for educational purposes). The ACP team seems to have quit the job, so it might be our only hope to see some new atari related hardware..

jens · Post by **jens** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 9:55 pm

I'm interested in a coldfire computer.
I think that if someone gets it running MiNT it will be possible to do the same with faster coldfire processors if available (don't know too much about the coldfire, so 'if available').

A decent OS on a machine that can hold a dedent graphics card, a decent networking card and a decent sound card (maybe with midi ports) would just be great. Support for USB would be a really appreciated extra.

Nevertheless I will try to first get an Afterburner fitted to one of my Falcons, then get a 25 mhz overall accelerator running, then try to speed a TT daughterboard up.

We'll see about all those projects.

Paolo · Post by **Paolo** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:50 pm

I have been waiting the Coldifire for ages, now, and I think I will still be interested, since it can really be the next step for GEM. And I don't think we can push our falcons further than this (but who knows...)

DarkLord · Post by **DarkLord** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 12:36 pm

Paolo wrote:I have been waiting the Coldifire for ages, now, and I think I will still be interested, since it can really be the next step for GEM. And I don't think we can push our falcons further than this (but who knows...)

Coldfire looks to be the best bet for the next step up for serious Atari computing. Looking at some of the names who are exploring this option, Mark Ducksworth, Rodolphe Czuba, and Didier Méquignon gives me much encouragement as to their ultimate success with this project.