AMIGA alive

AMIGA alive

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Accelerators galore

In recent times, a lot of new hardware developments for retro computers are popping up. Among these are a remarkable number of different accelerators for the Amiga 500, 600, and 1200 - here's an overview of what's currently available and/or in development.

Please note that information provided here may not be 100% complete. Read about the boards' details on the websites provided, or get in contact with the developers, if in doubt.

Have fun choosing your next-gen Amiga accelerator!

ACA500plus

Individual Computers brings us this accelerator board for the Amiga 500, with some interesting features - like e.g. built in Kickstart ROMs, AmigaOS 3.1 installer software, and a connector for A1200 accelerators.

CPU: MC68EC000 at 14 to 42MHz
8MByte RAM
8MByte FlashROM
two CF-card slots
Action Replay-compatible freezer
7-segment display "DisMo"
Kickstart V1.2, V1.3 and V3.1, and AmigaOS 3.1 installer in FlashROM
Extension connectors: A1200-compatible Clockport, local 16-Bit extension port, connector for A1200 accelerators

Website(s):
https://icomp.de/shop-icomp/de/shop/product/ACA500plus.html

ACA1221ec

Individual Computers' low-budget accelerator for the Amiga 1200, sells for only about 120 Euros.

CPU: 68EC020
17 to 42 MHz
16MB RAM, 9MB of which are usable FastRAM
1MB-MapROM option
2 clockports, one of which is hi-speed (for RapidRoad USB host controller use)

Website(s):
https://icomp.de/shop-icomp/de/shop/product/aca1221ec.html

ACA1233n-40 and ACA1233-55

Individual Computers' 68030 accelerators are still available.

CPU: 68030 at 40 or 55 MHz
128MB RAM
MapROM option
Clock port

Website(s):
https://icomp.de/shop-icomp/en/produkt-details/product/ACA12xx.html

Furia EC020 for Amiga 600

On sale for quite some time now are the Furia accelerators for the Amiga 600, available via online stores (e.g. http://vesalia.de or http://lotharek.pl )

CPU: 68EC020 at 33MHz
FPU: 68882 (if present) 
9.5MB FastRAM 
Maprom function

Website(s):
http://www.kuchinka.cz/furia/

TerribleFire TF520, TF530, and TF540

Stephen Leary's open-source DIY accelerators for the Amiga 500. Documentation on how to build the 68020 and 68030 CPU versions (TF520, TF530) are already available via GitHub and YouTube (see links below), and just recently Stephen has begun developing the 68040 version (TF540).

CPU: 68020, 68030, or 68040
FPU: 68881
IDE controller

Here's a demo of the TF530 in action, comparing a stock A500's performance to that of a TF530-equipped one, using "Frontier - Elite II":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRO9j2G9owc

Website(s):
https://www.youtube.com/c/TerribleFire
https://twitter.com/terriblefire

https://github.com/terriblefire/tf520
https://github.com/terriblefire/tf530

Wicher 500i

Accelerator board for the Amiga 500, from Poland.

CPU: MC68000/68010
Max. clock: 50MHz
RAM: 1-8 MB SIMM 72 (FPM,EDO)
IDE Controller
SPI Controller

Here you can see it in action:
https://youtu.be/WWG1BVmYEXU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6-r4OQP9Sc

There's also a Wicher 2000 accelerator board for the Amiga 2000 planned.

Website(s):
http://retro.7-bit.pl

HC508

Homebrew accelerator for the Amiga 500 by blogspot/YouTube user "m68k". Not much is known about this one, especially if it'll be sold to the public or made open-source one day.

68HC000 CPU at 50 MHz, 100% MC68000 compatible
IDE-controller (40-pin) for HD and CD-ROM
integrated CF-Card slot
8 MB FastRAM (1 wait state)
512k FlashROM for Kickstart (1 wait state)
Utility to individually (de)activate any module (CPU, RAM, ROM, IDE)

Here you can see it in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK1h65u8UIU

Website(s):
http://amigaprj.blogspot.de

Vampire 500 V2 and Vampire 600 V2

FPGA-based accelerators - and much more - for the Amiga 500 and 600. Amiga 1200 version is in development. CPU performance far beyond that of a 68060, SAGA graphics with Full-HD resolution, HDMI output, 128MB RAM, MicroSD card slot, IDE controller (Vampire 500 only). The ultimate boost in performance!

Website(s):
http://apollo-accelerators.com

1 comment:

  1. Hi,
    Nice article. Regarding HC508, you may find more info at http://irixlabs.com/hc508

    Available at different Amiga webstores.

    ReplyDelete