Hi everyone,
It’s not often you hear about new PPC-based accelerators for the Amiga, but today I received an e-mail from an Amiga user in Norway (Mads). He wrote me some words concerning an upcoming PPC-accelerator for the Amiga 3000 and Amiga 4000. Thanks a lot for the information mate.
The board is called UltimatePPC and it is a multi-function CPU-card for the Amiga computers mentioned above. It plugs into the CPU slot of the machines. The specifications are very interesting. Please have a look:
The UltimatePPC provides many new features. The current shortlist of features for “Revision A” is,
- 33MHz 68040 CPU
- 1.0GHz Freescale PowerPC CPU
- 128MB of DDR3 memory for the 68040
- An additional 2GB of DDR3 memory on an SO-DIMM
- USB2 host controller with integrated 4 port hub
- SATA2 controller with two SATA ports
- 10/100/1000 Ethernet controller
- Embedded 2D video with DVI connector
Isn’t that incredible? I think it is time that I consider moving up the ladder and invest some money into an Amiga 4000. 😉
The team behind the UltimatePPC made a press release yesterday. I’ve included it below:
Our press release of May 22nd, 2012: AMIGA MEETS GIGAHERTZ
Gideon Zweijtzer (of 1541-Ultimate fame) and Rutger Bevaart have teamed up to bring renewed innovation to the Classical Amiga by announcing the UltimatePPC today, the ultimate CPU expansion card for the Amiga 3000 & 4000. This new card will bring unparalleled performance and many great new features to the Amiga series of computers that were not available previously and give current users a viable upgrade path for aging components. It also opens new possibilities for newer versions of the Amiga Operating System or alternatives to run on your classic hardware with great performance. The UltimatePPC puts your Amiga right back on your desk as the most versatile and fun computer that has ever existed!
Right now the UltimatePPC is in active development, we expect to be able to take pre-orders at the end of 2012. Please visit our project website at http://ultimateppc.nl for availability information, specifications and detailed status reports.
Gideon & Rutger
Amazing news! This made my day. 🙂
If you want to read more about the UltimatePPC, please head over to the official website by clicking here.
What do you guys think about this project? Would love to hear your opinion.
Old School Game Blog 
Looks good !!
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It sure does. 🙂 Will be fun to follow the progress in the months to come! Now.. does someone have an Amiga 4000 they want to sell? ;D Hehe..
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I need one right now! LOL
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I’m having some serious cravings myself right now. 😉 Have you tested the KCS yet btw?
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Sadly, no I haven’t. I just don’t seem to find the time at the moment, with work, a second child just born recently, studying for a Diploma etc 😦
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Hi Draxx,
I just have to congratulate you on your second child!! That’s great news! 🙂 I wish you the best of luck with work, newborn baby and the rest. Was it a boy or a girl? I have a daughter myself.
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Thanks. We had another girl, so fun times ahead!
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It looks like Amiga is quickly catching up to everyone else. Here is hoping more people who are looking for other options finds this to their liking.
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Thanks mate. 🙂 These are exciting times for Amiga enthusiasts. Many cool projects in the pipeline. It’s great to see people creating this kind of hardware in their spare-time.
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Want one!
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Me too. 😉
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How should a 68040 use the bandwith of DDR3? Even SDR is ways to fast.
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I would suggest that DDR3 is cheaper to purchase than SDR nowadays, so it makes sense to keep costs down
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Any progress on this?
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Hi Gene! Many thanks for popping by and for commenting. Sadly I’m not familiar with any news on this, but as far as I know, work is commencing behind the curtains. I will make a new post about the project in the near future, but must gather some intel first. Thanks again.
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Please keep us posted. This sounds very interesting.
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Will do! 🙂
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Have you guys ever thought about kickstarting this project ?
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Hi there! I think that is a good idea. The authors of the project should consider that. I believe it would gain quite a bit of support.
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Wouldn’t it make more sense to do an A1200 version too, since there are much more A1200 out there than A3000/4000? And maybe 68060 instead of 68040?
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[…] hero that tried to save Commodore in 1994), RJ Mical, Istvan Fabian (creator of Abandoned Places), Ultimate PPC team (nice!), Jon Hare (Cannon Fodder ftw!) and Dan Wood. Last but not least I’d like to mention […]
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Nice. Is this project still going? My CSPPC died years ago and the A3000/A4000 line has been pretty neglected in terms of accelerators. An option to use an 060 would be great, I’d pop it off the old board and onto this new piece of glory.
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Hi there! Thanks for commenting. 🙂 It’s been quiet from them for a while I think. Time will show what happens. 🙂
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well they didnt come through but my team did http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=76633&page=110
we have G3 and G4 running ad more too come
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Wow, that looks awesome! 🙂 I will have a good look at the thread! Thanks for the heads-up!
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[…] UltimatePPC Accelerator for […]
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