"chaz_heritage.WGC1RX"@XEROX.COM (04/07/89)
The following is a summary of Perihelion's published literature on the ATW.
Processor: 20MHz T-800; 10 MIPS
I/O processor: 68000
RAM: 4M for T-800, expandable to 16M ("and eventually 64M").
=M for 68000, expandable to 4M
Video RAM: 1M of 100ns
I/O via 68000: RS232, DMA, parallel, MIDI, 3.5" or 5.25" floppies, SCSI,
mouse, joystick (the '=M Mega' I/O system can also drive a standard Atari
monitor independent of the main system monitor)
Peripheral compatibility: all Atari standard peripherals can be used.
Hard disc: supplied with 40M SCSI; options up to 330M
Video:
Mode Res BPP Cols. Palette
0 1280x960 4 16 4096
1 1024x768 8 256 16M
2 640x480 6 256 16M
3 512x480 32 True colour: all pixels different
The 'Blossom' graphics processor can access all RAM. Graphics functions
"designed with X-Windows in mind": 32x32 pixel mask; 16-bit wide functions
on source and destination; 4 linear comparisons on each pixel per cycle;
square fill up to 128 Mpixels/sec; line drawing and trapezoidal fill up to
32 Mpixels/sec
Expansion slots: 1 for 68000, 4 for T-800 (suitable for Perihelion support
cards as well as RAM and T-800 / T-414 farms). The Polyhedron card frame is
used to support up to 12 extra boards. A system providing 500MIPS can thus
be constructed.
User interface: X-Windows 1.1 running under Helios.
Prices (#1=$1.7):
ATW, 40M HD, 4M RAM, Helios, X-windows #4500 ($7650)
15" Modes 1,2,3 colour monitor (NEC) #799 ($1360)
20" Mode 0 colour monitor (Hitachi) #1750 ($2975)
20" Mode 0 mono monitor (Philips) #750 ($1275)
Farm card F101 (1xT-800, IM RAM) #1350 ($2295)
Farm card F104 (4xT-800, 4M RAM) #3950 ($6715)
DramCard M112 (8M RAM) #3450 ($5865)
E101 Ethernet interface including TCP/IP #750 ($1275)
X100 X25 interface #750 ($1275)
L001 PC-link AT-transputer adaptor 20Mbits/s #250 ($425)
This is not a complete price list but gives the general idea. A 500MIPS
number-crunching system consisting of ATW, Polyhedron and 50 additional
transputers, each with 1M RAM, would cost about #61K ($103K). This is
rather more than the #100 ($170) per MIP that is estimated in the
literature, though I may, of course, have calculated it wrong.
Perihelion have told me that it is not easy to convert a Mega ST into an
ATW since additional internal circuitry is required. Though an upgrade kit
was originally seen as a possibility, it apparently became clear that an
ATW-converted Mega would cost considerably more than an ordinary ATW, and
the design was modified accordingly. Using the Kuma ST transputer interface
it "might be possible" to connect the Polyhedron frame using the common
T-800 bus, though this has not been tried, and the performance per T-800
would be expected to be inferior to that of ATW.
If anyone wants to know more, Perihelion are at 33 Bridge Street,
Cambridge, CB2 1UW, UK (Phone: Cambridge area code 0223; number 356555; fax
line 311475).
Get in on the ground floor, folks.....
Regards,
Chaz
"Wot? No Star Raiders?"
#include(disclaimer.std)