gmadison@pnet02.cts.com (George Madison) (04/01/89)
I recently posted some rumours about the Model 4 and the Zilog Z280 CPU, centering around the (admittedly slim) possibility that Tandy might, in an effort to cut production costs, redesign the 4D to use the much more powerful chip. I know there are Model 4 users on here, as well as people who work at Tandy itself. I rather expected some comment from users, as well as (perhaps) statements from those at Tandy that they can't say anything one way or the other. I was *not* expecting utter silence on the issue! There must be at least a *little* interest out there.....? |George Madison, a/k/a George The Bear Cub, a/k/a Furr ** BEAR POWER **| |INET: gmadison@pnet02.cts.com 8-{)> ames!elroy!pnet02.cts.com!gmadison| |GEnie: GEORGE.M Arctophiles & Barbophiles Unite! PLink: BEARDLOVER| "He's the lonely fear of dying, and for some, of living too; He's your private nightmare pricking, he'd just love to turn the screw So stand as one defiant -- yes, and let your voices swell Stare that Beastie in the face and really give him Hell." --- "Beastie" by Jethro Tull
ncc1701@pawl.rpi.edu (Mark O. Chadwick) (04/04/89)
In article <14051@gryphon.COM> gmadison@pnet02.cts.com (George Madison) writes: >I recently posted some rumours about the Model 4 and the Zilog Z280 CPU, >centering around the (admittedly slim) possibility that Tandy might, in an >effort to cut production costs, redesign the 4D to use the much more powerful >chip. > >I know there are Model 4 users on here, as well as people who work at Tandy >itself. I rather expected some comment from users, as well as (perhaps) >statements from those at Tandy that they can't say anything one way or the >other. > >I was *not* expecting utter silence on the issue! There must be at least a >*little* interest out there.....? Okay, okay...I thought you were getting deluges of mail, so I didn't bother saying anything. I thought about doing such a conversion, but the idea fell flat on its face when I took a good look at the system's configuration. First of all, changing the clock to support the Z280's higher clock speed would not be a good idea, since the RS232, video timing, and several other timing signals are generated from it. My problem is that they are generated in a custom chip, and can't be changed without building a new one from scratch. So, you'd be stuck with either a clock running at 4 or 5 MHz, or building a separate clock and have the system slightly out of skew... Secondly, the model IV does not have anywhere near the ideal overall power that I would like to make such a change worthwhile, so I have decided to build a system from scratch, using 4 Z280's in parallel along with assorted Z80's, 680x0's, coprocessors, etc... My point is, that unless you're willing to go through a huge hardware and software update, it's either better to get a new computer or design one from scratch. The model IV's architecture is just too closed for any major modifications like that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ncc1701@pawl.rpi.edu | Live long and prosper, Spock USERGDES@rpitsmts.bitnet | I shall do neither. I have killed my (Mark Chadwick) | captain...and my friend
gmadison@pnet02.cts.com (George Madison) (04/05/89)
ncc1701@pawl.rpi.edu (Mark O. Chadwick) writes: > >My point is, that unless you're willing to go through a huge hardware and >software update, it's either better to get a new computer or design one >from scratch. The model IV's architecture is just too closed for any >major modifications like that. > Hence the idea someone on GEnie had of coming up with a brand-new motherboard that could fit in the existing case, or perhaps (slightly different approach) in a generic PC Clone case. Tell me, what would your "dream" system be like?? I'm as interested in hearing other people's pipedreams as I am in getting solid information (as long as the two are clearly marked!) |George Madison, a/k/a George The Bear Cub, a/k/a Furr ** BEAR POWER **| |INET: gmadison@pnet02.cts.com 8-{)> ames!elroy!pnet02.cts.com!gmadison| |GEnie: GEORGE.M Arctophiles & Barbophiles Unite! PLink: BEARDLOVER| "He's the lonely fear of dying, and for some, of living too; He's your private nightmare pricking, he'd just love to turn the screw So stand as one defiant -- yes, and let your voices swell Stare that Beastie in the face and really give him Hell." --- "Beastie" by Jethro Tull