Gideon Zweijtzer and Rutger Bevaart have announced they are working to develop a new 68040 and PPC CPU card for the Amiga 3000(T) and Amiga 4000(T) computers.   The board will be named “Ultimate PPC”.  They already have a development board built!

It will feature the following specifications:

• 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

Further information, photos, and a FAQ is available on their website at http://ultimateppc.nl/index.php.

They hope to gain support of AmigaOS 4.1 Classic and MorphOS for their new hardware, but that will require support from Hyperion and the MorphOS teams respectively.

I would urge users interested in this card to contact Hyperion and/or the MorphOS team to let it be known that you would purchase an operating system license for the Ultimate PPC hardware.

Indivision MK2 A4000/CD32

Indivision AGA Mk2 A4000/CD32

Flicker Fixer for Amiga 4000 and CD32

The Indivision AGA Mk2 A4000/CD32 is the successor to the discontinued Indivision AGA A4000/CD32 flicker fixer. It can be used with the Amiga 4000 (desktop version, there’s the Indivision AGA Mk2 A1200/4000T for use with the A4000T) and the CD32, other Amiga models are not supported.

DVI-I Connector:
The Indivision AGA Mk2 sports a DVI-I connector instead of the usual VGA socket. DVI-I provides digital as well as analog signals, so you can use modern TFT displays, older TFT displays with analog input or CRT monitors alike (the latter two with a VGA adapter).

Performance and Compatibility:
The output pixel clock can go up to 135 MHz (the former Indivision AGA only allowed up to 71 MHz), the data rate reaches more than 480 MBytes/s peak performance (used to be 330 MBytes/s peak); 50 Hz modes (e.g. PAL) can be promoted to 60+ Hz and thus be displayed on modern monitors; 16 MBytes framebuffer, entirely addressable (used to be 12 MBytes previously); supports S-Hires (*) and full 24-bit colour depth; unlike other internal flicker fixers, the Indivision AGA Mk2 supports the BorderBlank flag.

On Screen Display:
A subtle semitransparent OSD replaces the splash screen of the predecessor model.

Perfect Fit:
The Indivision AGA Mk2 is plugged over the Lisa chip, no other connection to the motherboard is required (unlike other internal flicker fixers that also require a connection to Alice). Due to a much enhanced 84-pin PLCC socket being used, the Indivision fits like a glove and won’t come off easily.

Energy Efficient:
Modern FPGA technology and low power consumption (1.2V core voltage) make sure to save energy and avoid heat problems.

Reconfigurable Logic:
Hardware updates can (*) be downloaded from the Internet. Even timing corrections are possible, allowing the Indivision AGA Mk2 to adapt even to the strangest chipset combinations (e.g. Lisa chips made by NCR).

(*) Important Note: The first batch of Indivision AGA Mk2 is shipped without a configuration program, and the current version of the flash program shipped with the device is rather an expert tool than an example of user friendliness. Furthermore, the Indivision AGA Mk2 can currently only display PAL and NTSC modes accurately, support for other screen modes is still being worked on. You should only buy the Indivision AGA Mk2 if you are an experienced user and if you can download updates from the Internet and transfer them to your Amiga.

Item currently not available, ETA April 30, 2012.  It will be available from Vesalia here:

http://www.vesalia.de/e_indivisionagamk2a4000.htm
EUR 199.90 incl. 19% German VAT (EUR 167.98 excl. VAT for non-EU customers)