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[Rant] PEGASOS'ANN.lu
Posted on 24-May-2001 21:04 GMT by Christian Kemp20 comments
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.jon writes: I am a wondering why the PEGASOS is 'pronounced' as 'modular'. It is not. It is just a standard MicroATX board. Now, if you call PCI slots 'modular' then it might be okay for you. For me it isn't. When the PEGASOS was announced I was happy about the word 'modular'.
Because, so I hoped, we would get the long awaited modular system.

What we get is an (admittedly very nice) DUAL PPC MoBo (and I will get one if I do not find an alternative). I have been searching for a MoBo that has Firewire in addition to IRDA and Ethernet and all the other standard plugs onboard. I did not find one in neither CPU world, something was missing, either it had Firewire onboard but was missing the LAN or similar) so I was really lucky when I heard of the PEGASOS.

But: What is the userbase for such a board ? It is quite universal, true. But, regarding the fact that it has IEEE1394 (FireWire) onboard I would target it in first place to Video people, who, in addition, will benefit of dual CPU power. Plans I have are somewhat similar. I'd personally define the PEGASOS as a multimedia mobo.

Today I read about the release of the final IEEE1394b specification, which, at its best, means FireWire at four times the current max-speed. It will require new cables. New plugs. But remain compatible to the old signals in a special compatibility mode. First products are awaited in late summer/Q4.

So, when I buy a PEGASOS system ('cause, as it seams, you will not be able to buy the mobo solo (according to the interview with bplan on Amiga Future, it was only named together with "licensed system" and "pre-built system") I will buy an outdated Firewire I/O. Sure, not much outdated, just a little. It is not of a big concern, since Firewire itself is quite new. But where is the modularity ? Exactly this would be a case for modularity. If it would be modular, the Firewire could be replaced easily. Can it ? I guess not. Sure, I might be in error. Then I appologize. If not, I hope this will be read or told by/to someone responsible. Maybe the final Pegasos will include already the new standard ?

PCI/AGP is just not what I would name 'modular'. Then every and any PC is modular. Why name it than as a special feature ?

And I hope for a bit more fanatsy in future PPC mobos, by whoever they might be designed. World is changing... PPC is a bit 'special'. It is not an everyday's CPU. So I hope the underlying hardware will be special as well.

Since I am at it: My ideal PPC mobo would look like the PEGASOS.

  • 2 more PCI slots
  • IEEE1394b (even better: make the IO ports some module)
  • modular DSP option ?!
  • (modular) onboard U2WSCSI (option)
  • wake-on-lan/modem
  • special port for output of system diagnositcs and perhaps other data to LCD

Why not put all the extras on PCI ? Well, the PPC can be suficient at low speeds with less cooling. If I get a real modular mobo, that has anything onboard, I might even leave the PCI cards out and get a perfect multimedia/homebox. Noiseless, powerfull.

P.S.Christian, what about another PREVIEW button after the first preview ?

List of all comments to this article
Sorted by date, most recent at bottom
Comment 1Joe "Floid" Kanowitz24-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 2Anonymous24-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 3Fran24-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 4Fran24-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 5David Scheibler24-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 6Amifan24-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 7David Scheibler24-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 8Anonymous24-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 9Ralph Schmidt24-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 10Joe "Floid" Kanowitz25-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 11Ralph Schmidt25-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 12.jon25-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 13.jon25-May-2001 22:00 GMT
PEGASOS' : Comment 14 of 20ANN.lu
Posted by .jon on 25-May-2001 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 9 (Ralph Schmidt):
"...the cyrrus DSPs are Windows only..."
Hmmm...Cirrus Logic (AKA Crytal Audio) does a lot of chips. They produce some of the best AD/DA codecs for HiFi upto High End.
There is an Amiga Audio card using at least ADDA of Crystal.
Investigating someinfo about the cheap Crystal chip on my pc's soundcard I ran into a lload of PDF docs on their side.
Ralph is completly right when he mentions FirewireB not being available until late of this year/start of next year to the consumer. I mentioned that as well.
But, my point was not availability but modularity and I felt that such things would have fitted into a concept of modular design.
Especially since three PCI slots are full very quickly. Sound + (MPEG Decoder or TV/Video Card) + SCSI Controller (no way around for serious backup solutions, with todays huge disk sizes)3 occupied PCI. A FirewireB card would need a 4th slot, a DCE microserver sounds like a *lot* of fun to me, better having two of them than noen....add that as well.
I am not an average user. I have special demands. This is why I am seeking for a special solution. If I'd like a more standard solution I'd go dual Athlon later this year (it still might happen). Since I am seeking for special solutions I allow myself to express my feelings about the candidates for "special" setups.
That's all.
.jon
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List of all comments to this article (continued)
Comment 15.jon25-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 16Joe "Floid" Kanowitz25-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 17sutro26-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 18Anonymous26-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 19Casey R Williams26-May-2001 22:00 GMT
Comment 20Anonymous26-Feb-2004 01:07 GMT
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