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Yes. When I was playing around with different configuration for what a machine could look like back then, you realize that the RAM cost is dominate. So you can

Yes. When I was playing around with different configuration for what a machine could look like back then, you realize that the RAM cost is dominate. So you can develop as many chips as you want, that leads to high fixed cost, but the marginal cost is tiny. While on the other hand, RAM is easely equal to all other chips on the board combined. So you need to desperatly do everything you can to limit RAM usage. That's why Amiga was smart to do shared RAM between the CPU and the Chipset. The Archimedes did the same thing as well. And ideally you get some SRAM on there not depend on the RAM to much, ARM3 chip did that and speed improved by a huge extent. And you really need a good operating system that could give you advanced features without completely blowing up your RAM. That is why it is sad that nobody with sufficent capital to pump into costume chip design took on a project like that, as it needs to be somebody with the volume the economics work out. But nobody did and instead we got there threw an iterative process where PC manufactures pumped out PC and bought the cheapest chips, while Intel and chip companies integrated the board more and more. I remember learning about Southbridge and Northbridge, and that essentially the design you end up with.

rasz 1y ago
You dont need to ship gobs of ram as long as you standardize expansion. Commodore was very bad at reading the room and shipped artificially limited hardware https://a4000bear.neocities.org/overclock/Agnus/Agnus https://a4000bear.neocities.org/overclock/Agnus/Agnus Afaik absolute max was either 2MB chip ram or 1MB chip + 1.8 MB slow with Gary adaptor. The least they should have done was actually shipping Fast Ram controller (with unpopulated ram) in every single Amiga model since 1987 A500. Instead we got trapdoor expanding shared slow/chipset ram with very limited addressability. Atari for what is worth quickly standardized on using SIMM sockets right on the motherboard and supported 4MB.
- panick21 1y ago
  Oh yeah totally agree. I was just thinking at the primary sales package, most people likely would open the box and put in new rams. Developing a standard socket makes a huge aomunt of sense. Back then every company had their own standard (or many). I think Amiga was fine at reading the room, at least the engineers. But the never did any signifciant chip develpement to improve things. Only the new chipset for the Amiga 1200 when it was already much to late.

rasz 1y ago

You dont need to ship gobs of ram as long as you standardize expansion. Commodore was very bad at reading the room and shipped artificially limited hardware https://a4000bear.neocities.org/overclock/Agnus/Agnus https://a4000bear.neocities.org/overclock/Agnus/Agnus Afaik absolute max was either 2MB chip ram or 1MB chip + 1.8 MB slow with Gary adaptor. The least they should have done was actually shipping Fast Ram controller (with unpopulated ram) in every single Amiga model since 1987 A500. Instead we got trapdoor expanding shared slow/chipset ram with very limited addressability. Atari for what is worth quickly standardized on using SIMM sockets right on the motherboard and supported 4MB.

panick21 1y ago
Oh yeah totally agree. I was just thinking at the primary sales package, most people likely would open the box and put in new rams. Developing a standard socket makes a huge aomunt of sense. Back then every company had their own standard (or many). I think Amiga was fine at reading the room, at least the engineers. But the never did any signifciant chip develpement to improve things. Only the new chipset for the Amiga 1200 when it was already much to late.