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Hardware

PPC Motherboards at last 62

Posted by CmdrTaco from the do-it-yourself dept.
GPS Pilot tracked down some info on PPC Motherboards. "An article on eeNN describes some motherboards that Motorola recently released. They'll fit in a standard PC case thanks to the ATX form factor. They are CHRP- and PReP-compliant. The MTX604-070 has dual 333 MHz processors, dual 100 base-T ethernet, and fast&wide SCSI. More info can be found here. They can be purchased from Avnet Electronics Marketing, (800) 332-8638 (specify "Motorola Computer" as the manufacturer, not just "Motorola"). Or buy direct from Motorola here." Who needs Apple?
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PPC Motherboards at last More

PPC Motherboards at last

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  • Mind you, this is still 604-based and Apple is just about at G4 by now. It's quite possible that this dual-processor CHRP board is a dog compared to Apple's hardware.
  • We investigated putting together computers based upon this board back in November. We passed, for the following reasons:

    1) The price was similar to that of an Alpha.

    2) For that price, you got a 32-bit machine, not a 64-bit machine.

    3) For that price, you got a machine that was similar in speed to a dual Pentium II/450, for over $1500 more.

    4) For that price, you got a machine that was the same price but roughly 3/4ths the speed of an Alpha 633mhz 21114, without any of the software and support that the Alpha had at that time.

    In the end, counting beans kills the notion. It just isn't adequate bang for the buck.

    -- Eric
  • because I'm interested in getting an SMP machine going. (I don't want the high electric bills involved with using a PentiumII either) I just wonder who is going to be the first to offer best bang for the buck - PPC or Alpha?

    Supply vs. Demand! Lower the price; increase the demand.

  • Hey cool. I actually did the search at Avnet, and this is the pricing info that came up:

    Part #/Description Piece Price in US Dollars
    MTX604-070 0
    DUAL
    604R,333MHZ,7PCI
    SLOTS,DUAL
    ETHERNET
  • So thats 1,030 + (615 x 2)= $2,860.
    A grand cheaper that the PPC, but i'd rather get a PPC and be able to run more OS's.
  • That isn't the motherboard you buy for your home PC. Motorolla doesn't sell it as one and they won't support it as one. None the less it might be fun to play with, but at that price? It's like they want PowerPC to die.


    Neither Alpha nor PowerPC is in any position to take over the market but they could at least make it look like they're trying. If I could buy an alpha motherboard or powerpc motherboard (and I own an alpha, and it's not nearly as much bang for the buck when it's all said and done) for close to the same price as an intel board I'd buy 10.


    That motorolla board looks like it is all standard comodity parts, PCI, IDE, SCSI, ethernet, nothing custom or special, why does it cost so much?

  • Cool (Score:1)

    by ksheff ( 2406 )

    That will make me want to go out and buy a Motorola product right now!

    Land mines may be nasty, but they are supposed to be. I'm sure guarding the N/S Korean border would require a lot more personnel and equipment without them. I'm all for military technology that helps defend our troops. May Lady Di rot in Hell. =P

  • Did I read correctly? $3000-4000 for the mobo with processors? Please tell me I read this incorrectly!

  • AGP (Score:1)

    by bgue ( 4676 )
    Uh, AGP isn't something to be particularly proud of in terms of performance. It's a cost-saving measure, not a performance-enhancing one.
  • Ah, but when was the last time you drove down the highway in your Intel system?

    yes, indeed, you do have to love embedded systems..


    --------------------
    this space left intentionally blank



  • In case you are getting (stalled) when following the URL in this article. MTX604-070 7-PCI Slot Embedded ATX Motherboard [mot.com]

    MTX combines the industry standard ATX form factor with PowerPlus Architecture. The MTX604-070 provides flexibility with the enhanced payload of six 32-bit PCI slots and one 64-bit PCI slot, plus a shared ISA slot. The board incorporates the PowerPlus Architecture which includes: dual 333 MHz PowerPC 604 processors, 512KB L2 cache, up to 1GB of DRAM, 1MB of boot flash, 8MB user flash, 8KB NVRAM/RTC, and a watchdog timer function. The board provides increased connectivity with fast wide SCSI, dual 10/100 Mb/s Ethernet, and Super I/O functions.

    MTX604-070 targets communications, industrial automation, and simulation applications with an exciting combination of processor power and connectivity. click for image [mot.com]

    Mmmm... yummy.

  • It looks like these products are for high end embedded/industrial systems. Not something you would put on your desktop. Not unless you have a couple of grand sitting around you want to get rid of fast.
  • did you know that the poison gas used by nazis in concentration camps was made by Volkswagen?

    Actually, it was I.G. Farben, a consortium of German chemical companies which, I believe includes the present day BASF.
  • I work for Mot (though not in a 'consumer' group).

    Motorola has had a history recently of getting its ass kicked in the consumer marketplace. Cellular is digging itself out (I hope), semiconductor shafted itself when it thought it could compete in the memory market, and MCG doused itself in gasoline with Steve Jobs holding a match when it tried to get into the Mac clone market (and the Starmax line was overpriced anyway). Don't hold your breath to get this board at an affordable price. I don't think the Linux market is anywhere near big enough at this point anyway (sorry!).

    Obviously someone must be buying them at this price though if they keep coming out with new ones. I personally have more faith that Compaq will see a market for attractively priced alpha systems in the consumer market.

    And yes, plenty of us (especially new college grads) are pretty heavy into Linux, but it won't get us anywhere for a while.

  • Then don't buy intel... the computer sitting behind me is running a 300 MHz AMD K6-2 on a Microstar 5169 board, which has an Aladdin V chipset.
  • Where can you find an Alpha system that supports AGP?

  • If the poster is "Anonymous Coward" its Fantasy. Don't believe it.

    IF the poster uses a real login name, then evalutate it seriously.

    Anyone who thinks a pentium is anywhere near as fast as a PowerPC is an Anonymous Coward.

    Noticed the trend?

    Grow up dipthongs!
  • From Mirriam-Webster:

    Main Entry: diphthong
    Pronunciation: 'dif-"tho[ng], 'dip-
    Function: noun
    Etymology: Middle English diptonge, from Middle French diptongue, from Late Latin dipthongus, from Greek diphthongos, from di- + phthongos voice,
    sound
    Date: 15th century
    1 : a gliding monosyllabic speech sound (as the vowel combination at the end of toy) that starts at or near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves to or
    toward the position of another
    2 : DIGRAPH
    3 : the ligature æ or [oe]
    -----------

    Whoah, man! You really told all of them! And although I agree on which side of the Intel/Motorola duality you're on, this isn't really that valid of an argument. Just because people post anonymously and are labeled "coward" on this site, doesn't mean they don't have anything valuable to say. Or that they're two letters smooshed together.

    cygnus
    "I feel like a quote out of context"


  • Apple may not use CHRP but they do use something else that is considered a standard. This something else is known as OpenFirmware - there is a webpage located at:

    http://www.OpenFirmware.org/

    This being the case, there is nothing stopping other motherboard makers from using this technology.
  • Any idea of OS's that use the CHrP whatever compliancy? Besides LinuxPPC(Soon if not now), and IBM's AIX on their machines, is there anything else? Or is it only Linux and AIX for the near future, if Apple doesn't heap OSX on it?

    Twinkie
  • I hope this conversation is still relevant...
    The point is a 450MHz P2 has half speed cache against a Xeon at 450MHz... and clock for clock, the PowerPC still has better performance than a P2... Macs lose because they have much slower clocks than contemporary P2s, but his board has a 400MHz PowerPC, so I'm comparing against a 400MHz Xeon... with same size cache. Because, again, clock for clock the PPC is faster, it would be just as convenient to use the 400MHz 1mb cache Xeon, or the 450MHz Xeon with 512kb cache; I chose the 450MHz 512kb CPU to compare against because it's cheaper. The 400M 1mb cache would up the price by a good 2300$ already...

    Again, someone else made the point that the 64bit 66MHz PCI is more than for graphics.
    Twinkie

  • !!! (Score:1)

    by I-man ( 95468 )
    Thank you GOD. Wow. Joy.

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