Atari Falcon
Encyclopedia
The Atari Falcon030 Computer System was Atari Corporation
's final computer product. Codenamed Sparrow, the machine was based on a Motorola 68030
main CPU
, and had a Motorola 56000
digital signal processor
, a feature which distinguished it from most other microcomputers of the era.
video game console
.
The Falcon's performance was not as great as it could have been, mostly due to Atari Corp.'s decision to put the 32-bit 68030 microprocessor on a 16-bit data bus. This was a side effect of the prototype system being based around the 68000, with the 68030 a separate expansion card. Apple Computer
was widely criticised for making the same kind of decision with their Macintosh LC computer.
Atari Corp. created a number of prototypes of the Falcon040 (based on the more capable fully pipelined
, integrated-FPU
, Motorola 68040
, and using a "microbox" case), but canceled it in order to focus developers on the Atari Jaguar
.
The microbox case designed by Atari Corp. looks a lot like the Sony PlayStation 2
, right down to the ability to run it vertically or horizontally. It is even referenced in the PS2 patent applications.
Shortly after release Atari Corp. bundled the MultiTOS
Operating system in addition to TOS
. TOS remained in ROM, and MultiTOS was supplied on floppy disk and could be installed to boot from hard disk.
In 1995, the music company C-Lab bought the rights to the Falcon hardware design and began producing their own versions. The Falcon Mk I was a direct continuation of Atari Corp.'s Falcon030 with TOS 4.04. The Falcon Mk II addressed a number of shortcomings in the original design, making it more suitable to use in a recording studio (these were unofficially termed 'Cubase modifications') such as accepting Line-level audio in without the need for a pre-amp or mixer. The Falcon Mk X was mounted in a 19" 1U rack case, with external keyboard and space for internal SCSI
hard discs.
Today, the Falcon is one of Atari Corp.'s most popular machines for hardware modding. Due to its expansion capabilities, several accelerators have been produced. Some of them overclock the CPU and/or the bus, while others upgrade the CPU to a Motorola 68060
.
Motorola 68030
clocked at 16 MHz. It runs at about 5.76 MIPS
. Despite the 32-bit CPU, the Falcon does not have 32-bit architecture throughout its design, as it has a 16-bit data bus and a 24-bit address bus. Performance will not feel maximum benefit from the 68030's burst mode. The 68030
and its meager cache
of 2 × 256 bytes is not enough to overcome these shortcomings .
The microprocessor is supported by a DSP
Motorola 56001 clocked at 32MHz and performing no less than 16 million instructions per second
. Although it is oriented to sound processing (it is directly connected to the RAM
and codec
via an interconnection matrix), it is also capable of graphics processing (calculation of fractal
, deformations, 3D projections, JPEG
decompression). It can even, jointly with the 68030
, play MP3
files in real time
.
Another innovation (for the time) is Videl. The possibilities offered by the graphics processor are limited only by its frequency (25/32MHz core and could rise to 50MHz with a hardware accelerator) and the slowness of the RAM
because the graphics memory is shared with system memory which can degrade performance significantly when using high resolutions. The parameters are numerous, each timing of a video line (start, end, number of pixels ...) is adjustable, the image may be interlaced or not and the vertical frequency can go down to 50Hz interlaced to display on TV. The number of colors is also adjustable when Videl operates in bit plane mode. This mode is available for compatibility with the previous generation, but is quite complex to manage. There is also a true color 16 bit
mode where bits defining each pixel are grouped together to display 65,536 colors simultaneously. This mode is easier to manage but more resource intensive.
Another innovation in Atari
is the adoption of the IDE in addition to the SCSI
for connecting hard drives and CD-ROM
s. This allows for less expensive disk and CD-ROM devices, as SCSI
interfaced devices remain relatively expensive. However, the connector IDE is internal and requires case modification as soon as one wants to connect two hard disks or a single CD-ROM. The other drawback is that the IDE uses CPU unlike a SCSI drive that can directly access the RAM
(DMA
).
Atari Corporation
Atari Corporation was a manufacturer of computers and video game consoles from 1984 to 1996. Atari Corp. was founded in July of 1984 when Warner Communications sold the home computing and game console divisions of Atari to Jack Tramiel. Its chief products were the Atari ST, Atari XE, Atari 7800,...
's final computer product. Codenamed Sparrow, the machine was based on a Motorola 68030
Motorola 68030
The Motorola 68030 is a 32-bit microprocessor in Motorola's 68000 family. It was released in 1987. The 68030 was the successor to the Motorola 68020, and was followed by the Motorola 68040. In keeping with general Motorola naming, this CPU is often referred to as the 030 .The 68030 features on-chip...
main CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
, and had a Motorola 56000
Motorola 56000
The Motorola DSP56000 is a family of digital signal processor chips produced by Motorola Semiconductor starting in the 1980s and is still being produced in more advanced models in the 2000s. The 56k series was quite popular for a time in a number of computers, including the NeXT, Atari Falcon,...
digital signal processor
Digital signal processor
A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...
, a feature which distinguished it from most other microcomputers of the era.
History
The Falcon was released in late 1992 and subsequently cancelled in late 1993 as Atari Corp restructured itself to focus completely on the release and support of its newest product, the Atari JaguarAtari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released by Atari Corporation in 1993. It was the last to be marketed under the Atari brand until the release of the Atari Flashback in 2004. It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Panasonic...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
.
The Falcon's performance was not as great as it could have been, mostly due to Atari Corp.'s decision to put the 32-bit 68030 microprocessor on a 16-bit data bus. This was a side effect of the prototype system being based around the 68000, with the 68030 a separate expansion card. Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
was widely criticised for making the same kind of decision with their Macintosh LC computer.
Atari Corp. created a number of prototypes of the Falcon040 (based on the more capable fully pipelined
Instruction pipeline
An instruction pipeline is a technique used in the design of computers and other digital electronic devices to increase their instruction throughput ....
, integrated-FPU
Floating point unit
A floating-point unit is a part of a computer system specially designed to carry out operations on floating point numbers. Typical operations are addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and square root...
, Motorola 68040
Motorola 68040
The Motorola 68040 is a microprocessor from Motorola, released in 1990. It is the successor to the 68030 and is followed by the 68060. There was no 68050. In keeping with general Motorola naming, the 68040 is often referred to as simply the '040 ....
, and using a "microbox" case), but canceled it in order to focus developers on the Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released by Atari Corporation in 1993. It was the last to be marketed under the Atari brand until the release of the Atari Flashback in 2004. It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Panasonic...
.
The microbox case designed by Atari Corp. looks a lot like the Sony PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, right down to the ability to run it vertically or horizontally. It is even referenced in the PS2 patent applications.
Shortly after release Atari Corp. bundled the MultiTOS
MiNT
MiNT is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST and its successors. Together with the free system components fVDI , XaAES , and TeraDesk , MiNT provides a free TOS compatible replacement OS that is capable of multitasking.MiNT was originally released by Eric Smith as...
Operating system in addition to TOS
Atari TOS
TOS is the operating system of the Atari ST range of computers. This range includes the 520 and 1040ST, their STF/M/FM and STE variants and the Mega ST/STE. Later, 32-bit machines were developed using a new version of TOS, called MultiTOS, which allowed multitasking...
. TOS remained in ROM, and MultiTOS was supplied on floppy disk and could be installed to boot from hard disk.
In 1995, the music company C-Lab bought the rights to the Falcon hardware design and began producing their own versions. The Falcon Mk I was a direct continuation of Atari Corp.'s Falcon030 with TOS 4.04. The Falcon Mk II addressed a number of shortcomings in the original design, making it more suitable to use in a recording studio (these were unofficially termed 'Cubase modifications') such as accepting Line-level audio in without the need for a pre-amp or mixer. The Falcon Mk X was mounted in a 19" 1U rack case, with external keyboard and space for internal SCSI
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
hard discs.
Today, the Falcon is one of Atari Corp.'s most popular machines for hardware modding. Due to its expansion capabilities, several accelerators have been produced. Some of them overclock the CPU and/or the bus, while others upgrade the CPU to a Motorola 68060
Motorola 68060
The Motorola 68060 is a 32-bit microprocessor from Motorola released in 1994. It is the successor to the Motorola 68040 and is the highest performing member of the 680x0 family. Two derivatives were produced, the 68LC060 and the 68EC060....
.
Specifications (Falcon030)
- Processor: Motorola 68030Motorola 68030The Motorola 68030 is a 32-bit microprocessor in Motorola's 68000 family. It was released in 1987. The 68030 was the successor to the Motorola 68020, and was followed by the Motorola 68040. In keeping with general Motorola naming, this CPU is often referred to as the 030 .The 68030 features on-chip...
at 16 MHz with MMU and 256 byte instruction and data caches. - FPU: optional Motorola 68881Motorola 68881The Motorola 68881 and Motorola 68882 were floating-point coprocessor chips that were used in some computer systems in conjunction with the 68020 or 68030 CPUs. The addition of one of these chips added substantial cost to the computer, but added a floating point unit that could rapidly perform...
or Motorola 68882, PLCC socket - DSP: Motorola 56001Motorola 56000The Motorola DSP56000 is a family of digital signal processor chips produced by Motorola Semiconductor starting in the 1980s and is still being produced in more advanced models in the 2000s. The 56k series was quite popular for a time in a number of computers, including the NeXT, Atari Falcon,...
DSPDigital signal processorA digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...
chip at 32 MHz (16 MIPS). - Graphics: "VIDEL" fully programmable video controller.
- Palette of 262,144 possible colours (18 bit), 256 new color registers
- bitplane modes of 2, 16 or 256 colors
- chunky 16bit truecolor mode
- RGB output can feed either 15 kHz RGB monitor or TV, old atari SM124 monitor or a VGA monitor
- Despite the capabilities of the Videl, the plain TOS allows user to choice only a few resolutions up to 640×480 (or even less in the case 16bit mode and VGA). In order to achieve the full potential of the Videl one have to use one of the numerous existing alternative utilities, such as "Videlity", "Videl Inside", "Blow UP" etc..
- BLiTTERBlitterIn a computer system, a blitter is a circuit, sometimes as a coprocessor or a logic block on a microprocessor, that is dedicated to the rapid movement and modification of data within that computer's memory...
graphics co-processor at 16 MHz (mainly for the backward compatibility with STE) - Backwards compatible with all ST resolutions.
- Audio:
- 16 bit audio input and output up to 50 kHz
- SDMA sound/DMA Co-processor
- Yamaha Y3439-FGeneral Instrument AY-3-8910The AY-3-8910 is a 3-voice Programmable Sound Generator designed by General Instrument, initially for use with their 16-bit CP1610 or one of the PIC1650 series of 8-bit microcomputers...
3 Channel PSGProgrammable sound generatorA Programmable Sound Generator is a sound chip that generates sound waves by synthesizing multiple basic waveforms, and often some kind of noise generator, and combining and mixing these waveforms into a complex waveform, then shaping the amplitude of the resulting waveform using...
(for the backward compatibility with ST)
- Memory: 1, 4, or 14 MBMegabyteThe megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
of RAM with 512 kB ROM. - Bus Speed: 16 MHz, Bus width: 16 bit
- Drives and I/O
- 2.5 inch IDE - internal
- 1.44 MB 3.5 inch PC compatible Floppy disk - internal
- External SCSI-II connector
- MIDI IN and OUT
- 2 serial ports
- Bidirectional LPT port
- DSP port with I2S buses for external expansions as ADCs/DACs, S/PDIF or ADAT interfaces
- 2× 9pin mouse/joystick ports
- 2× analog joystick (compatible with STE and Jaguar)
- ROM/Cartridge port used mainly by dongles and some expansion cards
- LocalTalkLocalTalkLocalTalk is a particular implementation of the physical layer of the AppleTalk networking system from Apple Computer. LocalTalk specifies a system of shielded twisted pair cabling, plugged into self-terminating transceivers, running at a rate of 230.4 kbit/s...
compatible Local area networkLocal area networkA local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
port
Technicalities
The heart of the system is the 32-bitBit
A bit is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications; it is the amount of information stored by a digital device or other physical system that exists in one of two possible distinct states...
Motorola 68030
Motorola 68030
The Motorola 68030 is a 32-bit microprocessor in Motorola's 68000 family. It was released in 1987. The 68030 was the successor to the Motorola 68020, and was followed by the Motorola 68040. In keeping with general Motorola naming, this CPU is often referred to as the 030 .The 68030 features on-chip...
clocked at 16 MHz. It runs at about 5.76 MIPS
Instructions per second
Instructions per second is a measure of a computer's processor speed. Many reported IPS values have represented "peak" execution rates on artificial instruction sequences with few branches, whereas realistic workloads typically lead to significantly lower IPS values...
. Despite the 32-bit CPU, the Falcon does not have 32-bit architecture throughout its design, as it has a 16-bit data bus and a 24-bit address bus. Performance will not feel maximum benefit from the 68030's burst mode. The 68030
Motorola 68030
The Motorola 68030 is a 32-bit microprocessor in Motorola's 68000 family. It was released in 1987. The 68030 was the successor to the Motorola 68020, and was followed by the Motorola 68040. In keeping with general Motorola naming, this CPU is often referred to as the 030 .The 68030 features on-chip...
and its meager cache
Cache
In computer engineering, a cache is a component that transparently stores data so that future requests for that data can be served faster. The data that is stored within a cache might be values that have been computed earlier or duplicates of original values that are stored elsewhere...
of 2 × 256 bytes is not enough to overcome these shortcomings .
The microprocessor is supported by a DSP
Digital signal processor
A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...
Motorola 56001 clocked at 32MHz and performing no less than 16 million instructions per second
Instructions per second
Instructions per second is a measure of a computer's processor speed. Many reported IPS values have represented "peak" execution rates on artificial instruction sequences with few branches, whereas realistic workloads typically lead to significantly lower IPS values...
. Although it is oriented to sound processing (it is directly connected to the RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
and codec
Codec
A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau of "compressor-decompressor" or, more commonly, "coder-decoder"...
via an interconnection matrix), it is also capable of graphics processing (calculation of fractal
Fractal
A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
, deformations, 3D projections, JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
decompression). It can even, jointly with the 68030
Motorola 68030
The Motorola 68030 is a 32-bit microprocessor in Motorola's 68000 family. It was released in 1987. The 68030 was the successor to the Motorola 68020, and was followed by the Motorola 68040. In keeping with general Motorola naming, this CPU is often referred to as the 030 .The 68030 features on-chip...
, play MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
files in real time
Present
Present is a time that is neither past nor future.Present may also refer to:- Time and timing :* Present tense, the grammatical tense of a verb* Before Present, radiocarbon dates relative to AD 1950* Presenting, a medical term* Presenteeism...
.
Another innovation (for the time) is Videl. The possibilities offered by the graphics processor are limited only by its frequency (25/32MHz core and could rise to 50MHz with a hardware accelerator) and the slowness of the RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
because the graphics memory is shared with system memory which can degrade performance significantly when using high resolutions. The parameters are numerous, each timing of a video line (start, end, number of pixels ...) is adjustable, the image may be interlaced or not and the vertical frequency can go down to 50Hz interlaced to display on TV. The number of colors is also adjustable when Videl operates in bit plane mode. This mode is available for compatibility with the previous generation, but is quite complex to manage. There is also a true color 16 bit
Bit
A bit is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications; it is the amount of information stored by a digital device or other physical system that exists in one of two possible distinct states...
mode where bits defining each pixel are grouped together to display 65,536 colors simultaneously. This mode is easier to manage but more resource intensive.
Another innovation in Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
is the adoption of the IDE in addition to the SCSI
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
for connecting hard drives and CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s. This allows for less expensive disk and CD-ROM devices, as SCSI
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
interfaced devices remain relatively expensive. However, the connector IDE is internal and requires case modification as soon as one wants to connect two hard disks or a single CD-ROM. The other drawback is that the IDE uses CPU unlike a SCSI drive that can directly access the RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
(DMA
Direct memory access
Direct memory access is a feature of modern computers that allows certain hardware subsystems within the computer to access system memory independently of the central processing unit ....
).
Emulation
- Hatari is able to emulate an Atari Falcon on a variety of different OSsOperating systemAn operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
using the SDLSimple DirectMedia LayerSimple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform, free and open source multimedia library written in C that presents a simple interface to various platforms' graphics, sound, and input devices....
library. - Aranym is able to emulate generic Atari hardware on multiple hardware.
External links
- Atari Museum
- Atari Falcon 030 at Old-Computers.com
- Power Phenix (for Czuba Tech upgrades CT60/CT63 [68060@100] and CTPCI [4-slot PCI-board via CT60/CT63])
- WEB page of a Falcon CT60 user Photos, installation, software patches.