Phase5 was called a company from Oberursel in Germany, which brought the first power-PC-based CCU maps out for the Amiga (powerUP) starting from 1995/96. Introduction on the market was 1997. Besides also appropriate Upgrade maps for different Powermac models were manufactured by Apple. Before the company was predominantly become known by different extension cards for Amiga computers, as one from at that time still numerous offerers.

Managing directors of phase5 were wolf Dietrich and Gerald Carda.

History

First the company had made itself a name by different extension cards for Amiga computers. Among them were diagram maps, SCSI maps and also so-called turbo-maps on 68020-30/68040/68060-Basis for the different Amiga computers.

Afterwards the development of power-PC-based CCU maps for the existing Amiga models was tackled. These came for the first time officially in April 1997 on the market. According to unconfirmed data (Dietrich interview in a print magazine of 1999) by phase 5 even approx. 10000 of these so-called power UP boards was sold.

Later also appropriate Upgrade maps for different Powermac models were manufactured by Apple. These got 1998, with prices around $800 and in the selling among other things from The software hat (the USA) partly a very good press.

After itself in May 1998 Amiga Inc. from the power PC beginning, became more difficult the situation in the power PC market for Amiga systems, split in the meantime, had temporarily discharged.

Before the large break-through with announced own computers (A/Box with Caipirinha Chipsatz, pre/box, AMIRAGE K2) the company went in the year 2000 into bankruptcy.

Over the fortune of the phase 5 digitally products (so the full company name) on 26 January 2000 insolvency request was then placed, and opened by resolution of the responsible district court from the same day the insolvency request procedure. On 19 April 2000 the insolvency request procedure phase 5 (No. 61 IN 18/00, district court bath Homburg) was stopped for lack of mass. The exclusive rights at still the refugee products were already transferred in April 1999 by the hardware manufacturer DCE, which continued to worry also about repairs and service achievements.

One the ex managing director of phase5, Gerald Carda, became late chief developer (CTO) of bplan (MorphOS News.de from 3 December 2002), the manufacturers of the Pegasos of Genesi.

Famous load Words

""Â… it is time for A radical leap forwards in technology that needs tons fount by A vision OF A computer for the NEXT millennium."

-- Wolf Dietrich, Managing Director OF phase 5

Products (excerpt)

For Amiga:

• Blizzard 1220 (68020-Turbokarte for A1200)
• Blizzard 1230 (68030-Turbokarte for A1200)
• Blizzard 1240 (68040-Turbokarte for A1200)
• Blizzard 1260 (68060-Turbokarte for A1200)
• Blizzard 2040 (68040-Turbokarte for A2000)
• Blizzard 2060 (68060-Turbokarte for A2000)
• Blizzard SCSI IV kit (SCSI kit for Blizzard Turbokarten)
• CV 64 3D (diagram map for A3000/4000)
• CV PPC (diagram map for Cyberstorm PPC)
• B-vision PPC (diagram map for Blizzard PPC)
• Cyberstorm MK III (68040/060-Turbokarte for A3000/4000)
• Cyberstorm PPC (68040/060 and PPC604-Turbokarte for A3000/4000)
• Blizzard PPC (68040/060 and PPC603-Turbokarte for A1200)

For Powermacs:

• Power booster G3 366 MHz (ZIF map for G3 Powermacs)
• Maccelerate! 750 G3 375 MHz (CCU maps for Powermac 7300-9600 and 4400/6400)

powerUP power PC technology (Amiga)

The power-PC-based CCU maps of phase5 made possible it for the first time to accelerate the models the Amiga row over with the available 68k-CPUs maximally possible achievement outside. Outstanding feature of the maps was binary CCU architecture: beside a 68040/68060-Prozessor (68060: 50 and/or 66 MHz) was a power PC CCU (604e/603e: 233/268 MHz) on the same plug-in card available. In addition they offered useful features like additional RAM card locations and SCSI CONTROLLERs for additional drive assemblies.

Under powerUP first a binary beginning was pursued also in terms of software, with which the power PC side had to be headed for by a special run time LIBRARY (ppc.library) of the 68k-Seite out. Due to the necessity for Cache synchronisations with data exchange between the CCUs programming was on the one hand complex and the obtained performance gain small with standard applications frequently. Good acceleration effects resulted in the case of skillful programming e.g. with totally enclosed codecs for diagram/animation formats (png, JPEG, GIF, MPEG) or compression libraries (libz), usually in form according to adapted type of Amiga OS DATA.

Around 1998 Phase5 presented a project for a very achievementable own hardware platform (A/Box, Caipirinha Chipsatz), from which partial concepts in terms of software in the MorphOS operating system of the Pegasos computer appear. In the meantime MorphOS is available also for power UP maps and the initial disadvantages of binary architecture by means of the ppc lateral 68k-Emulation - similar as with the Powermac -, integrated there, is avoided. The existing 68040/68060-CPU is simply deactivated after the start by MorphOS.

Related links

• Phase 5 - power UP side in the style of the phase at that time 5 Website of Matthias
• AmigaFuture - PowerUP FAQ
• DCE computer GmbH - interview 02/2002

Articles in category "Phase5"

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