Concerns about the Sam460ex

OK. So I was thinking about buying one of these, but it looks like I won't be.

First of all, without buying a PCI Sii3112/3114 card with multiple SATA ports you can boot from, I don't see how you can install OS4, which comes on CD (read via DVD drive hooked up to SATA), and installed on to a HDD (hooked up via SATA).

There's only 1 SATA port.

That SATA port is disabled if using the 1x (1 lane) PCI-E slot. I've been made aware there are SATA PCI-E 1x cards, however I don't know that OS4 or U-Boot supports booting from any of them.

I use a WiFi card in my Sam440Ep-Flex now, a prism2 (802.11b). Neil Cafferkey has told me the Atheros WiFi drivers he wrote/ported for AROS do work on OS4. They're just not released yet. So there's no doubt i'll still be using a WiFi card in the Sam460ex as opposed to Ethernet over Power or an Ethernet to Wireless bridge. It's all just too cumbersome, too many things in the way, too many cords. The desk is already filled up. The router is no-where you could place a computer, and it is in the only appropriate place. Centre of the house, where the phone is, because it's a VoIP router.

I know i've said a lot here, but I want to avoid the "why not just use ethernet" question.

That rules out any SATA card for that only PCI slot.

There's an internal SD card reader, but i've no idea how you can put a CD on that and boot from it. I don't know the U-Boot commands, or how to format the card so it has the required "boot block" for lack of a better name. CDs do have boot sectors.

And finally, i'd like to burn CDs/DVDs or watch DVDs, or listen to music from CD with this system. It just seems like it will be impossible to do.

ACube have really limited their market here. It seems absurd to make such a limited system. So, perhaps it's not absurd at all if i've just simply missed something? Are my fears unfounded?

@MickJT Quote:
You are jumping the gun here (since Sam460 isn't even for sale yet, so we don't have all the information).

OF COURSE ACube/Hyperion will make sure OS4 supports a suitable SATA card, because otherwise the Sam460 would be basically useless for OS4. And no doubt pre-built systems will come with one as standard!

@MickJT

A pci sata controller for the pci-ex1 slot. I'd be suprised if that did not work. Becuase of the sata and pci-ex1 thing. And put a wifi card or something in the normal pci 66mhz slot. And a nice radeonhd card in the pci-ex4 slot

@Chris

Quote:

My fear is that they'll focus on just the 66mhz PCI slot for the SATA support, which isn't going to be available for me.


@Antique

I'd be doing that if I know for sure there's a card I can stick in the 1x slot and can boot from it, also some U-Boot variables to control DMA on it, etc..

@MickJT
Quote:
I think you worry too much...

@MickJT
Note that they probably also expect you to use a PCI Riser card thing, to turn 1 PCI slot into several slots.

But IMHO the obvious thing would be to support a PCI-Express SATA card, since PCI-E disables the single built-in SATA port.


I really think you should wait until pre-build systems are available (from someone reliable like AmigaKit) before coming to any conclusions.

@ChrisH

I'm not quite sure how riser cards work, whether U-Boot or the OS would need to know what it is. Would you need a "driver" for a riser card? The motherboard only has 1 slot, so you can't just split it and expect the system to see two slots, right?

Not to mention wouldn't you need a particular type of case for that? I don't think I could use my existing case.

@MickJT
While I don't have any experience with Riser cards, from what I have heard/read:

If riser cards need OS support, then AmigaOS4 probably supports it (no promises though). But maybe the riser card has a chip which arbitrates access to the single slot automatically? Ask someone who knows for sure!

It does seem that riser cards are going to be specific to particular cases (or kinds of cases), since they are usually rigid PCB of fixed height. There are some "flexible riser cards", but I don't know how well they work.

Wish that the integrated graphics could be removed:) A mini-pci slot could be quite useful...

@MickJT

My plan is to see if any of these options will work:
- External USB CD drive (which I use anyway)
- See what PCIe x1 SATA cards the Sam460 supports when it is finished.
- Find out if the internal SATA port will work with a multiplier:

http://www.google.com/products/catalo ... AcQ8wIwADgA&os=tech-specs

I really don't know what you're worried about I have to buy a 4th SAM now

@Slayer

I believe I posted my concerns in the first post :)

@MickJT

Very true, pardon my absurb attempt at making a joke

But seriously yes the end choice is yours, for any potential short comings perceived by yours truely there is always a way around it e.g. always generally 2 ways to accomplish anything...

I've never really understood people (the mentality) wanting there usb stick to be readable in every usb port ever designed under every conceivable OS or some piece of software to be forever executable... I think people need to realise that evolution is just that, not that this is your concern, just a related one

@Slayer

All I want is wireless and two SATA.

In my Sam Flex I also use a soundcard. I guess I could use the 460ex's onboard sound since it has line-in.

@Radov

Maybe there will be a FLEX version of the 460 sometime?
Not so sure about the mini pci though....

Quote:

@logicalheart

"- Find out if the internal SATA port will work with a multiplier:"

ACube should test one ASAP!

To my understanding 460ex has full support of SATA II and therefore it should support SATA II splitter/multiplier. But someone need to test it first.

@MickJT

The linux screenshots on the acube website show the sam460 using a pci-e 1 sata to 2 sata port board. hopefully acube will have an aos driver and uboot support for that.

@derfs

Can you link me to what type of board/card that might be? The description doesn't make much sense to me.

@MickJT

picture

sil 3132

example of pci-e card to buy

@derfs

Oh, your description of "1 SATA to 2 SATA" didn't make sense. The image of the card is just a PCI-E SATA-II card like I expected. Not any sort of splitter.