Here is a technical comparison between Atari's new Falcon 030, Commodore's new Amiga 1200 and Apple's new Performa 400. All of these machines are aimed at the home computer user in price and power. They each feature their own Multitasking Graphic User Interface (GUI) operating system, which is not compatible with MS-DOS. Each of these computers has their own software library. They are all based on Motorola brand CPU's. You won't find "Intel inside" any of these machines, unless it's in the form of an emulator board! ;^> Atari Falcon CBM Amiga 1200 Apple Performa 400 CPU 68030 68EC020 68030 speed(Mhz) 16 14.32 16 MIPS 3.84 2.5 3.84 data path(bit) 32(16used w/COMBEL) 32 32(16 used) address space(bit) 24 24 24 instruction cache 256 bytes 256 bytes 256 bytes data cache 256 bytes no 256 bytes FPU optional optional optional socket on board yes no no type 68881/68882 68881/68882 68881/68882 DSP yes no no type 56001 N/A N/A speed(Mhz) 32 N/A N/A MIPS 16 N/A N/A MEMORY & EXPANSION ram(base model) 4MB(32bit) 2MB(32bit CHIP) 4MB(16bit) max ram 14 MB 10 MB(>w/3rd party) 10MB type proprietary proprietary/PCMCIA SIMM rom 512K 512K to 2MB 512K DISK DRIVES floppy 3.5" 1.44HD 3.5" 880K 3.5" 1.44HD format Atari\MS-DOS(SAME) Amiga w\MS-DOS Mac w\MS-DOS hard internal internal internal type 2.5" IDE 2.5" IDE 3.5" SCSI size 65MB 40MB 80MB I/O PORTS mouse/joystick 2reg 2analog 2 reg 1 mouse/ADB serial RS-232C RS-232 2 RS-422 parallel BI-directional Centronics no video-out analog RGB\VGA analog\RGB\VGA analog RGB\VGA composite\RF composite\RF audio-in stereo 1/8"mini no mono RCA -out stereo 1/8"mini stereo RCA mono RCA external floppy no yes no internal IDE yes yes no external SCSI yes SCSI II w/DMA no yes midi in, out/thru no no DSP yes(1 MHZ trans) no no network Localtalk LAN no Appletalk LAN EXPANSION internal bus exp cpu expansion slot Processor 128K cartridge PCMCIA 2(16bit) Direct Slot DSP port SOUND resolution 16bit\50Khz 8bit\50Khz 8bit\22Khz channels 8 4 1 input yes\stereo no yes\mono output stereo stereo mono internal speaker yes no yes VIDEO resolution -minimum 320x200 320x200 640x480 -maximum 640x480 1280x400\640x960(i) 640x480 palette(colors) 262,144 16.8 million 16.8 million maximum displayed 65,536(640x400) 256,000(all res) 256(to 32K) overscan yes yes no MISC clock yes no yes keyboard type attached full attached full detached full OPERATING SYSTEM type multitasking gui multitasking gui multitasking gui location rom\disk rom\disk rom\disk PRICE retail $1299.00 $1099.00 $1450.00 street N/A $850.00 $1100.00 SOFTWARE(included) Atari Falcon 030: MultiTOS 4.0-operating system SpeedoGDOS-scalable font extension w/14 Bitstream fonts Falcon D2D-audio direct to disk recording & editing Atari Works-integrated word processor,database,spreadsheet Audio Fun Machine-DSP digital audio FX System Audio Manager-record & assign sounds to system event Various Accessory programs:calculator,calendar,Talking Clock games, etc. CBM Amiga 1200 AmigaDOS 3.0-operating system CrossDOS-allows reading & writing MS-DOS format disks *Deluxe Paint IV AGA-full featured 2D paint & animation *Final Copy-full featured word processor Various Utility Programs:Calculator,screenblanker etc. (*indicates a limited time offer) Apple Performa 400 System 7.1-operating system Symantec Greatworks-integrated word processor,database, spreadsheet,charting,paint & telecomm program At Ease-program launcher Teleware M.Y.O.B.-checkbook & cardfile program T/Maker Clip Art-business graphics Various Accessory programs:calculator,alarm clock,games etc. * (This software package may vary depending on place of purchase) FINAL NOTES: The Atari & Commodore machines are housed in a single case. They DO NOT have detached keyboards. The Atari Falcon is in the same case as it's predecessor the 1040STE, and the Amiga 1200 is in a restyled case similar to the Amiga 500. Also, each of these computers is available without a hard drive for less money. However, models with hard drives were used for comparison purposes. These configuraions are those as supplied by the manufacturer. Individual dealers may offer other configuration options. The Apple Performa 400 has a separate keyboard, it is in the same case as the MAC LCII(In fact, that's exactly what it is!). The Atari & Commodore machines can operate at many different screen resolutions and would require a multisync monitor for optimum flexibility. Also, the Commodore Amiga 1200's maximum resolutions are interlaced(i). It's maximum non-interlaced resolution is 640x480. Both the Atari Falcon & Commodore Amiga 1200 will also overscan, giving them more resolution in that mode and making them suitable for Desk Top Video (DTV). The Apple Performa would require an analog VGA type monitor. With additional Video Ram, the Performa can display up to 32,000 colors maximum. The data path on the Atari Falcon is listed as 32bits wide with 16 bits used with COMBEL. The COMBEL chip sits between the CPU and the memory chips. The bus from the CPU to the COMBEL chip is 16 bits, however, since there are no waitstates on this bus, it operates at rates comparable to 32 bits. The bus from the COMBEL to the memory is 32 bits. The data path on the Performa is 32 bits wide, although only 16 are used and the RAM accessed is 16 bits. The Atari Falcon is the only computer here with a DSP (digital signal processor) chip. revivsion 1.3 Information compiled by Ken Baum 1992/93 E-mail on GEnie or Delphi: Sources: Amiga World, Amiga Format, AtariUser, ST Format, MACWorld GEnie & Delphi.