Author: Shalroth (wwwcache-c.lmu.ac.uk)
Date: 01-30-2002 17:10
Let's take a look:
Interfaces, Falcon:
SCSI-II
LAN
Parallel
Serial
Analogue
Joy/mouse
Headphone
Mic
DSP
Internal IDE
CPU upgrade
Proprietary RAM
ROM-cartridge
RGB/VGA (proprietary)
TV out
MIDI
Interfaces, A3020
LAN optional
Parallel
Serial
Mouse
Headphone
Internal IDE
Proprietary RAM
Proprietaty expansion
VGA-out (standard)
So, you miss out on SCSI, LAN, joystick/analogue ports, Microphone input, MIDI, RF output to TV, ROM interface. Sound-in and MIDI can be added with cards (but not all at once).
Other features:
Falcon - 68030, 16MHz
A3020 - ARM250, 12.5MHz
Seems slower, but remember the ARM is a RISC chip, so when programmed effectively it can do some impressive throughput. Wolfenstein 3D is playable in near-full screen (around 12-15 FPS) on an A3020 with 2MB.
Falcon - TOS 4.0x in ROM
A3020 RISC-OS 3.1 in ROM
So little to compare there, except that RISC-OS has built in BASIC, and integrated apps suite (bitmap editor, Vector art program, Text editor, Configuration util, online-help system, Clock, Reminders).
Both machines have 1.44MB DOS compatible floppy drives, and both have a space and connector for 2.5" IDE drives.
Video spec...until the RISC-PC no Acorn machine could do more than 256 colours, but it can do some stupid resolutions. Not as configurable as the falcon (and you have to remember the res. for each mode number).
I like both machines, obviously I prefer my Falcon but the A3020 is still a worthwhile machine, nice keyboard and plenty fast enough for word processing.
Oh yeah, RISC-OS has built-in anti-aliased scalable fonts. That alone is worth a look.
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