68020 vs 68EC020 - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

26 May 1999

Pete Turnbull wrote:
...
    An A1200 question: what's the difference between
the 68020 and 68EC020? 
 I believe the 'EC' version is for Embedded Control, and lacks some of the
 functions of the plain 68020 (probably MMU-related or something). 
I'm not sure of the other details, but "EC" = "Embedded Control",
as you
say.  According to my Motorola cribsheet, it's a 68020 with only 24-bit
addressing, without the dynamic bus sizing, ands restricted speed range.
 It does have the co-pro interface, though, and probably most if not all of
the instruction set (the crib sheet doesn't get very detailed). 
Yup. In real terms the choice of EC by Commodore restricted the standard
A1200 to just 10Mb fast RAM. This can be overcome with an accelerator that
plugs into the trapdoor. On a slightly related note, a friend of mine in the
US has found that his washer machine contains a 020 processor. Those things
sure get around.
--
Gareth Knight
Amiga Interactive Guide | ICQ No. 24185856
   http://welcome.to/aig    | "Shine on your star"