AP On-line

IYONIX pc - 32-bits and RISC OS 5

IYONIX pc logo
a new computer from Castle - for Christmas?
The new IYONIX pc from Castle provoked a large turnout at the SE Show at the beginning of November and a host of rumours. Is the machine any good? What about software? When will it be available?
< • i >

IYONIX pc



There are two key features of the IYONIX pc:
  1. It is based on an Intel XScale 32-bit processor.
  2. It will be supplied with a new 32-bit version of RISC OS (RISC OS 5).
This is a significant step forward and moves RISC OS from its previous 26-bit limitations into a new 32-bit world. An entirely new motherboard has been designed from the bottom up incorporating all the benefits that derive from ARM technology (high performance, low power consumption) to provide a major advance in throughput and performance for RISC OS machines.

The IYONIX PC will support up to 1GB DDR (Double Data Rate) RAM, an industry standard PCI graphics card, PCI controller (supporting USB) and a full range of I/O options. The new machine will also provide support for a Hi-speed version of the existing Acorn EASI podule standard for backwards compatibility using a two-slot backplane. The operating system will be supplied in Flash ROM, eliminating potentially long lead times in production and allowing easy future upgrades.

The new machine will come in a custom adapted solid metal chassis with custom front facia featuring the IYONIX PC name. This will be in a tower configuration.

As well as a new release of RISC OS and associated applications the IYONIX PC will be supplied with a wide range of third-party software applications all converted to run on 32-bit systems. All major developers in the RISC OS market have been working with Castle and users can expect to see most of their favourite applications converted to run in 32-bit mode by the time the new system is launched. To facilitate this Castle have released an updated version of the Acorn Development Suite for 32-bit software development which will provide software developers with all that is needed to produce or convert software to run in 32-bit mode.

Technical note: previous ARM600, ARM700 and StrongARM processors supported both 26-bit and 32-bit operation, but RISC OS was maintained solely as a 26-bit operating system for backward compatibility.

Further details and a chance to win an IYONIX pc can be found on the IYONIX pc web site.
The following information on the forthcoming Iyonix pc was presented by Castle Technology Ltd at the RISC OS South East Show, Guildford, on Saturday 2nd November 2002:
Iyonix Motherboard
  • All new design
  • ARM XScale processor (80321)
  • GeForce2 MX400 PCI video card
  • Up to 1GB DDR (Double Data Rate) memory (200MHz)
  • UDMA 100 Hard Drive
  • PCI expansion (32-bit & 64-bit)
  • Hi-speed 32-bit EASI podule bus
  • Gigabit networking (10/100/1000 base T)
  • Technical Reference Manual (to be published)
Case (front)
  • MicroATX mid tower design
  • 2 x 5.25" drive bays
  • 3 x 3.5" drive bays (2 external)
  • Soft-on (computer controlled off)
  • 2 x USB ports
  • Recessed reset button
  • HD and Power LED on front
Case (rear)
  • 250 watt PSU with silent mode
  • Power on/off (hard)
  • 4 x PCI Slots (2 x 32-bit, 2 x 64-bit)
  • 2 x Hi-speed 32-bit EASI podule slots
  • Networking
  • 2 x USB ports
  • 2 x serial ports
  • Mains in
RISC OS 5
  • 32-bit with video extraction
  • (video now from PCI graphics card)
  • Feature set based on RISC OS 4.02
  • PACE derived and copyright
  • Dedicated IYONIX version
  • Long filenames
  • Increased wimpslot - application space
  • ICA client
  • 16-bit font manager with Unicode support
  • USB printing
  • OS in Flash ROM, copied into RAM
32-bit software development
  • BASIC programs will work without any work needed
  • C/C++ programs work after recompiling
  • Assembler programs need simple re-engineering
  • 32-bit software will run on RISC OS 3, 4 & 5
  • Wide range of software already 32-bit:
  • E.g. Techwriter (Easiwriter), Fireworkz, Ovation Pro,
  • Vantage, OHP, Oregano 2, Draw, Paint, Edit, PDF,
  • AMPlayer, InterGIF, KINO, SparkFS etc.
  • Aemulator 26-bit emulator available from Spellings
Theoretical speed increases
SA Risc PC Iyonix Better by
Processor 233MHz 600+MHz 2.6x
RAM 16MHz 200MHz 25x
Hard Drive 2MB/s 32MB/s 16x
Expansion bus 6MB/s 264MB/s 44x
Podule bus 1.5MHz 4MHz 2.7x
Resolution (16M) 800x600 1920x1440 5.8x
Screen draw 4.32 sec 0.99 sec 4.3x
Max App Slot 28MB 128MB min 4.6x
Development suite
  • Updated C compiler (now many C99 features)
  • Licence to use tools and libraries for commercial products
  • Suitable for RISC OS 3, 4 & 5
  • Suitable for 26-bit and 32-bit versions of RISC OS
  • Major bug fixes
  • Extended compiler features
  • Produces faster run-time code
Development suite (software)
  • C/C++
  • Desktop tools
  • Assembler
  • User interface toolbox
  • !System
  • Licence to use and distribute 32-bit !System
  • ABC compiler (formerly from Pineapple)
  • SID and Armalyser dissasemblers
Development suite (other useful naterial)
  • Zap development environment
  • StrongEd development environment
  • !PDF pdf document reader
  • Useful links page
  • Bug report form
Development suite (manuals)
  • PRM manuals 1-4 & 5a
  • C/C++ manual (updated)
  • Desktop tools manual (updated)
  • Assembler manual
  • User interface manual
  • RISC OS style guide
  • ABC compiler release notes (manual later)
32-bit Development Suite available now at the special price of £99 (if ordered before 31st December 2002).
Initially published November 2002
November 2002

The contents of this page are copyright the author and AP On-line. This article must not be reproduced without the express permission of the publishers. Whilst we take care to ensure that the facts described in AP On-line are correct we appreciate that errors will occur and will try to ensure that such errors are amended as soon as possible after they are notified to us.