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This page last updated
1st Aug 2005

The A6 range

The A6 is a new generation of RISC OS machine, manufactured by Advantage Six Ltd for Stuart Tyrrell Developments. The A6+ and A6T4 are newer machines in the range that track advances in technolgy to bring better performance and new features in a compatible manner.

The A6 was designed from the ground up to use VirtualRPC technology, it is able to provide StrongARM class performance at a price point traditionally associated with ARM7500 class machines.

RISC OS and Windows in a single box

VirtualRPC allows RISC OS users access to existing and future applications in a familiar environment, yet also allows them to use traditional Windows applications if this is required. The sharing of data between applications in these two environments promotes the use of the right tool for the job.

The A6
The A6

Design

Measuring little more than a stack of A4 paper, the A6 was designed into a novel miniature case, measuring some 32x21x18cm (12.6 x 8.3 x 7" approx). Since the initial release, the small form factor market has grown considerably - the more recent A6+ and A6T4 cram even more into the same small space.

Despite its diminutive dimensions, the case allows for ample forced airflow around internal components. Its contemporary styling is a step away from traditional machine casing, and compliments virtually any office/study environment. Front panel ports give easy access to headphone connections, USB etc.

RISC OS Performance

Under VirtualRPC on the A6 range, users can expect performance which exceeds that of the fastest traditional StrongARM RiscPC machines. Enhanced I/O and graphics performance means that many real-world tasks execute several times faster than the fastest ARM based solutions. The whole A6 range come with a complete licensed copy of RISC OS Adjust (4.39) users may also install Select if they wish.

VVRAM and Adjust

All A6 machines now ship with VVRAM. This allows enhanced screenmodes to be used within RISC OS, such as 1600x1200x16 million colours.

RISC OS Adjust (4.39) is now supplied as standard with all machines.

Enhancements

The A6 runs Windows XP on a fast Athlon processor. VirtualRPC technology emulates an ARM processor and RISC OS hardware in this environment, and allows a standard version of RISC OS to be run at high speed.

This solution enables RISC OS to take advantage of features such as fast cached disk access, high memory bandwidths, hibernation (recovery from power-off to RISC OS desktop with windows open within approx 30 seconds), and allows users simple access to Windows applications.

Reviews

The A6 has been reviewed in the following publications:

Drobe (online Part 1 and Part 2)
Acorn User (Xmas 2003)
Risc World (Vol 4 Iss 5 Feb 2004) (online copy here)

A6 Models

Available in three variants, all A6 machines come complete with DVD drive or DVD/CDRW, fast hard drive, Floppy disk, Barton-core AMD Athlon 2500+ processor, 333/400MHz dual-channel DDR memory, UDMA 133 drives, Geforce 4MX graphics, 56K internal modem, 10/100BaseT networking, 4xUSB ports, 2xIEEE1394 ports (windows only), SPDif optical (input windows only, output RISC OS/windows), Windows XP Home and VirtualRPC-Adjust. Keyboard and mouse are of course included, along with speakers for those machines where they are not part of the monitor.

All software is installed, leading to a "ready to go" RISC OS environment. Of course users may easily switch out of RISC OS into a windows XP environment should the need arise.

The machine variants are:

A6B : Base unit/DVD/40G hard drive/256MB memory : UKP599 ex VAT
A6 : 15" TFT monitor/DVD/CDRW/80G hard drive/512MB memory: UKP899 ex VAT
A6DB: 17" TFT monitor/DVD/CDRW/120G hard drive/512MB memory: UKP999 ex VAT

Carriage: UKP25+VAT

The A6 is available in silver or black.

The A6+

The A6+
The A6+

The A6+ builds on the pedigree of the A6 to offer a machine with increased performance and specifications, resulting in a speed increase of some 20-25% for RISC OS applicatons.

Features include:

Restyled case with backlit LCD module.
AMD Athlon 3200+ processor.
512MB DDR400 memory.
Faster 160GB Hard drive.
Internal 7-in-1 card reader.
Geforce FX5200 128MB graphics card.
DVD/CDRW drive.
Internal 56K modem.
10/100BaseT networking.
USB/IEEE1394/Optical audio as A6.
Supplied with RISC OS Adjust and Windows XP.

The A6+ is available complete with 17" TFT monitor for £1100+VAT

Carriage £25+VAT

Option without monitor available.

The A6T4

The A6T4
The A6T4

The A6T4 builds on the foundations of the earlier A6s to offer a machine with increased performance and specifications, resulting in a speed increase for RISC OS applicatons over earlier machines.

Features include:

Restyled black case
AMD64 3400+ processor
1GB dual channel DDR400 memory
Fast 200GB SATA Hard drive
Internal 7-in-1 card reader
Geforce FX5500 256MB graphics card
Dual layer DVD rewriter
10/100BaseT networking
USB/IEEE1394/Optical audio as A6
Supplied with RISC OS Adjust and Windows XP

The A6T4 is available complete with 17" TFT monitor for £1100+VAT

Carriage £25+VAT

Option without monitor available.

Monitors

We can supply the higher specification machines without monitors if required.

We have also had a number of enquiries regarding CRT monitors instead of the TFT models on offer. We can offer the following substitutes:

A6: Substitute 17" Iiyama 413 Pro instead of 15" TFT: No cost
A6DB, A6+ or A6T4: Substitute 19" Iiyama 455 Pro instead of 17" TFT: No cost

Please contact us for further details.

Ordering

The machines may be ordered from:

Stuart Tyrrell Developments
PO Box 255
Stockport
SK7 0BG
Tel: 0845 458 8803 / 01706 848 744
<-- Fax: 0870 164 1604 -->
Email: info@stdevel.co.uk
www: http://www.stdevel.co.uk

Stuart Tyrrell Developments is a trading name of Advantage Six Ltd.




Stuart Tyrrell Developments is a trading name of Advantage Six Ltd.
All content
© Stuart Tyrrell Developments 2005
unless otherwise stated.
E&OE.