Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Author Topic: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...  (Read 3230 times)

Description:

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline blakespotTopic starter

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Join Date: Dec 2003
  • Posts: 872
  • Country: us
  • Thanked: 8 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Visit ByteCellar.com
    • Show only replies by blakespot
    • ByteCellar - The Vintage Computing Blog
Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« on: January 10, 2013, 11:27:28 PM »
I have had some kind of Amiga most of the years over the past 28 years. Usually more than one.

I currently have:

-- An Amiga 1000 system:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/sets/72157621596272210/
-- An Amiga 2000 '060 system w/ Picasso II:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/sets/72157604299491786/
-- An Amiga 1200 '060 tower:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/sets/72157604300573758/
-- A SAM 440epFlex:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/sets/72157621877406693/

But things are not ideal. I am thinking of selling and re-purchasing.

I love the Amiga 1000 and will never let that go. It's a nice little setup with 2MB FAST and a SCSI HD and is great with 1.3 on down.

The A1200 '060 was my main machine, but it started having issues with the Indivision AGA and so I had to drop back to the more limited FF I had before (Cammy inherited it!). And I have PSU issues, and being towered it's started to feel sort of not deeply Amiga. And, it has OS 3.9 on it which I dislike. I am trying to get the PSU issue fixed and then I may sell, maybe in parts. More on why later.

Then there is the A2000 '060. Lately I have spent all this time building up my A2000 with '060, Picasso II, etc. but it seems misguided. I wanted to use the Amiga 2000 for all kinds of things like IRC and terminal and web etc. but it's not nearly as practical as the SAM. And I'm having some compat issues with '060 on some apps. It's got lots of good stuff in it, ADSG dual serial, etc. but it feels like I've built it out beyond reason. It feels less good than it did when it was an '020 or a '000.

I love the SAM. Will keep and explore AmigaOS 4 onward.

I think what I want, in the end, replacing the A2000 and A1200, is a proper A1200 in its own case with an accelerator like the new 42MHz 030 on that white circuit board, with the fast memory. Something clean that I can attach a CF card to and and Indivision mk II to and have a great WHDLoad experience.

I am thinking I might be better off with a PAL unit, even tho I am in the states, looking at the games and demos out there. A friend just got a NIB A1200 on eBay. How often do they come along?

What do you think of my plan?




bp
« Last Edit: January 10, 2013, 11:34:46 PM by blakespot »
:: ByteCellar.com - The Vintage Computing Weblog
:: Amigas: 1000, 2000 '020, SAM440ep-Flex
 

Offline Lurch

  • Lifetime Member
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Join Date: Dec 2003
  • Posts: 1716
    • Show only replies by Lurch
Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2013, 01:05:42 AM »
I was thinking of going for a tower setup but budget and a few other things I've decided not to go any further.

Going to concentrate on getting a 030 1200 in it's original wedge going. Although have been tempted to buy a 060 but the price has always been outside me reach, but we'll see what happens this year :-)

The ACA1231 is very quick though, I was impressed when I did have it running. Although my 1200 didn't like it so it's off getting fixed at the moment.

Thought about the ACA1232 but not fast enough, plus 64MB was more than enough for me.
-=[LurcH]=-
A500 Plus Black 030@40MHz 128MB | A1200T 060@80MHz 320MB | Pegasos II G4@1GHz 1GB  | Amiga Future Sub
 

Offline mechy

Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2013, 07:27:52 PM »
Quote from: blakespot;722043
I have had some kind of Amiga most of the years over the past 28 years. Usually more than one.

I currently have:

-- An Amiga 1000 system:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/sets/72157621596272210/
-- An Amiga 2000 '060 system w/ Picasso II:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/sets/72157604299491786/
-- An Amiga 1200 '060 tower:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/sets/72157604300573758/
-- A SAM 440epFlex:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/sets/72157621877406693/

But things are not ideal. I am thinking of selling and re-purchasing.

I love the Amiga 1000 and will never let that go. It's a nice little setup with 2MB FAST and a SCSI HD and is great with 1.3 on down.

The A1200 '060 was my main machine, but it started having issues with the Indivision AGA and so I had to drop back to the more limited FF I had before (Cammy inherited it!). And I have PSU issues, and being towered it's started to feel sort of not deeply Amiga. And, it has OS 3.9 on it which I dislike. I am trying to get the PSU issue fixed and then I may sell, maybe in parts. More on why later.

Then there is the A2000 '060. Lately I have spent all this time building up my A2000 with '060, Picasso II, etc. but it seems misguided. I wanted to use the Amiga 2000 for all kinds of things like IRC and terminal and web etc. but it's not nearly as practical as the SAM. And I'm having some compat issues with '060 on some apps. It's got lots of good stuff in it, ADSG dual serial, etc. but it feels like I've built it out beyond reason. It feels less good than it did when it was an '020 or a '000.

I love the SAM. Will keep and explore AmigaOS 4 onward.

I think what I want, in the end, replacing the A2000 and A1200, is a proper A1200 in its own case with an accelerator like the new 42MHz 030 on that white circuit board, with the fast memory. Something clean that I can attach a CF card to and and Indivision mk II to and have a great WHDLoad experience.

I am thinking I might be better off with a PAL unit, even tho I am in the states, looking at the games and demos out there. A friend just got a NIB A1200 on eBay. How often do they come along?

What do you think of my plan?




bp

You have missed the one logical,reliable machine. the A4000 or 4000T. other than caps, this is the full 32bit machine with proper z3 expansion bus,and unlike the 2000 with slow zorro2,you get better speed on gfx cards etc. I love the 2000 but its not the most logical machine to do with 060 since zorro2 is so slow(2-3MB/s). Unlike the 1200 it wont be dongled to death(generally) and need a immediate psu upgrade etc. A fully expanded 1200 will still be slower than the full expanded 4000 generally.

I love all amiga's but it still puzzles me why people build on the 1200 as a base.Its not cheaper in the long run and many times not as reliable,and certainly not as fast as the expanded 4k. I have probably opened pandoras box saying this ;)
 

Offline Heiroglyph

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jun 2010
  • Posts: 1100
    • Show only replies by Heiroglyph
Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2013, 08:00:32 PM »
You won't get any disagreement from me.  The cool factor of the keyboard sized unit goes away with all the bricks and cables attached to it.

A basic 4000D doesn't cost much and it's already the equivalent of an 040 expanded 1200.
 

Offline cicero790

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Join Date: Mar 2008
  • Posts: 322
    • Show only replies by cicero790
Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2013, 08:40:08 PM »
I have just treated the A1200 with an Indivision AGA MkII. It was great to get a perfect picture. I also got a ps2 mouse converter and are now using an optic mouse. Quite a change from fighting the worn out mechanical mouse from the 90ties.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2013, 09:34:29 PM by cicero790 »
A1200 030 40MHz: 2/32MB Indivision AGA MkII
A600 7 MHz: 2MB
AROS 600 MHz
PC 13600 MHz: quad core i7 2600K 3.4GHz: 16GB RAM: ATI HD6950 2GB   (Yes I know)

WINUAE AmiKit ClassicWB AmigaSYS UAE4Droid  

 

Offline blakespotTopic starter

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Join Date: Dec 2003
  • Posts: 872
  • Country: us
  • Thanked: 8 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Visit ByteCellar.com
    • Show only replies by blakespot
    • ByteCellar - The Vintage Computing Blog
Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2013, 09:58:17 PM »
Quote from: mechy;722123
...I love all amiga's but it still puzzles me why people build on the 1200 as a base.Its not cheaper in the long run and many times not as reliable,and certainly not as fast as the expanded 4k. I have probably opened pandoras box saying this ;)


I had always heard that the A1200 is a more stable, compatible machine. That the extra hardware in the A4000 pushes it further afield from the center of compatibility.

Is that not the case? And how bad _are_ the caps in the A4000? I've got a room full of computers...

http://www.bytecellar.com/photo_pano.html

...and I've never, ever had a caps issue in any of them.




bp
:: ByteCellar.com - The Vintage Computing Weblog
:: Amigas: 1000, 2000 '020, SAM440ep-Flex
 

Offline Heiroglyph

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jun 2010
  • Posts: 1100
    • Show only replies by Heiroglyph
Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2013, 10:09:26 PM »
Personally I haven't had a cap related failure even though I've had a decent number of big box Amigas.

It's anecdotal evidence, but I just thought I'd point that I believe the cap issue to be real, but less rampant and devastating than searches might lead you to believe.

You only hear the complaints, never the ones that have no problems.

As for compatibility, I'm not the best to answer because I don't play stacks of games. I've never hit anything that caused me a problem though.

In the end you're using the computer you are emotionally attached to, not the one that lasts the longest, costs the least or runs the fastest.

Go with your gut on what you really want.
 

Offline carvedeye

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jan 2007
  • Posts: 1563
    • Show only replies by carvedeye
Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2013, 10:36:15 PM »
My biggest regret was selling my sam440ep :( really miss that system.
A1200T: M1230XA 50Mhz 68030 w/64mb,DVDRom, 80gb hdd, Realtek LAN Card, Mediator LT4 + Radeon 9250 128mb(used for fast ram), Spider USB Card, Voodoo 3 3000 OS 3.9 +bb 1-3
 

Offline Bif

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Join Date: Aug 2009
  • Posts: 124
    • Show only replies by Bif
Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #8 on: January 12, 2013, 07:04:37 AM »
Nice room full of computers. I especially like the Gravis Ultrasound nailed to the wall :).

One day I have to at least get my pile of Amiga's on a desk or two. I don't even have a single one set up yet. I can't imagine getting a whole room set up with that much awesome stuff though. Awesome.
 

Offline klx300r

  • Amiga 1000+AmigaOne X1000
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2007
  • Posts: 3244
  • Country: ca
  • Thanked: 20 times
  • Gender: Male
    • Show only replies by klx300r
    • http://mancave-ramblings.blogspot.ca/
Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #9 on: January 12, 2013, 02:11:25 PM »
@ blakespot

awesome computer room!

+1 on the Amiga 1000 as I'll always keep mine no matter what.

personally I have no interest in towering my A1200 since I got my OS4.1 machine back in 2009 & more recently upgraded to my X1000.  I still have my 1200 Desktop with Blizzard though.
I also have my original A500 mint but just don't have the space to set it up ..yet
____________________________________________________________________
c64-dual sids, A1000, A1200-060@50, A4000-CSMKIII
Indivision AGA & Catweasel MK4+= Amazing
! My Master Miggies-Amiga 1000 & AmigaOne X1000 !
--- www.mancave-ramblings.blogspot.ca ---
  -AspireOS.com & Amikit- Amiga for your netbook-
***X1000- I BELIEVE *** :angel:
 

Offline som99

  • Lifetime Member
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2005
  • Posts: 1566
    • Show only replies by som99
    • http://www.som99.se
Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2013, 03:04:05 PM »
Ohh Gravis ultrasound, how nice did not the background music in Doom sound on it! The electric guitar did pop out great with a gravis!
 

Offline AAACHIPSET

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Join Date: Mar 2010
  • Posts: 397
    • Show only replies by AAACHIPSET
Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2013, 03:09:33 PM »
Quote from: mechy;722123
You have missed the one logical,reliable machine. the A4000 or 4000T. other than caps, this is the full 32bit machine with proper z3 expansion bus,and unlike the 2000 with slow zorro2,you get better speed on gfx cards etc. I love the 2000 but its not the most logical machine to do with 060 since zorro2 is so slow(2-3MB/s). Unlike the 1200 it wont be dongled to death(generally) and need a immediate psu upgrade etc. A fully expanded 1200 will still be slower than the full expanded 4000 generally.

I love all amiga's but it still puzzles me why people build on the 1200 as a base.Its not cheaper in the long run and many times not as reliable,and certainly not as fast as the expanded 4k. I have probably opened pandoras box saying this ;)
just curious...an sorry to interrupt ..your coment about a4000  would be faster than a a1200 ...question..if ur just using the aga chipset  an the cpu is the same  an memory is the same ..would that be the case?
with a graphics card id agree  ..with aga  why would it be different..
A500 3.1/8meg/2gigscsi ...wants a 040
CD32/SX1/FMV/FLASHDRIVE/  wants sx32pro
A1200  os3.5 030/50/fpu/mmu/2flashdrives/cd/   indivision coming ..............wants a ppc/060  ACCEL :laughing:
 

Offline mechy

Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #12 on: January 12, 2013, 03:58:47 PM »
Quote from: AAACHIPSET;722211
just curious...an sorry to interrupt ..your coment about a4000  would be faster than a a1200 ...question..if ur just using the aga chipset  an the cpu is the same  an memory is the same ..would that be the case?
with a graphics card id agree  ..with aga  why would it be different..

all things being equal with aga,ram,cpu yes they would roughly be the same speed on aga but to compare that it means a expanded 1200 vs a stock 4000.but when i refer to speed i also include the IDE. the 1200 ide is slow and unbuffered,the 4000 ide is buffered and marginally faster out of the box.
The 4000 has the fastest accelerators,cyberstorm MK3 and the PPC cards. The scsi on these cards does around 35MB/s while the fastest 1200 card with scsi can manage 10MB/s not to mention the 604e on the cyberstorm vs the 603 on the blizzard-there is a good bit of difference there. It just makes good sense to build on a good base.
 

Offline Lurch

  • Lifetime Member
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Join Date: Dec 2003
  • Posts: 1716
    • Show only replies by Lurch
Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #13 on: January 12, 2013, 10:59:03 PM »
Would like to agree about the 4000 being a better option over the 1200. But cost wise a 4000 is a lot more expensive.

I've yet to find a 4000 machine that was a good price, locally they're very rare.

1200 is usually around $80-$150 NZD
4000 is usually around $500 + NZD

I've always wanted a 4000 but 1200's are easy to get a hold of, and addon cards are usually cheaper and easier to find too.
-=[LurcH]=-
A500 Plus Black 030@40MHz 128MB | A1200T 060@80MHz 320MB | Pegasos II G4@1GHz 1GB  | Amiga Future Sub
 

Offline mechy

Re: Amiga setup "woes," possible change-up ahead...
« Reply #14 on: January 13, 2013, 03:22:34 AM »
Quote from: Lurch;722247
Would like to agree about the 4000 being a better option over the 1200. But cost wise a 4000 is a lot more expensive.

I've yet to find a 4000 machine that was a good price, locally they're very rare.

1200 is usually around $80-$150 NZD
4000 is usually around $500 + NZD

I've always wanted a 4000 but 1200's are easy to get a hold of, and addon cards are usually cheaper and easier to find too.


1200 is not cheaper, another misconception.. you didn't do a fair comparison. With the stock 4000 you get a 040/25,good power supply,expansion bus,room for 16mb ram,place for a cdrom,place for a second floppy or card reader.

add those upgrades to a 1200 and you have probabaly equalled the price or surpassed it.Remember the 1200 is 020EC,2mb ram,bad psu,no easy external expansions,no expansion bus for slots unless you tower it and its still not zorro3.The pcmcia is the only big +.

sorry to hijacking your thread Blakespot!