MiniMig+

[Darrin]

I wouldn't call the Minimig a "stock A500".  Mine has a 68000 at almost 50MHz, 3.5MB RAM, 4 "floppies", 2 Hard Drives and a Scan Doubler.  You could say it has a PS-2 keyboard and mouse adapter too.  

[Darrin]

Sounds good

The MinMig is great because it actually exists and works which is quite rare in the Amiga scene.

I'm was never that interest in it but an enhanced version with AGA support would be a lot more interesting, especially if someone can start 3D printing miniature Classic cases for them (I'm looking at you AmigaKit)

Yeah, lack of AGA is a pain.  Mind you, that's what my FPGA Arcade is for.

Still, for 95% of your gaming needs the Minimig does the job.  It is certainly robust and had never given me an issue.  Always buy the 4MB version if you can.

[Darrin]

Heh, fair enough, although those features weren't part of the first Minimigs. I'm looking forward to the extra RAM on the Minimig+ for some basic audio and image processing, as well as a comfortably-sized RAM disk workspace. With the Ethernet, it'll also be sufficient for some basic web browsing - enough to grab some files from Aminet, at least. Having just tried to do this on my 6MB 030 A2000, I can tell you it's a little difficult

We may finally have a true "luggable" Amiga that can handle (almost) any modern display and input devices

Now if someone can find/build a case for it with an integrated display...

Yeah, without ram and/or Ethernet and/or USB the Minimig will always be a games machine.  And as you say, while you can surf the net with an 030 on classics, my A2000 and A4000 both have 040 CPUs and RTG which makes a hell of a difference.

At least the FPGA Arcade will give us RTG and then 060, Ethernet and USB via the daughterboard.  Eventually.

[Darrin]

Methinks I need to take a closer look at this FPGA Arcade thingy. I haven't been following it at all - what you're describing sounds pretty darn cool! Is there a good web resource to learn more about its Amiga features?

Check out Mike's site:
http://www.fpgaarcade.com/

Especially the forum where there's lots of discussion on the various cores under development.

Here's a pic of the FPGA board with the prototype 68060 board fitted on top.
http://amigatronics.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/060-daughter-board.gif

You can see the CPU, USB ports, extra RAM, clock, optical audio out, micro SD card (which can be used as a "real" Amiga formatted hard drive rather than using HDF files on the main board's SD card), and Ethernet port.

So in short you get the following:

Main board:  Various cores running different systems/arcade games.  Amiga core to feature:  Soft 68000/020 Core, 64MB RAM (user configured between Chip/Fast/etc), OCS/ECS and AGA chipset (with P98 RTG), SD card to hold ADF, HDF, Kickstart and core files, PS-2 ports for mouse & keyboard (optional USB ports for USB mouse and keyboard only), DVI video out (optional S-video and composite), stereo audio out, 2 x 9pin joystick ports, JTAG connector, expansion port (for daughterboard), Serial port, micro USB port for flash updates.

Daughterboard adds following (subject to change):  Real 68060 CPU, extra 128 MB RAM, Micro SD card slot (as hard drive), optical audio out, real time clock, USB, Ethernet.

While the daughterboard is being developed with the Amiga core in mind (and anyone can build their own cards for the slot), I see no reason why an old Mac core or Atari ST core couldn't make use of it either.

[Darrin]

Can I order the FPGA Replay then now? Where can I go in the website to order it?

All you can do is email your interest to go on the list, however there is an authorized reseller:

http://amiga.amedia-computer.com/

Mike is in China at the moment (with a board) and is still fiddling with the core.  As he's selling the product you can understand why he needs it as good as he can before it goes out because he's the one who will get grief from the users.

Some of us know what a "beta" core is, unfortunately others don't.

[Darrin]

@ AmigaClassicRule:

You're thinking along my lines.  My main Classic Amiga is my A4000 with a 68040, Mediator/Radeon/SpiderUSB/SB128, FastATA400.

I expect my FPGA Replay to replace this as my main Classic machine once the daughterboard is released.  OK, we're not going to have any Zorro/PCI slots, but since I installed USB in my Amiga, I've expanded it using those ports anyway.  I can actually close the case at last!  

[Darrin]

whats the problem closing the case? i only kept my mediator 4k open as of late because constantly exchanging hardware for testing. any heat issues are easy to solve with a pci slot fan without any further mods.

I don't have heat issues, I'm just always poking around inside swapping cards/drives.

[Darrin]

Good news!! I am in the pre-order list of FPGA Replay! My setting include the entire S-Video, Composite Port, DVI Port and able to install any LED for my power and HD activity to my favorite casing of choosing!! That means I can order X500 and have the power LED on the X500 case turn on/off for the Amiga audio filter or it flashes if the Amiga core crashes hahahahahahah!!!!!

For the X500 case, make sure you order it with the USB keyboard connector and adapter.  My FPGA board is the old type with the PS-2 connector and I've got to return it to Mike for an update (or get another one) before I can use it properly in my X500 case.