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Author Topic: Fast ATA MK IV question (A1200)  (Read 7544 times)

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Offline Franko

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Re: Fast ATA MK IV question (A1200)
« on: August 04, 2011, 06:10:42 AM »
I've been using the FastATA MKIII for many years now along with the SubWay USB device, all I can say is I would NEVER go back to using an Amiga without them... :)

To answer some of your questions... :)

Yes you have to remove the shielding (but I do this in all me A1200's anyway) however even then fitting it in an original "wedge" desktop A1200 can be a very tight fit especially when lowering the keyboard back into place. I really think it's best used in a towered A1200 like I use... :)

Even on a stock 020 A1200 HD read/write access should be at least twice the speed of the motherboard IDE header, on an 030 A1200 expect at least  5.6MB/s transfer speeds at PIO4... :)

Yes it can easily support very large HD's...  I've been using two 500GB HD's (even tested it with a 1TB SATA HD) and two CD/DVD ReWriters on these boards for many years now and never lost one partition let alone a bit of data... :)

Can't answer the question "does it disable the existing motherboard IDE header" as I've never really tested it, not sure why you would want to use the motherboard IDE header when you have four high speed connections on the FastATA anyway... :)

Like I say the FastATA is in my opinion one of the best pieces of kit you can ever add to an A1200, the only difference between the MKIII & MIV as far as I can tell is, even faster read/write speeds and PIO5 is now stable... :)

Should you sell it... NO... give it a try first and see the difference it makes for yourself, fast disk speeds, CD/DVD burning, easy to add very large HD's... :)

Too many questions... nah... not enough... ;)
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Offline Franko

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Re: Fast ATA MK IV question (A1200)
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2011, 12:22:29 PM »
Quote from: NovaCoder;652947
They are a bit of a pain in the ass to install, and can also be a pain in the ass to get working a decent speed.   The easy option is to either grab an IdeFix Express (>4.5 mb/s) or wait for the new SATA enabled IdeFix Express which should be even faster  :)


Not true...

The FastATA boards only need you to set the correct PIO speed in an easy to use preference editor and it works easily with any problems... ;)

Doubt very much that IdeFix Express would beat any FastATA Board, typical speeds of 5.6 to 6.2Mbs at PIO 4 and with even faster if you can get hold of an HD that can handle PIO 5 speeds (Most high speed CD/DVD Writers work at PIO 5 on my FastATA MKIII)... :)
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Offline Franko

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Re: Fast ATA MK IV question (A1200)
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2011, 09:40:37 PM »
Dunno where folk get the idea that the FastATA is "picky" with HD's as it's just not true...:furious:

Over the years I've used many different brands of HD's (and CD/DVD Writers) with it and never had one problem with the FastATA board I've used Seagate, Samsung, Toshiba, Maxtor, IBM, Mitsibushi, Western Digital and even unbranded HD's. All worked fine with no problems whatsoever... :)

You can of course use SATA drives too using a SATA to IDE adpter with both the FastATA & 4xEIDE boards I've done so myself on both these great products by using a cheap (£14.99) StarTech Bi-Directional SATA/ IDE adapter... :)

SATA/ IDE Bi-Directional Adapter

Dunno if you lot have commission on this IDEfixExpress but all I can tell you is the Elbox FastATA and 4xEDIE are quality made products that have never given me any problems in years of use... :)
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Offline Franko

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Re: Fast ATA MK IV question (A1200)
« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2011, 08:38:52 AM »
Quote from: Darrin;653072
@ Franko:

I've got a FastATA in my A1200T too (and never had any issues), but how the **** do you get the ****ing thing to stay in the ROM sockets?  That ****ing piece of ****ing tiewrap isn't worth the **** it is made out of.  :D


Easy peasy lemon squeezy... :D

Simply make some bends or kinks in the tie wraps that are almost the same length & height as it would be if it were fitted around the boards & the chips (ie: fold the tie wrap into a rectangular box shape) then open it out, slip it through and bobs yer auntie, one perfectly fitted FastATA... :)

Never damaged a motherboard, FastATA or the Roms even once and I've got two which I have removed and tested them on other A1200's plenty of times... (not have they ever "popped out")... :)

If anyone has destroyed or damaged anything while installing a FastATA board, I can only say what a dickhead and best get an adult to do it for you... :D
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Offline Franko

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Re: Fast ATA MK IV question (A1200)
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2011, 08:43:18 PM »
Quote from: Darrin;653207
@ Milfos & Franko:

Cheers.  Next time I decide to dust off the A1200T I'll try being a bit more creative with the tie-wraps.

@ Franko:

I'll get my 11 year old son to do it. :p


Good idea, as at your age the old mind has started to go and things like tie wraps can be a bit confusing to old fuddy duddies like yerself... :)
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