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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: phill25 on September 25, 2005, 11:53:49 AM
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Hi guys and gals,
I'm in need of some advice and help..
I used to have a fully loaded and tower Amiga 1200 (PPC + Bvision and the rest of it) but sadly one day after turning it on, it all blew up.
After 6 months of going through an insurance claim, I got back a very poor excuse of an Amiga and ever since then I've been using PC and windows.... :getmad: :crazy:
Well a few days ago I've been looking and buying a few old games online from Ebay (Project-X SE for one) and I've been getting back into it a little..
I'm wondering if I can or cant, upgrade my Amiga 1200 with 030 + 16mbs of ram, 4gig 2.5" hard drive and possible get the following for it:
Tower for a start
Network card
A graphics card possibly so I can use it on my monitor?
A faster accelerator perhaps and some more memory
A CD rom drive as well...
I have seen a few Amiga 4000's and 1200's around which fit the bill, but as always Amiga's havent ever been too cheap :boohoo:
I was just wondering what anyone might have suggested to do?
Oh what has happened with the Amiga since OS 3.5?? I have been out of touch a long time!!
Many thanks,
Phill
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As for the tower, you can buy a ready Amiga tower, or find and modify a PC tower.
Network cards isn't a big problem, you will be able to find cheap PCMCIA ethernet cards on ebay.
As for graphics card, there are 3 options... BPPC and Bvision, zorro busboard or Mediator PCI. The first you already know, zorro busboard is for using A2/3/4000 style expansion cards in A1200 and Mediator PCI allows you to use PCI cards in A1200 (graphics cards, ethernet cards, sound cards, USB cards, tv cards)
Accelerator will have to be bought on ebay or Amiga hardware sale sites like www.amibench.com, maybe even here on amiga.org.
CDROM isn't a problem; get a buffered IDE device and connect a standard PC CD/CD-R/CD-RW/DVD drive.
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What might you suggest for the best value for money upgrade? I am currently bidding on a Amiga tower (I'm unsure of the name sadly). The Medaitor PCI board, is that still avaiable? What sort of graphics cards could I buy that might work with the Amiga with that board?
I guess with the Medaitor I could use PCI network cards that way?
What's the best for performance wise for upgrading now? Do they still make any type of PPC boards etc? As for the IDE device do they still make the PowerFlyer?
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It is difficult to suggest anything for best value of money, as everything depends on what you would like to do with your Amiga.
Mediator PCI is still available, see www.shop.elbox.com . You can use Voodoo Banshee, Voodoo 3, 4 and 5 cards. As for networking cards you can use 10 MBit and 100 MBit ethernet cards. Look here (http://www.elbox.com/mediator_driver_guide.html) for a list of supported PCI cards.
As for IDE devices, PowerFlyer is still being produced, see the Elbox shop again, it is listed under FastATA. No accelerator for Amiga is being produced anymore, at least not in the form as they used to be made, so you will have to buy those second hand. You will also be able to find PPC boards second hand.
Some companies are working on new kind of accelerators, but I haven't got much info to tell on those, as I simply can not be bothered to read anything concerning them. I'm sure others will have some good information on them though, but one thing is sure, if you would like to go for one of those, you will have to wait a long time.
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Many thanks for the quick replies :)
I would be playing games and surfing the net mostly, but other than that, not much! I dont think I will find many Voodoo cards around now adays but you never know!
I have had a look at the Elbox shop and as I said before, prices are rather steep arent they!! Wow....
I think the easiest option is perhaps tower, PCI network card and graphics card and maybe a new accelerator at some point... We'll see what crops up on Ebay...
Many thanks again :)
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As Amiga isn't a mainstream computer any longer it is only natural that the cost of upgrading is high.
If you just want to play games and surf the net, I would say forget the graphics card and surf the net with your PC, as most sites these days look wierd on an Amiga browser.
Get a network card anyway, as you can use it to download files from FTP, mount shares from your PC, or download it directly from the webpages, but you don't need a graphics card for that. I have downloaded several GBs this way, with a standard A1200 upgraded with a Blizzard 1230 board.
And get WHDLoad for your games, you will not regret it. See www.whdload.de for more info.
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I too share over FTP and have around 600gigs of stuff to share!! Its a little on the OTT side of things, but still not to worry ;)
I think the network card is good idea and you mention about the PCMICA card? They are on Ebay you say? I'll have a look :-D
I'm trying to find aparticular game for my Amiga, perhaps you might be able to help? Its called Indy Heat, its a top down racer and I played it many years ago and I have been trying to find it since!!
Many many thanks for all the help and advice :-D Really appreaited.
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A card like this (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3Com-PCMCIA-Etherlink-III-Card-3C589C_W0QQitemZ6803941240QQcategoryZ42196QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) will work with Amiga (have used one like it myself) but remember to find one with a dongle.
As for the game, I can't help you out. You'll just have to keep checking ebay.
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The game in ADF format:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5243787127&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
The game in WHDLOAD format:
http://www.deadwoodinc.net/killergorilla/games/Commodore%20Amiga%20WHDLoad%20Games%20I.rar
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Po$$ible, yes. Get Amiga Forever 6 and load it on a decent PC and you have the fastest Amiga clone in the market.
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One question...
How can I get it onto my Amiga as it doesnt reconsize the file type on the PC and a standard PC disk is only 720k in size.. The file is 771K....
Any suggestions?
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Back when I d/l lots of ADF files to my PC I used Amiga Explorer to transfer them to my A1200
http://www.amigaforever.com/ae/
Still use it sometimes to transfer small files from my PC to my A4000D
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I dont have my Amiga connected via Lan or anything, its just a standard Amiga... Do they still do the High Density external floppy disk drives for the Amiga still? If so I could put the game onto that...
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Guess it's cheaper to get Amiga Explorer and a nullmodem cable than to buy a HD floppy drive...they can be expensive as helöl especially on Ebay.
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I gather Amiga Explorer is some sort of network card?
I was told about a PCMICA network card? I think the network card idea is a better option to be fair..
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So I guess something like this could be a good option?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Amiga-PCMCIA-Network-Card-Dongle-Fast-Internet_W0QQitemZ8220834717QQcategoryZ3543QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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Yes, if you want to pay overprice. Otherwise, find a 3com card as linked to earlier. All needed software is available from www.aminet.net .
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I thought the price wasnt so bad.. Did find this one, is it any better?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Amiga-PCMCIA-network-PC-link-pack-fast-ethernet-LAN_W0QQitemZ8220552273QQcategoryZ3543QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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Or something like this is best?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3COM-PCMCIA-ETHERNET-CARD-10-100-3CCFE574BT_W0QQitemZ6805779009QQcategoryZ96913QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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phill25 wrote:
I thought the price wasnt so bad..
If you haven't got a problem with the price, then I see no reason why not to buy it. It gives you the advantage of getting the software on floppy already at least.
I just think it is a bit expensive when an Amiga compatible PCMCIA ethernet card can be bought for around 2-3 UKP, and the software you need can be downloaded free of charge :-)
As for the standalone ethernet card you have linked to; I'm not sure if it will work with Amiga, but maybe some others know. Maybe some of the other members of this forum knows, but otherwise go for the sure think a 3com Etherlink III with dongle. When you get around to setting things up, here (http://web.sonofon.dk/allan-muller/miami/miami.html) is a guide on how to do it.
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I did have a look online last night and have bidded on a few items (but sadly where out bid when I wasnt at my PC :() but the only thing that worried me was the fact that the model numbers for the 3Com card wherent the same in the info file from the drivers from the Aminet.. I was worried I was buying something that didnt work..
As with so many things without drivers hardware wont work and it seemed a bit silly paying out money for something that I'm not 100% sure of whether or not it would work. This is why I wouldnt mind paying the little bit extra, IF I KNEW for sure it would work without problems :D
Many thanks tho :)