Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: x56h34 on September 28, 2005, 04:17:17 AM
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Time to show off a little bit and to perhaps to encourage others by proposing a challenge to anyone that can provide pics of a better looking Amiga, as far as features, overall looks, practicality, and coolness are concerned. :-D
The image gallery doesn't do this baby justice, so I'll provide hosting for the high res pictures. Too bad my digital camera is only 2.1 megapixels...the pics could have been a bit more detailed I guess, but anyway...
This here ladies and gentlemen is the fastest classic Amiga. If you think that yours is faster...I'm listening. :-)
Specifications are the following:
Commodore Amiga 4000
Original High-Density floppy drive
Motherboard revision B
Kickstart 3.1 roms
Socketed Buster 11
Motherboard ram: 16MB fast / 2MB chip
Cyberstorm PPC 060/233 with 128MB ram on it
Grex 4000D PCI daughter-board
Realtek 8029 chipset PCI ethernet card
Terratec 128i PCI sound card
Voodoo 3 PCI video card
36GB U160 SCSI hard drive
Picture #1 (http://www.x56h34.com/amiga/a4000/a4000_pic01.jpg) and Picture #2 (http://www.x56h34.com/amiga/a4000/a4000_pic02.jpg) - here we see the first internals shot of the A4000 system. You can see the motherboard fast and chip ram memory. Fast memory contains four matching IBM 4MB FPM simms that are rated @ 70ns. Grex4000 daughter-board nicely replaces the original Commodore one and starting from the top, Ethernet, Sound, and Voodoo 3 PCI cards are inserted in it. The internal SCSI-3 chain ends with the internal to external 68-pin converter and is then terminated with an external 68-pin active SE terminator. I've decided to not use an internal CD drive in order to give the PSU less stress and to leave some more breathing space for other components. When I need CD access I simply remove the external 68-pin terminator and insert an upper-byte passthrough 68-pin to DB25 terminator, and then I can easily connect my external Fast SCSI-2 burner, which is actually a 52X Sony IDE burner converted to SCSI through one of those Acard IDE-to-SCSI gadgets, sitting in an external SCSI-2 case. ;-)
Picture #3 (http://www.x56h34.com/amiga/a4000/a4000_pic03.jpg) and Picture #4 (http://www.x56h34.com/amiga/a4000/a4000_pic04.jpg)- top view of the internals. As you can see, there's not much internal cabling that is in the way, as I've minimized internal cabling as much as possible. SCSI chain is connected through the blue round cable which is just right size wise. It's a must as flat SCSI cables are really a pain to deal with in regards to little space available with A4000 desktop case. Perhaps I should also seek for an amiga compatible round floppy cable. CSPPC has been upgraded with a 12V fan that is much taller than the original one, and it's a quality Sunon type. I've also managed to find four matching Micron brand FPM 32MB 60-ns non-parity SIMMS for it. :-) The hard drive is a very speedy Fujitsu 36GB U160 SCSI hard drive that can go slightly faster than 30MB/sec in OS3.9. The hard drive cradle has been isolated from touching the Grex4000 daughter-board with some isolation tape which can't be seen from this picture. The original Commodore A4000 clear isolator had to be removed as after installing Grex4000 there's no more space for it to be fit and I didn't want to trim it down and ruin it, so I've improvised. ;-) Battery on the motherboard is brand new of course, and the old one never leaked so the motherboard is as mint as it gets. :-D There is also an IDE-killer header installed over the 40-pin IDE port so this system has no IDE chain scan delays upon power up.
Picture #5 (http://www.x56h34.com/amiga/a4000/a4000_pic05.jpg) - back of the case. You can see the SCSI terminator lighting up, indicating working and proper termination. ;-) You can see the standard back connectors, including the extra PCI ones from Ethernet, Sound, and Voodoo 3 cards.
Picture #6 (http://www.x56h34.com/amiga/a4000/a4000_pic06.jpg) and Picture #7 (http://www.x56h34.com/amiga/a4000/a4000_pic07.jpg) - show the outside, final look. Everything but the floppy drive face-pate is as white as it gets. The 4000 badge still has the protective slip over it. ;-)
The only few things that I would like this setup to improve on would be getting a round floppy cable, perhaps changing Terratec 128i with a 512i digital card, and obtaining a non-yelowish floppy drive...however the one that I have now works perfectly fine, so no need to change it yet. :-D
Let the contest begin! ;-) Judges?
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!!!!! I want that Amiga. :-D :-)
Wow! I remember sitting down in 2001 and mapping out what I wanted in an Amiga, and that right there was it! :-o :-)
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So, uhhh, ... how much?? :-P
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Looks like I need to take some pix!!!!
Look at my tag and TREMBLE!!!!!
Yes, you'll get to see the hot swappable external SCSI-3 RAID tower asembly stripped from a IBM server...
BOO-YAH!!!
J-Golden
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@ X56
Nah, I think I prefer my setup:
A4000T (16mb RAM on mobo)
PPC/233 & 060/64 (128mb RAM)
DKB3128 (128mb RAM)
PIV with Paloma and Concierto
Ultrawide SCSI HD (on Cyberstorm SCSI)
2 SCSI II HDs (on the onboard 4091)
CDRW
IDE-CF adapter with emergency 512mb CF boot
Genlock, ZIP, printer, etc
oh yeah, and a proper frikken battery and socketed CIAs ;)
I guess the only problem with my setup is that it is not mint as far as the case is concerned. But inside it is nice enough.
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I would add one condition to this contest:
-you bought that Amiga as NEW, and all the parts like PPC, etc... as well
(in that case, I have only one, broken ATM, A500..)
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@X-ray:
Are you running the 060 AND the bus at 64 MHz, or have you used an extra 64MHz oscillator for the 060 only? Is it stable? I kinda want to do a single-oscillator hack (run everything off a single 64 MHz oscillator, including the PPC. rumor has it that this is somewhat faster in some aspects than having unsyncronized PPC/060/System clocks).
But rumor also has it that the CS-PPC system bus (SCSI, 'glue-logic' and so on) might become unstable at speeds above 60 MHz, that's why I'm asking.
Anyways, here's my miggy:http://www.amiga.org/gallery/index.php?u=771
AT A4000T, CS-PPC-200/060-60, 128MB Fast, 18 GB UW-SCSI HD, 16x10x40 Yamaha SCSI CD-RW, CV-PPC, Kickflash, Delfina Plus, Ariadne2, OS3.9BB2, MOS 1.4.5
The harddrive and the CV-PPC were bought new, all the other stuff was bought used.
Just received an A4000D today, and after some serious cooling mods I'll move the stuff over to it and sell the A4000T. :-? And perhaps buy a G-rex.
btw Nenad: Has that keyboard ever been used? It looks brand new :-)
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@PaSha
What??? Sell an A4000T for a desktop 4000??? I'd keep the 4000T.
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I fully understand PaSha I must say. I wouldn't mind running my A4000 in the standard desktop case, but to much of my hardware needs cooling, and for the moment I wouldn't like to ditch my 2 x CD drives.
I have thought about using an external SCSI box for a desktop setup like my WarpEngine setup does, but since I haven't got a nice looking desktop case, it's not a plan for the near future. In case I do it, then I would go Mediator instead of course :-)
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Btw, nice looking setup you got there Nenad.
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Steady wrote:
@PaSha
What??? Sell an A4000T for a desktop 4000??? I'd keep the 4000T.
C= A4000T: Big, bulky, but still rather nice looking. Impossible to find.
AT A4000T: Big&ugly.
C= A4000D: Small, not ugly, but not beautiful either.
I haven't quite decided what to do with the CD-RW drive, maybe I'll throw it out and stick it in a external SCSI case. Or maybe stick a slim-line drive in there. Time will tell.
The most beautiful Amiga IMHO, is the A3000D. But this case is 'ugly on the inside', the lack of space is awful, especially for a CS-PPC+CV-PPC combo.
-Paul
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The C=3000T C=3000 040T be my flavor to savor. SCSI all the way.. :-)
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come on A3000D owners.. I know some of you have some awesome machines!!! I <3 A3000's!!
Nenad: that is a very clean A4000!!
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@J-Golden:
Nice. I've been thinking of expanding my A4000T with a Mediator, however for now it's basically still around the stock config. Quikpak 4060 w/128MB ram, 16MB motherboard fast ram, 2MB chip ram, 18GB SCSI HD, HD floppy drive, and a SCSI cd drive. There's a few pictures of it in the image gallery.
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@X-ray:
Sweet setup. It seems like you've really utilized the extra space of the A4000T to the max.
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doctorq wrote:
I fully understand PaSha I must say. I wouldn't mind running my A4000 in the standard desktop case, but to much of my hardware needs cooling, and for the moment I wouldn't like to ditch my 2 x CD drives.
Exactly one of the reasons why I didn't install an internal CD drive and why I used a Voodoo 3 2000 PCI card instead of 3000. 2000 produces way less heat than 3000, and it feels like the performance gain of 3000 with Amiga is minimal.
I have thought about using an external SCSI box for a desktop setup like my WarpEngine setup does, but since I haven't got a nice looking desktop case, it's not a plan for the near future. In case I do it, then I would go Mediator instead of course :-)
I am a big fan of Grex so naturally I had to get the 4000D version :-) ...however if I were unable to find one then I would have gone with Mediator 400Di, for sure. What I like about Grex4000 is that it utilizes the CSPPC PCI bus, thus offering faster performance, and not to mention the availability of the video slot on it, unlike Mediator 4000Di. Of course, Mediator is way better supported so that counts for a lot of points for it. :-)
Btw, nice looking setup you got there Nenad.
Thanks. :-) I'm thinking I should post pictures of the A1200T next.
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TheMagicM wrote:
come on A3000D owners.. I know some of you have some awesome machines!!! I <3 A3000's!!
Nenad: that is a very clean A4000!!
Thanks. I can post pictures of my A3000D setup too, however it's a very, very stockish config. The best thing about it is its mint condition. Other than that it's a simple 16MB fast / 2MB chip, 3.1 roms, A3640 config. :-)
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@T_Bone:
I thought you were getting a MicroA1? ;-) :-P
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@x56h34
Regarding the heat, I must say that I'm surprised to see that you haven't modified the PSU. That'll be the first thing I do with mine; cut away the original fan grill and install a mesh one, maybe even a 92mm fan if there's room, and cut away the air outlet vents on the back of the PSU and replace them with mesh. Less noise and less heat = happy amiga owner.
Edit:
Oh and btw: regarding an Amiga-compatible round floppy cable, just buy a PC cable and 'untwist' pins 10-16, making it a straight-through cable working with your Amiga. Or, just make a round cable yourself with colored heatshrink-tubing.
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I'm quite proud of my Rat-Miga.
It's built around a 1993 A1200, with Mediator, Voodoo, Apollo 1240, Twister, 4-way IDE interface and SB128 all packaged into a second hand Power Tower and treated with benign neglect.
The keyboard is a fetching beige AT item, carefully decorated with coffee stains, breadcrumbs and an unidentifiable sticky subtance bonding the right shift key down. The mouse is of 1991 vintage, with a cable cobbled together from an even older mouse and is suitably battlescarred.
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Ok, my 3000D is not top of the line (missing PPC) but fine anyways. Specs are on my sig, I think the special thing about it is it's very clean (have changed the front bezel), it's Picasso IV (great for 1-monitor solution), usb and NetBSD 2.0 on the second (internal) hard disk. No floppy drive, too! :-D
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Mine's not the fastest by far, but it's stuffed full of fun. :-D
A4000
2M Chip/No Fast
3.1 ROMS
"Re-worked" Buster 11 (originally SMD Buster 9!)
HD Floppy
Cyberstorm Mk3 060/50MHz w/128M RAM
Western Digital SE 120GB HD (on CSMK3 SCSI w/Acard SCSIDE AEC-7720UW)
LiteOn LTC-48161H DVD/CD-RW Combo IDE/ATAPI
Iomega Zip 250 IDE/ATAPI
DCE ScanMagic Internal SD/FF
Mediator 4000Di
Voodoo3 3000
SoundBlaster 128
Realtek RTL-8139 NIC
Spider USB
Kickflash OS4
RAKA PS/2 Keyboard Interface
RAMA PS/2 Mouse Interface
I have yet to finish the power supply mods, external SCSI (I'm using the "Expansion" hole at the back, and finalize some of the cable routing. But, it works great!
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PaSha wrote:
@x56h34
Regarding the heat, I must say that I'm surprised to see that you haven't modified the PSU. That'll be the first thing I do with mine; cut away the original fan grill and install a mesh one, maybe even a 92mm fan if there's room, and cut away the air outlet vents on the back of the PSU and replace them with mesh. Less noise and less heat = happy amiga owner.
I am actually looking into mounting a small form factor ATX PSU of higher wattage (~300W or more) inside the original 4000 PSU's casing and also making an ATX connector to 4000 power connector conversion. The ATX power switch would replace the commodore switch that is located on the 4000 PSU. The only problem is finding a suitable ATX PSU for the job and of course measuring all the space needed, drilling holes, etc...but some day I will go for it. :-)
Oh and btw: regarding an Amiga-compatible round floppy cable, just buy a PC cable and 'untwist' pins 10-16, making it a straight-through cable working with your Amiga. Or, just make a round cable yourself with colored heatshrink-tubing.
Cool. I'll see what I can do about that. Thanks for the tip.
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Yep...can't wait to post mine!!!
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@ PaSha
Only my 060 is clocked at 64mHz. Everything works fine at the moment.
I agree about the A4000T being a big bulky lump. At some stage I will make a new case for mine from scratch, preferably with brushed aluminium, in desktop config. In terms of the innards though, I'd pick the A4KT over any other classic Amiga.
@ X56
Are you also going to beef up your A4KT?
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I'll use these posts to find the best parts to modify or add to my own A4000 and join this contest. Thanks
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X-ray wrote:
Are you also going to beef up your A4KT?
Probably not for now. There's really no reason to have more than one beefed up Amiga. That would make four heavily expanded units for me, so I think I'll stick with only 3. :-D
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I'm curious: why did you beef up the D instead of the T?
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Well, I originally expanded a 4000D into a Mirage 4000 tower. The Escom 4000T I mainly kept around for collecting purposes, and as a backup unit. I then received another desktop 4000D, which I've expanded to the originally mentioned specs at the top of this thread.
4000D is overall a bit wealthier with expansion options available out there than 4000T, epecially as far as Grex4000 goes. I really wanted it instead of any other PCI solution. IIRC Grex4000T version was only made in very small numbers (something like less than 5 units?) so as far as that is concerened, there really was no chance of making it happen. Oh yes, I do have a Picasso IV in that 4000T, so it's not really that bad of a system afterall. :-)
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Hi,
Let the contest begin! Judges?
Ok, my Amiga specs:
68000 7.14Mhz
1MB of Chip Ram
0MB Fast
No floppy,
Double speed Cd-Rom
It can display up to 4096 colours and its black.
I win.
Oh and its a CDTV CR prototype, one of only about 6 known to exist.
so a big :-P to your PPC mate, Ive got a 68000
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@Oli_hd:
Oh yeah? Well my Amiga has a rare built-in paging service, so in case of problems Dave Haynie gets a page directly from it and he appears on-site within 2 hrs to fix the problem! :-P ;-)
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@Oli_hd
You've got my vote!
Edit: Didn't the CDTV-CR support an internal floppy drive?
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Hmmm.... how can someone with an A500 compete? No PPC, no RTG, no sound card, no CD-ROM, no Zip drive, no fancy set of wires glowing through a neon filled water-cooled case.
I do have:
33 Mhz 68020/68882
2Mb Chip
8Mb 32bit Fast
40Gb 2.5" IDE HD
ECS chipset
3.0 ROMs (A1200, not A500)
DCTV
Microspeed Trackball (best input device)
Completely unaltered A500 case (looks like standard A500)
I'm using REAL Amiga graphics and sound (..well, except when displaying composite with DCTV ;-) ) and I always hated the slow annoying CD-ROM.
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@mr_a500:
I'd think that your setup would at least earn a lot of "coolness" points. :-) Do you have a Viper 520 CD accelerator inside the A500?
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Yes, that's right - the awesome Viper 520 CD.
Hey, Oli_hd - whatever happened to the Viper 530 petition I signed about 3 years ago? And where's that coldfire upgrade for A500? Then I could have the Ultimate A500!
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TheMagicM wrote:
come on A3000D owners.. I know some of you have some awesome machines!!! I <3 A3000's!!
Nenad: that is a very clean A4000!!
OK... My A3000d ........
I bought it 'NEW' (payed the BIG bucks for it, $1000 a 'K')
All origonal chips ..
WarpEngine 040 @ 40 mhz. 64 megs ram (I didn't buy new)
CV64 GFX card (4 megs ram) (was New Old Stock)
MultiFace II I/O card (bought NEW)
External SCSI box (Bought NEW) with 9 gig HD and 12xCD-R
PS2 mouse and KB adaptors (Bought new)
2 - 1.76 HD floppies (Bought new)
3.1 roms (bought NEW) running OS 3.9
Also had (pulled for my wife's A3k-16mhz) 16 megs Zips, 12
of which was bought NEW, and we all know how much Zips
cost back in the day.
This machine is VERY clean and runs fantastic.
Maybe its not the greatest setup, but as long as it runs
I'll NEVER sell it.
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My most special baby:
A3000UX Front (http://www.amiga4ever.nl/A3000UX.jpg)
A3000UX Rear (http://www.amiga4ever.nl/A3000UXBack.jpg)
It already has a 2065 NIC and now I have also added the original A2410 GFX card and a A3070 tape drive. This baby will be restored in it's full AMIX glory soon!
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@Tahoe:
Very, very nice.
I will try and post some pics of my own A3000. It's pretty much identical to yours, with the A2065 nic in it and all. :-)