Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: Fisketryne on April 10, 2010, 09:22:02 PM
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Asked for recommendation on a general mucking about / retro-amiga that will mostly be used for whdload and dreamings of better days. Mentioned some of the tips previously given to others on this forum. Heres what I got:
Hello,
Thank you for your email.
If you are looking to use WHDLoad, then an A1200 with 4GB CF hard disk and 68030/16MB accelerator would be perfect for this task.
A useful way of transferring data from PC is with an EasyADF PCMCIA CF Transfer Kit with 4GB of storage.
Cocolino is great for using PS/2 mice with the Amiga 1200.
You will not need OS 3.9 as this is not needed for WHDLoad.
Friendly and to the point methinks. Seems like Amigakit agrees with Amiga.org too. Guessing I would also need the Intellivision AGA thingy as I would love to put it on my plasma.
Wants to get everything in one go, all set up, but I could not find accelerators there (and someone said it was super expensive anyways). Guess I will trawl amibay/ebay. Btw: If anybody here has one, or has a A1200 to sell with extras or know where to get one, please tell. Note: N00b factor is huge. Live in Norway. Last two facts not necessarily related.
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If you're wanting a fairly hassle free setup, I'd say go with the recomendation. It looks fairly sound.
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Your plasma TV will probably do a decent job of upscaling and deinterlacing the A1200's composite output on its own. Try it out before investing in an Indivision (which is awesome, if you need it). Your set may also accept the A1200's RGB output without modification.
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Your plasma TV will probably do a decent job of upscaling and deinterlacing the A1200's composite output on its own. Try it out before investing in an Indivision (which is awesome, if you need it). Your set may also accept the A1200's RGB output without modification.
Good advice. Thanx.
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Guessing I would also need the Intellivision AGA thingy as I would love to put it on my plasma.
I too would love to play Intellivision on an AGA machine, but I think you meant Indivision... :lol:
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A 8MB RAM card is all you need for WHDLoad, if you can find one of those instead of an accelerator, they cost far less. 4MB would be fine too, and you can use a PCMCIA SRAM card to add another 2-4MB if you need to.
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@Cammy
The Amiga 1200 is a 32-bit computer, so installing a 16-bit SRAM PCMCIA card will have an adverse effect on system performance.
It is better to use a trapdoor expansion / accelerator which is 32-bit especially as many WHDLoad Slaves require higher performance than a stock A1200 can provide. A good example is Chaos Engine AGA (WHDLoad) which unfortunately is very laggy on a vanilla A1200.
However, your advice would be valid for an unaccelerated A600 as this is a 16-bit system.
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@amigakit
Truesay. Also, the A1200 PCMCIA slot should be kept free for more useful expansions.
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My advice was to purchase a 8MB trapdoor RAM expansion, or at least a 4MB one, which will be sufficient for most WHDLoad games, but if more RAM is needed a 2-4MB SRAM card can be used as well, when it's needed.
I can understand that you're only trying to sell the products you have in stock, but there's no need to attempt to prove my advice wrong by twisting around what I said.
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My advice was to purchase a 8MB trapdoor RAM expansion, or at least a 4MB one, which will be sufficient for most WHDLoad games, but if more RAM is needed a 2-4MB SRAM card can be used as well, when it's needed.
I can understand that you're only trying to sell the products you have in stock, but there's no need to attempt to prove my advice wrong by twisting around what I said.
I don't amigakit was twisting your advice, he was simply pointing out that installing RAM in the PCMCIA slot of an A1200 is not really a good idea as it is significantly slower than trapdoor memory.
For most WHDload titles, 4MB in the trapdoor ought to be enough, leaving the 4MB PCMCIA space free for other expansions that would be more useful perhaps than a slow RAM expansion.
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Well that's the great thing about PCMCIA isn't it, you can easily pull the card out and stick a different one in. I'm sure having a spare SRAM card as well as a CF/SD card adapter and a network card is handy, I have them all myself and it's really not that much effort to swap them over when I need to.
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Not just slower in terms of the bus used, but, at least when I used a squirrel interface running data through that port absolutely hammered the cpu, even with an 040 running the show.
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@Cammy
It is not a case of selling the items we have in stock- it is important to give factual and accurate advise to our customers. If we misrepresent a product, it will result in a product return which is not advantageous to anyone, so we are always careful to give valid answers.
I have re-read my reply and cannot see anywhere where I have "twisted" what you have said.
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...all she said in regards to 16-bit RAM is 'if you need to'. Which actually, after 4mb FAST and 2MB chip, would be extremely rare and okay to use "in a pinch" for the few games that might need it.
I thought her advice was sound, logical and economical. If I only wanted an A1200 to play games, I too would forego the 030 and seek a 4mb or 8mb trapdoor solution. Money would be better spent putting toward an Indivision or something else. IMO.
The OP was looking for affirmation or other ideas, else he wouldn't have posted. If money is no object, then yes - an 030 is a nice thing to have, especially with the extra RAM. And he wouldn't have to bugger tracking down a different RAM solution either. :)
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However, your advice would be valid for an unaccelerated A600 as this is a 16-bit system.
This implies my advice about using a 8MB Trapdoor RAM expansion for WHDLoad games being sufficient is invalid. Your post was directed at me as if you were making a correction to what I had advised, which wasn't incorrect to begin with.
I never recommended SRAM as the sole RAM expansion for an A1200, only as an addition if a 4MB trapdoor expansion is used and is insufficient memory for a particular game, which in most cases is only needed for preloading multiple disk games that nearly all only require a 68000.
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All good, the recommendations.
I would add some s-video solution, so you could connect to a LCDTV / Monitor.
Might just hold on for the AGA MiniMig to come out - perfect!
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Lots of useful comments and clarifications. Never had a retailer post advice to a customer enquiry before. Cool. And an almost as cool miniwar following, for some sunday night drama :)
Kind of want blizzardy thingy. Anyone got any idea of a good performance, price combo? And did I read somewhere that not all versions fit because of.. space issues and heat? Bet those last ones are overkill and not something for me anyhow.
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You could use all Blizzard cards like the Blizzard 1260, 1220/4, 1230 and even a 1240 desktop version from DCE. Other cards like Blizzard 1240T(ower) version and the Blizzard PPC cards don't fit in without heavy modification of your A1200 like putting in a tower.
If you could get a Blizzard 1240 desktop or 1260 version, then you need a beefier PSU like the lightweight A500 PSU version.
There is a memory expansion from Blizzard 1200/4. It looks the same as a 1220/4, but without a 020@28 Mhz processor on it.
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Kind of want blizzardy thingy. Anyone got any idea of a good performance, price combo? And did I read somewhere that not all versions fit because of.. space issues and heat? Bet those last ones are overkill and not something for me anyhow.
Get a 1230 IV Blizzard 030 @ 50 mhz and with 64 MB ram on it.
If you have an old pc lying somewhere with 64MB EDO ram you can take it out there and put it on the Blizzard, then you could buy one with less ram which may be a bit less expensive, but they sell at around 150 euros or 200 US dollars, 130 Uk pound, 220 AU Dollars.
I've got 2 of them, but the get quite hot so you will have to get some cooling in there, a 40mm by 40mm Scythe Mini Kaze LED will provide some cooling, you can screw this on the standing up holder within the trapdoor bay, wont be easy, but it will draw some air from the diskdrive side.
But better is to towerize it like Amiga1260 said, you could then slap a cooling block on it and a processor cooler.
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I just ordered a GVP-M Typhoon 68030-40Mhz with 16MB RAM for my A1200. Can't wait for it to come in so I can start using WHDLOAD. Hoping this will be a big upgrade over my stock A1200HD.
:-)
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Get a 1230 IV Blizzard ...
I've got 2 of them, but the get quite hot so you will have to get some cooling in there, ...
Blizzard MkIV does not require any cooling.
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Blizzard MkIV does not require any cooling.
So who is correct? Cooling or not cooling? This is not cool :roflmao:
Would something like this (http://amibay.com/showthread.php?t=5548&highlight=blizzard+1230) need a tower or extra cooling? I really don´t want to towerize to preserve the classic amiga look.
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No, that card doesn't require any cooling, it will fit inside the desktop case with no problems. It will also make your Amiga powerful enough to be used for online games like Dynamite, and make it perfect for multimedia presentation software and game creation software like Backbone.
An Amiga with a 68030 can do so much more than games, if you do get an accelerator you should look into all the creativity software available, and maybe try and bring it online for more fun.
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So who is correct? Cooling or not cooling? This is not cool :roflmao:
I am, unless you live somewhere really really hot (50-60C air temperature?).
(http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/4871/mkiv.th.jpg) (http://img718.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mkiv.jpg)
Yes, that is a 68882 in there too. The RAM is "only" 32MB, there are another 8 chips on the other side. The trapdoor clips home sweetly. Additional cooling is not required.
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LCD/Plasma TVs still have SCART or Component input right? So why are people talking about composite and s-video signals....just use the native 15.5khz RGB signal (in the EU SCART plugs straight in...in NTSC land you may need a connector to bridge from Component/SCART etc dunno). Leave RF/Composite/YC for the CRTs of this world :)
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just use the native 15.5khz RGB signal
15.6KHz PAL, 15.72KHz NTSC.
My CRT TV has SCART and "S-Video" (aka Y/C or L/C) as well as composite and UHF. Most of the S-Video fans are in the US, where they don't have SCART.
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A semi cheap A1200 040/060 card can be bought for ~$100 to $200 on eBay. Works great with WHDLoad, I should know I have one with 64MB. (Which is overkill)
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No, that card doesn't require any cooling, it will fit inside the desktop case with no problems. It will also make your Amiga powerful enough to be used for online games like Dynamite, and make it perfect for multimedia presentation software and game creation software like Backbone.
An Amiga with a 68030 can do so much more than games, if you do get an accelerator you should look into all the creativity software available, and maybe try and bring it online for more fun.
Sounds fantastic really. Gonna see if I can get it, even though it seemed kinda expensive. But getting the Amiga online with workbench 3.1 seems troublesome (though awesome) from searching the forum. A reason for getting get 3.9?
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I am, unless you live somewhere really really hot (50-60C air temperature?).
(http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/4871/mkiv.th.jpg) (http://img718.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mkiv.jpg)
Yes, that is a 68882 in there too. The RAM is "only" 32MB, there are another 8 chips on the other side. The trapdoor clips home sweetly. Additional cooling is not required.
Northern part of Norway is not famous for it's hot weather. This weekend I went cross country skiing. Ah :) Should be perfect accellerator weather right now.
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Has anyone put together an all in one Amiga internet package? If they haven't someone should post one to Aminet.
I started with all in one package thankfully given to me free by the Amiga store guy. Otherwise I would have had to pour over tutorials and hunt down obscure software.
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Have hit the motherload it seems. Can get this from the same seller:
A1200 White and pretty case, it's like new old stock
Blizzard 1230 IV with 64MB Ram
4GB CF HD
PCMCIA Transfer Kit with 256MB Ram CF Card
Original Commodore A1200 mouse LIKE NEW WHITE
Amiga RGB to SCART cable
2 Joysticks
Gonna go for it I guess :) Cheaper than buying from amigakit (who are awesome and helpful btw. they'll probably hear from me later), but most important is that everything is set up and shipped without me destroying anything building it all. Seriously. I have gremlins in my fingers.
Could also upgrade the accellerator to the 1260 model. Tempting but It was worth more than everything on the list. Could also get a 1084s, but I don't think I can afford much more right now.
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Hi!
I Answer in norwegian, since it probably is a little easier for a beginner =)
Det ser ut som du har truffet blink på det oppsettet du har der, jeg har nogenlunde det samme, jeg har bare 32 mb ram på 1230´n, men det holder i bøtter og spann til Whdload.
Jeg har også Indivision Aga, men det er kun fordi jeg bruker en pc-skjerm som ikke har compositt-inngang. Så du trenger ikke det med første hvis du skal bruke en tv.
Er den Amiga´n du har der norsk? Hvis ikke, selger de nye norske tastatur på Amigakit, så du får Æ,Ø og Å.
Sjekk også ut http://polarboing.com/, super norsk side med C64 og Amiga-Stuff. Kjøpte Blizzarden min derfra, av en hyggelig kar. Mener jeg ga en 1000-lapp komplett med rammen. Dukker opp noen kule ting der fra tid til annen på Kjøp/Salg-forumet. =)
Uansett, lykke til, Bare å spørre hvis du lurer på noe, har noen år på baken med Amiga. Er endel andre norske brukere her inne også, som sitter på mye bra kunnskap.
Mvh
Kvist
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There are people in this forum who will glue cooling fins to anything and do. You will know them because of the ANTEC neon fan attached to their forehead.
:)
So who is correct? Cooling or not cooling? This is not cool :roflmao:
Would something like this (http://amibay.com/showthread.php?t=5548&highlight=blizzard+1230) need a tower or extra cooling? I really don´t want to towerize to preserve the classic amiga look.
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Hi!
I Answer in norwegian, since it probably is a little easier for a beginner =)
Det ser ut som du har truffet blink på det oppsettet du har der, jeg har nogenlunde det samme, jeg har bare 32 mb ram på 1230´n, men det holder i bøtter og spann til Whdload.
Jeg har også Indivision Aga, men det er kun fordi jeg bruker en pc-skjerm som ikke har compositt-inngang. Så du trenger ikke det med første hvis du skal bruke en tv.
Er den Amiga´n du har der norsk? Hvis ikke, selger de nye norske tastatur på Amigakit, så du får Æ,Ø og Å.
Sjekk også ut http://polarboing.com/, super norsk side med C64 og Amiga-Stuff. Kjøpte Blizzarden min derfra, av en hyggelig kar. Mener jeg ga en 1000-lapp komplett med rammen. Dukker opp noen kule ting der fra tid til annen på Kjøp/Salg-forumet. =)
Uansett, lykke til, Bare å spørre hvis du lurer på noe, har noen år på baken med Amiga. Er endel andre norske brukere her inne også, som sitter på mye bra kunnskap.
Mvh
Kvist
Didn´t know my english was that crappy ;)
Men ja :) Har vært innom polarboing tilbake i tid. Glemte vel av stedet da jeg først hørte at amigakit solgte nye-gamle maskiner og alt det der.
Men fint å få bekrefta at oppsettet ser greit ut. Hvordan OS kjører du og hvilke viktige programmer er det man trenger for tiden. Eneste jeg husker fra gamledager er directory opus :) Nå som jeg har fått alt av hardware, må jeg vel tenke på hvordan det blir å bruke maskinen. Gleder meg sykt.
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There are people in this forum who will glue cooling fins to anything and do. You will know them because of the ANTEC neon fan attached to their forehead.
:)
Haha. I think captain Picard was talking to one the other day on tv.
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Getting online with OS3.1 is easy if you use Miami Deluxe. AmiTCP is the tough one to configure, unless you use the later version called Genesis with 3.9, but Miami still seems better anyway.
Miami Deluxe is available on Aminet here: http://aminet.net/package/comm/tcp/MiamiDx10cmain
The freely available keyfile is here: http://www.fatcat.vispa.com/keyring/
AmiTCP isn't all that hard to install and configure either, and it's a learning experience getting it done.
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There are people in this forum who will glue cooling fins to anything and do. You will know them because of the ANTEC neon fan attached to their forehead.
:)
damn wish I had cooling fins on my head ! especially when the Mrs. is in nagging mode:roflmao:
btw, cooling is a cpu's best friend:)
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There are days when it's so hot I wish I had one of these solar powered fan caps:
(http://www.uniquedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/fan-hat-ii.jpg)
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AmiTCP isn't all that hard to install and configure either, and it's a learning experience getting it done.
I heard that some ISPs were incompatible with Genesis due to the way it acquired its network settings. BT Internet was one iirc.
Either way, I would sooner use MiamiDX.
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The guy I'm buying the lot for has offered to sell a motorola 50hz coprocessor for the a1230 IV. Necessary? Worth it?
As a reminder I'm getting:
A1200 White and pretty case
Blizzard 1230 IV with 64MB Ram
4GB CF HD
PCMCIA Transfer Kit with 256MB Ram CF Card
Original Commodore A1200 mouse
Amiga RGB to SCART cable
2 Joysticks
Ps. Thanks for all the help. Wonderful forum experience so far here on what is still my first week on amiga.org :afro:
PS and not really related: Also added some games to the collection now. Seller seems to have a warehouse of amiga goodies. Looking to get good copies of:
Dune II (compl. ENG)
F-19 (compl. english)
Lemmings (compl. ENG)
Monkey Island 2 (compl. English)
Monkey Island KIXX (compl. english)
North & South (compl. ENG)
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If you're playing games the 50(Mhz I assume) coprocessor isn't gonna make much difference. Maybe for "Frontier".
It looks like you're lining up all good stuff. An 8GB CF HD will give you more space for more WHDLOAD games onboard..(SANDisk Ultra II 8GB)
If you're tossing up lining up with Cammy's advice or Amigakits advice just remember Cammy has a mean roundhouse kick. (o:
BTW: I think your English is fantastic. Infinity times better than my Norwegian.
Gertsy
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If you're playing games the 50(Mhz I assume) coprocessor isn't gonna make much difference. Maybe for "Frontier".
It looks like you're lining up all good stuff. An 8GB CF HD will give you more space for more WHDLOAD games onboard..(SANDisk Ultra II 8GB)
If you're tossing up lining up with Cammy's advice or Amigakits advice just remember Cammy has a mean roundhouse kick. (o:
BTW: I think your English is fantastic. Infinity times better than my Norwegian.
Gertsy
Have decided to skip the fpu. Thanx for advice from u and others :)
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I would always have an FPU in case of math-intensive apps used in the future. Gives you more power when running certain demos, doing ray-tracing etc.
On the subject of going online with AmiTCP. I used to think it was hard to use until I found a guide and expanded on it to talk about wifi, although it works just as well for wired LAN cards.
Link (http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=26191&forum=25)
I prefer using AmiTCP because it is less resource hungry than Miami/Genesis. Trust me is not as scary to configure as you hear.
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Hi all. It took some time, but I finally opened the package that finally arrived today with my A1200 and some games :) Some of the game boxes are crushed, but everything else seems ok. But:
When I connect it to my plasma (Pananasonic PV60), regardless of scart port, the screen just goes grayish white. Kind of looks like the signal comes from the Amiga though, but nothing happens so I don´t really know.
The Amiga came with something that looks like a home made cable that I put into the wide, serial-looking port marked "video" on the amiga. Any thoughts on troubleshooting?
Ps. At the end of the cable, near the scart plug, it also has an additional wire sticking out, ending with two audio plugs of the regular kind. Is there any sound coming through the video port anyways? Seems weird. Tried to put the cables into the red/white audio input on my tv after switching on the power, but only got a weird sound that got louder and louder, even if I turned off the power from the Amiga.
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cammys only trying to help this user (2-4MB if you need to)
this amiga is for old games not os 4.
however amigakit you are right about 32-bit and it needed saying.
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Ps. At the end of the cable, near the scart plug, it also has an additional wire sticking out, ending with two audio plugs of the regular kind. Is there any sound coming through the video port anyways? Seems weird. Tried to put the cables into the red/white audio input on my tv after switching on the power, but only got a weird sound that got louder and louder, even if I turned off the power from the Amiga.
Seems more likely those audio connectors should go into the Amiga. The Amiga video port does not carry audio (afaik), but the SCART connector does.