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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: save2600 on September 07, 2011, 10:48:57 PM
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Incredibly difficult decision and hell, may just end up keeping both. Was leaning toward letting the A3000 go, but... which would you do?
I really like the user-serviceable friendly aspect of the A2000. Socketed chips, it's large case that holds 2 floppies, any Zorro II cards and a SCSI CD drive internally are also great features. Also like how the monitor sits up higher on the A2000... much better viewing than the A3000. I have a nice sized HD in my A2000, any Kickstart in ROM I want and a 28mhz SupraTurbo accelerator that seems to do a fantastic job with everything I've ever thrown at it. Games and apps that benefit from the speedup all seem to run just as fast as the 25mhz 030 in my A3000.
The A3000 naturally has the 030 processor and I've also got a Deneb card with it. I definitely wouldn't want an A3000 without USB at this point, but the A2000 with its CD drive is enough for when I want to transfer things to and fro my modern computer. I no longer use the Amiga to get online, but if I did, Deneb surely comes in handy for that as well. No longer interested in running an OS higher than 3.1 on a legacy machine, so both machines are well suited for that. Oh, and I could care less about Amber for the time being while all my C= monitors are working anyway. lol The high density drive is of little or no use to me as well.
Kind of at a crossroads here. Neither machine sees much use, so am thinking I should get rid of one. But if I do, I want it to be monetarily worth it or take something in on trade I would actually use. Originally, I was thinking of letting go of the A3000, since it's a more desirable machine which means that it'll fetch more money. I love the looks of the little bugger though and its keyboard is oh so sexy.
I've got spare motherboards, power supplies, mice and keyboards for both machines, so keeping 'em alive for the duration won't be too difficult.
Which would you be more likely to let go?
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I recently sold my A4000 and kept my A3000 if that's of any help to you?
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I recently sold my A4000 and kept my A3000 if that's of any help to you?
hmmm... are you using a gfx card nicholas?
in regard to the original question, keep the A3000. can't see any reason you'd want to keep the 2000. Zorro 3 plus VGA passthrough for games is an unbeatable combination.
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Personally I'd sell the 2000. At least in NZ 3000s are a rare find...2000s fall from the skies in comparison. If you change your mind it'll be easier to find a cheap 2000 I'd have thought in most areas than a 3000.
Keep the 3000 !! :)
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I recently sold my A4000 and kept my A3000 if that's of any help to you?
Yeah, all input is welcome. Objectivity regarding the OCS/ECS machines is good. Like I said, I'm not 100% sure which way to go yet, if any. I too don't care to own an AGA machine per se and the machines I do own see very little use outside of the occasional and very limited game time. I keep telling myself I'll do something more "productive", but we're going on years now and nothing! lol
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hmmm... are you using a gfx card nicholas?
Yeah, Picasso IV.
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Yeah, all input is welcome. Objectivity is good. Like I said, I'm not 100% sure which way to go yet, if any. I too don't care to own an AGA machine per se and the machines I do own see very little use outside of the occasional and very limited game time. I keep telling myself I'll do something more "productive", but we're going on years now and nothing! lol
I know that feeling all too well! :lol:
I have an A1200/060 for my WHDLoad fix so I don't really miss the A4000.
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I can't vote on this poll your interests and mine conflict.
Selling the 3000 would be faster and more profitable. I know I'd be interested, but that may not be best for you.
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I'd keep the A2000 assuming it is an ECS model. The A3000 might have the built in SDFF and Z3 slots, but the A2000 has more space inside for expansions. Also, as you have a CPU card I assume you have SCSI on that which is probably better than then SCSI on the A3000.
My A3000 sits on a shelf while my A2000 and A4000 get played with.
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I'd keep the A2000 assuming it is an ECS model. The A3000 might have the built in SDFF and Z3 slots, but the A2000 has more space inside for expansions. Also, as you have a CPU card I assume you have SCSI on that which is probably better than then SCSI on the A3000.
Yeah, I'm not really interested in the best performance anymore. If I was, I would have kept my super souped up A2500 with its 060, CV64/3D, OS3.9 blah, blah, blah setup.
And yes, the A2000 is ECS and has a 2091 SCSI card. 6mb of RAM and a 1GB HD. Even have a MegaChip I might keep and throw in there if I sell the A3000. The SupraTurbo is not a conventional accelerator as it's just a faster 68000 with lots of cache RAM. Great accelerator though for the money. Especially considering the cost.
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I'd keep the A3000 just because it takes up less space if you're really not using it very much and it has 31khz video out and Zorro III. Less room to expand, true but you don't need a lot of boards to have a good setup. I've got just 3 good ones in my A4000: a Toaster 4000, a Picasso II and a Fastlane Z3. All I really need in the Zorro department. If you sold the A2000 and put a A3640 in your A3000 with some of the money, you'd have a lot faster machine.
I seem to be cursed with A3000s. A few years ago, I was trying to buy one and every deal fell through and I saw an A4000 Video Toaster on ebay, put one bid on it and won it and a whole lot of extra Amiga hardware and just gave up on the A3000 and have been happy with it ever since.
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To me, the A3000 takes up more space and there's more wires by the time you add an external floppy and CD drive. One of the reasons I won't deal with a wedge system Amiga anymore. Not an issue though if I kept the A3000, 'cause I'd have Deneb to handle what I'd be doing on CD-ROM :)
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To me, the A3000 takes up more space and there's more wires by the time you add an external floppy and CD drive. One of the reasons I won't deal with a wedge system Amiga anymore. Not an issue though if I kept the A3000, 'cause I'd have Deneb to handle what I'd be doing on CD-ROM :)
I have a Deneb+USB Ethernet and Audio, Picasso IV and a CSMK2/060/SCSI in my A3000, plus external SCSI DVD-RW and two external floppy drives.
I can't think of anything else I'd add to it.
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It doesn't sound like you do any real serious work with your Amiga. If it is pretty basic use and the occasional game, the A2000 might be the best one to keep.
Is the A3000 up to date chip wise? (so there are no Zorro III issues, etc) and stuffed full of RAM? If yes, maybe I would keep the A3000.
Do you still have the A1000? That would make a difference in my final decision too.
I would most likely keep them all!
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Is the A3000 up to date chip wise? (so there are no Zorro III issues, etc) and stuffed full of RAM? If yes, maybe I would keep the A3000.
Do you still have the A1000? That would make a difference in my final decision too.
I would most likely keep them all!
Oh yeah, ain't letting go of my (2) A1000's and all their expansions just yet :)
I'd have to take another look inside the A3000, but I'm 99% sure it has Buster 11 and everything else is pretty much up to date. 8mb Zip RAM, 2mb Chip. No ZIII issues after the latest Deneb firmware update.
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The 2000 is ugly, ditch it and keep the 3000.
I only see the point of owning 2 classic Amiga's. The 1200 for games and demos and a 3000 if you want to play with some RTG productivity stuff or play RTG games (eg Curse of Monkey Island (http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=u6aChpQNQxo)).
;)
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I said the 3000, just because if you are going to sell one, it will net you the most money. You can't get what the 2000s are worth it seems these days.
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Selling my A3000 was the worst decision I have ever made. I'd keep it. To date its the best made Amiga ever built. Its fast, has nearly the same expandability and is much nicer to look at. Mine was in a Mirage 3000 tower, had a mediator on it and a PPC/060 accelerator. I cringe at the money I threw away on that thing. It was sold for what I needed to get the Pegasos II when it came out for exactly what I need for all the parts for that thing. I then saw it torn down and sold for parts for a huge profit by the guy that told me it was his dream system and only sold to him because I thought he would take care of it like I would.
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Which would you be more likely to let go?
I had a really nice A2000 back in the day.
PP&H 040/28MHZ, 32mb 32bit ram, CV643D, GVP4008 SCSI with GURUROM (4MB RAM), Hydra Ethernet.
My ancient revision 4.0 A2000 was super stable and quite fast once the Kickstart and workbench was relocated to 32BIT ram. It was actually quite a bit faster than a stock 4000.
Everyone I knew with 3000 and 4000s were always needing some magical combination of busters and dmacs to get a stable system. At the time said I was very happy not dealing with that drama, but sure I would have traded my 2000 for a similarly configured 3000 :)
Between the 2000 and 3000 I'd still pick the 3000, partially because I have never had one.
Other than that, the faster Z-III bus and built in flicker fixer would be the selling point.
I really don't see one significantly better than the other. The are both pretty ugly on the outside bu today's standards - not sleek and modern like the wedge computers :)
If you are not doing this for financially motivated reasons, Have you ever thought of unloading both and putting together a 4000?
Everyone comments on how worthless of an upgrade AGA was.
I remember reading about the specs on ECS when it came out and was truly underwhelmed. About the only good news there is that existing computers could be upgraded.
AGA on the other hand is a significant improvement with 8bpp in any mode and 4X the speed.
Lots of cool stuff will use AGA but not a GFX board. Paint programs, etc. I love watching AGA demos on my 1200 :)
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I've had A4000's and A1200's up the yin-yang. Meh. Not impressed with AGA, surface mounted chips, weak power supplies, external peripherals and backwards/exploding/acid leaking caps. Again, not interested in the AGA machines, outside of a CD32 for games - 'maybe'. Wedgies are for spuds that still wear whitey tidies and the A4000 is the ugliest, most utilitarian looking Amiga C= ever pooped out. :lol:
Joking aside, as mentioned in the marketplace, I may be interested in trading the 3000 for a nice CD32 collection if anyone would be so inclined.
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I have a soft spot for my A2000... its been my most reliable Amiga
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Wedgies are for spuds that still wear whitey tidies and the A4000 is the ugliest, most utilitarian looking Amiga C= ever pooped out.
I do like the wedge computers. I would argue that aesthetically the 1200 and 600 look better than the 500.
On the other hand, the A1000 has a really nice uniquely designed case. I thought that the keyboard bay and smaller (phone style) keyboard jack were a nice touch. I my opinion, The the 2000, 3000 and finally the 4000 became progressively more ugly. At least the 2000 has purpose - expand ability.
If Commodore would have stayed in business the 5000 would have looked like a toilet equipped with a fold down keyboard door. the Commode-door Amiga!
And if you don't like unreliable flaky crap with backwards capacitors, stay away from NTSC CD32s.
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Personally, I don't even think there is a contest here. The 2000 should stay. The 3000 is a nice machine, but, it was always the orphan with very little hardware support. On the other hand, everything worth while ever made, was made for the 2000.
Not sure about other models, but, my 030/25 3000 was a dog compared to an GVP 030/25 A2000 that I currently use. Also, the onboard SCSI isn't really that great either. All of this taken into consideration, plus the pain of zip rams and lack of real estate inside the case, and the A3000 is a nice looking machine, with not much going for it.
I will admit, the 15 pin VGA out is nice, but, with the availability of scan doublers from places like AmigaKit which fully support the A2000, that's really not a selling point.
The good news is, you are correct that you can fetch a kingly sum for the 3000 because for some reason people slobber over these machines and are willing to pay big bucks for them.
If it were a 3000T, that would be different.
I also should mention that I am an A2000 nut, and have owned many of them over the years. So, I am a bit biased. ;-)
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wow,you couldn't be more wrong.an orphan? every zorro2/3 card that works in a 4000 works in the 3000,short of a few accelerators that just dont clear drive bays.A2000 zorro2 cards will work in it(but who wants these slow cards).The same floppy in the 2000 will fit the 3000,just remove the bezel..except many 3000's came with HD floppies which was a plus.. the 3000 is a full 32bit with zorro3. its faster than the 2000 in every way. the 3000 030/25 is not slower than a A2000 030/25.
The on board scsi works just fine-short of some which had term power diodes soldered in backwards. i've used mine with everything from cd changers,burners,ZIP,syquest and about every kind of hard drive imaginable not to mention the scsi cd card readers i sell. i'll give you the zip ram,but thats why there was the amifast zip to simm boards,so you could use simms. Better yet a real accelerator with 64/128 fast ram and even faster scsi.Stick a gfx card in that 2k and it will crawl on zorro2 especially in any 24bit res.if all you do is play games,it doesn't matter.
The case is cramped though,its not the best design.
So basically 90% of the stuff you said was typical misinformation,the 3000 outclasses the 2000 on ram access,zorro3 speed,fast accelerator support and can use any card the 2000 can,short of A2K accelerators,which are not needed. Your right,you are biased,you certainly ignore the facts as far as i can tell.Are you doomy's brother?:lol:
Btw,most people who run their 3000 without a battery cant put the scsi in synchronous mode,which is good for a nice speed boost because the battery keeps the scsi settings NVram from being lost.
Mech
Personally, I don't even think there is a contest here. The 2000 should stay. The 3000 is a nice machine, but, it was always the orphan with very little hardware support. On the other hand, everything worth while ever made, was made for the 2000.
Not sure about other models, but, my 030/25 3000 was a dog compared to an GVP 030/25 A2000 that I currently use. Also, the onboard SCSI isn't really that great either. All of this taken into consideration, plus the pain of zip rams and lack of real estate inside the case, and the A3000 is a nice looking machine, with not much going for it.
I will admit, the 15 pin VGA out is nice, but, with the availability of scan doublers from places like AmigaKit which fully support the A2000, that's really not a selling point.
The good news is, you are correct that you can fetch a kingly sum for the 3000 because for some reason people slobber over these machines and are willing to pay big bucks for them.
If it were a 3000T, that would be different.
I also should mention that I am an A2000 nut, and have owned many of them over the years. So, I am a bit biased. ;-)
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Btw,most people who run their 3000 without a battery cant put the scsi in synchronous mode,which is good for a nice speed boost because the battery keeps the scsi settings NVram from being lost.
The 3000 SCSI is very good for 50 pin SCSI. I get 4.5 MB/s with synchronous and newer revision SCSI chip which is as good as it gets without "fast" 50 pin SCSI. It is low CPU usage and fast booting. It's better than a 2091 with upgraded SCSI chip in a 2000 with 030.
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For any strange reason the A3000 never call my attention, :angry: alway i saw the A3000 as any hybrid model, in middle A2000 and A4000, but you know if you need most money as possible, The better Amiga will give to you more money maybe the A3000.
But if you want some of money and keep any Amiga with regular perfomance, then the A3000 will be any good option starting becouse are 030 machine. Other good point for the A3000 its the VGA option, then, you can use with any conventional monitor.
Now, if your A2000 have extra hardware, like accelerator, memory, scandoubler, or any other thing, keep the A2000 and put away the A3000.
Keep update which are the final decision-
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I had a really nice A2000 back in the day.
My ancient revision 4.0 A2000 was super stable and quite fast once the Kickstart and workbench was relocated to 32BIT ram. It was actually quite a bit faster than a stock 4000.
Comparing a accelerated machine to a stock machine,i should hope it was. of course you still ignore the expansion A2000 zorro bus which was quite slower.maybe a stock A4000 compared to a stock 2000 makes more sense. i wonder what wins? :roflmao:
Everyone I knew with 3000 and 4000s were always needing some magical combination of busters and dmacs to get a stable system. At the time said I was very happy not dealing with that drama, but sure I would have traded my 2000 for a similarly configured 3000 :)
More Misinformation being spread. the A3000 is quite stable with the lesser dmac 2 and ramsey4. Buster 11 was the more important upgrade especially from buster rev 7 or lower the old boards came with,it enabled fully working zorro3.
The A4000 didnt have a dmac/ramsey trouble. Maybe you shouldnt listen to this so called everyone person.Most 4000's came with buster 9 or 11.
Between the 2000 and 3000 I'd still pick the 3000, partially because I have never had one.
Other than that, the faster Z-III bus and built in flicker fixer would be the selling point.
I really don't see one significantly better than the other. The are both pretty ugly on the outside bu today's standards - not sleek and modern like the wedge computers :)
If you are not doing this for financially motivated reasons, Have you ever thought of unloading both and putting together a 4000?
Everyone comments on how worthless of an upgrade AGA was.
I remember reading about the specs on ECS when it came out and was truly underwhelmed. About the only good news there is that existing computers could be upgraded.
AGA on the other hand is a significant improvement with 8bpp in any mode and 4X the speed.
Lots of cool stuff will use AGA but not a GFX board. Paint programs, etc. I love watching AGA demos on my 1200 :)
Now the above you said is good information.AGA is usefull if you like aga games. and 256 colors was better than 16.AGA is no slower than ECS.
to get back on track and not hijack the thread,keep the 3000 if you want to keep the best machine,and sell the 2000. Sell the 3000 if you need the most money and keep the 2000 ;)
Mech
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To me, the A3000 takes up more space and there's more wires by the time you add an external floppy and CD drive. One of the reasons I won't deal with a wedge system Amiga anymore. Not an issue though if I kept the A3000, 'cause I'd have Deneb to handle what I'd be doing on CD-ROM :)
you can add a second floppy inside the 3k you know ;)pull one out of the 2k and remove the front drive bezel.
no getting around the cdrom :cry:
The deneb is nice.i wish i had been able to afford 1 or 2 more before they disappeared.
Mech
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I had this exact dilemma a few months ago. I sold the A2000 and kept the A3000.
As I see it, the only advantages the A2000 has are an internal 5.25" drive bay and better support for bridgeboards or RTCs.
The A2000 has lots more slots, but only 5 Zorro ones. One more than the A3000, but you've probably used the extra one for a SCSI card anyway!
With some jiggery-pokery, you can swap in an ECS Denise and 2MB ChipRAM on an A2000 and have full ECS support, but the A3000 comes with this as standard.
Just my 2ยข on the matter.
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I voted A2000. Only because they are easier to replace. But it really depends on what you still use your amiga for. A3000 is a better machine than the A2000 if you dont care about internal expandability. especialy with USB.
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you can add a second floppy inside the 3k you know ;)pull one out of the 2k and remove the front drive bezel.
Mech
Of course! Not exactly an economical proposition though. For the cost of another internal proper A3000 drive (no bezel cutting), I can buy a full A2000 system. :lol:
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I think 3000s look better with just one floppy drive myself, the one in the middle.
If money is the goal, sell the A3000; if you just want one less system, sell the A2000. I'm happy to be in an A2000-free house these days.
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Incredibly difficult decision and hell, may just end up keeping both. Was leaning toward letting the A3000 go, but... which would you do?
I just bought an A3000D. Its beautiful! ;-)
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Of course! Not exactly an economical proposition though. For the cost of another internal proper A3000 drive (no bezel cutting), I can buy a full A2000 system. :lol:
the 2000 drive fits in a 3000 perfectly with no bezel cutting, you just need the to install a 3000 button on it ;)
but i guess were getting off track,you have a important decision to make ;)
good luck! mech
:eek:Subliminal message: keep the 3000:eek:
:eek:Subliminal message: keep the 3000:eek:
:eek:Subliminal message: keep the 3000:eek:
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the 2000 drive fits in a 3000 perfectly with no bezel cutting, you just need the to install a 3000 button on it ;)
LOL! Happen to have any of *those* just laying around? :lol:
I agree with Tone too. Something about the singular drive in the middle, looks pretty sharp. If the 3000 ends up being my main Amiga, I would want it to be outfitted with two drives though.
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Kinda like comparing :banana: :banana: and ORANGES , but not.
If the A3000 is a battleship, the A2000 is a freakin' aircraft carrier. ;)
Dang tough desion really. Each machine has it's own merits and faults and it's applicable uses and ultimately boils down to personal preference.
Good luck with your decision.
Oh, didn't vote, not a registered voter...
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LOL! Happen to have any of *those* just laying around? :lol:
I agree with Tone too. Something about the singular drive in the middle, looks pretty sharp. If the 3000 ends up being my main Amiga, I would want it to be outfitted with two drives though.
They come up from time to time. I bought a second drive for my A3000 from Amibay for not much more than a standard FB-354.
There's also a guy who's organizing a group-buy of replacement eject buttons, so you could graft one on to any old spare 354.
http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?t=18691
Don't get me wrong, I really do respect the A2000, but I have far more love for the A3000. :)
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There's also a guy who's organizing a group-buy of replacement eject buttons, so you could graft one on to any old spare 354.
http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?t=18691:)
Thanks Andy!
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LOL! Happen to have any of *those* just laying around? :lol:
Oh yea,many,but they just happen to be laying in the machines that use em :roflmao:
Mech
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Why not just flip a coin? Heads you keep the A3000, tails you keep the A2000!:roflmao::laughing:
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well if you have to, I think its A2000. takes more room, and is older, very common..
A3000 obvious advantages are built in VGA, HDD controller.. as other have already said.
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Well, when thinking logically, the A2000 should go. The A3000 is technically a better computer, while the A2000 would need quite some expansion to reach the performance of a standard A3000.
Otoh, I own both and if I really had to choose, I would let the A3000 go, I guess. I use the A2000 more, even if both my A2000 and A3000 are more or less comparable to each other (both have an 68040, RTG, X-surf, SCSI-harddisk and extra fast ram).
Tbh, I'ld keep both.
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Sell both and get an A4000T or alternatively an A4000. Allows you to use any Zorro expansion (Z3/Z2) and, even if you're not impressed by AGA (I'm not either), some AGA games and demos are very cool.
I'm in a similar situation myself but between an A4000D and an A4000T :) It's been ages and I never managed to decide which one to let go..:)
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Sell both and get an A4000T or alternatively an A4000. Allows you to use any Zorro expansion (Z3/Z2) and, even if you're not impressed by AGA (I'm not either), some AGA games and demos are very cool.
I'm in a similar situation myself but between an A4000D and an A4000T :) It's been ages and I never managed to decide which one to let go..:)
He has the right idea.. one thing alot of people don't realize you can do is put a switch on the 3 prong pal/ntsc header on the motherboard. run it to the back expansion plate so its easily accessable. this gives you a way to keep it in pal or ntsc at the flick of the switch for games.It also saves you from having to do it in the early start menu which defaults back each poweroff.. its easiest done on the 3000/4000's.
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Just do like me and keep'em all!
I got back into this hobby several years ago when I found a A4000 for sale cheap locally and figured that it was most evolved Amiga and one that I could never afford so I picked it up for just a nostalgic romp.
That was 7 1000's, 8 2000's, 5 3000's and 4 4000's ago not to mention a room full of hardware and let's not even get started on the 8-bit stuff! :) I got the room so I figured why not. Now if I can ever get the time to actually use them instead of fix/restore them.
Short answer...... keep both.
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I just sold an A3000 and kept my A2000.
I just like the A2000 better...partially nostalgic reasons, but partly because it's much easier to open up and fiddle around with. The A3000 runs very hot and is very crowded inside.
The A3000 is a nice computer and technically superior on paper....I just have a soft spot for the A2000. Plus it's easier to get replacement parts for and service (due to a larger, less densely pack circuit board, and it being more common on Ebay).
The A3000 I had was a little finicky with SCSI drives...it wouldn't boot properly with some internal drives and also while some external drives were hooked up (and YES I did terminate properly with both active and passive terminators).
Of course, my A2000 has a built in flicker fixer and 2MB chip ram, so that lessens the gap.
Having an internal CD-ROM drive on an A2000 is also nice.
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Thanks all for the input! After heavily weighing everything, I have decided to let the A3000 go. Any poking around I may do in the future can all be handled by the A1000 and A2000 I've got. At this point, the Amiga hobby for me really is more about nostalgia than getting any real productive use out of 'em :)
I realize most members (and by a wide margin) recommended I keep the A3000 and I appreciate that, but I know its potential and features just would not and did not get the use in my home. Time to turn her loose! The first hard decision, but as I depart from hoarding, many more goodies are going to eventually make it to marketplace.
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One thing about thinning down your collection and keeping the A2000 is that the A2000's have always had a good track record for longevity. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more A2000s still running than any other big box Amigas. So if you are going to have less Amigas then the A2000 seems a good choice.
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One thing about thinning down your collection and keeping the A2000 is that the A2000's have always had a good track record for longevity. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more A2000s still running than any other big box Amigas. So if you are going to have less Amigas then the A2000 seems a good choice.
My A2500 has been running since 1992. I did replace the motherboard once. It wasn't dead by any means but it would only recognize half the chip ram. I got a complete A2000 in bad cosmetic condition with the same motherboard revision for next to nothing which gave me the new motherboard and enough spare parts to keep it running forever. With the stock A2630 accellerator, GVP SCSI card, DKB 2632 memory expansion and A2320 Amber flicker fixer, it has just about everything an A3000 has except a Zorro III bus with more room to expand.
My A4000 has been a bit more probmatic and I had to replace the CPU card recently but it was originally owned by a technical college for video editing classes and has seen some heavy use before I got it and, all and all, is doing well for it's age and amount of use it's had. I do like using the Toaster 4000 with the AGA graphics. I had a Toaster 2000 and sold it and kept the Toaster 4000 due to the better video graphics.
I saw the A3000 listing and I would have considered buying it if I had more time and space for it but I'm in the thinning mode myself and just sold my spare Atari Mega 4 St to pay for the parts to fix my A4000.
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One thing about thinning down your collection and keeping the A2000 is that the A2000's have always had a good track record for longevity. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more A2000s still running than any other big box Amigas. So if you are going to have less Amigas then the A2000 seems a good choice.
well, that's quite obvious given their size (so the PCB tracks are wider, cooling etc..). also, iirc they are two layered PCB compared to 4layers in a4000 (or something like that).
still, leaked battery seems to influence them most. because it is near the CPU. I never had such problems with other Amigas. apart from that, they are very sturdy.
but if one has more Amigas, A2000 takes most space.. (except maybe A4000T or A3000T).
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The A2000 is sturdier and better built over all. The chips and other electronic components are either socketed or soldered in plate through holes which are a lot easier to desolder and replace than surface mounted chips.
The battery in the A4000 is right near the simm sockets, buster and other sensitive areas. I got mine out before it did much damage but I did have to clean up a bit to get it to recognize all the memory simms. The A4000's A3640 CPU card has 5 surface mounted electrolytic capacitiors and 3 are usually mounted with the polarity reversed which makes them tend to leak and cause damage. It was one of the ones with correct polarity next to the 68040 that leaked and killed my first A3640, ironically.
Of all the big box Amigas, the A4000 is the most ergonomic and space effecient. The internal 5.2" drive bay helps a lot compared to the A3000. It still takes up a lot of room but a lot less than an A2000. But, hey, the Amiga came out long before the era of laptops and way before the era of smart phones and, if you want one, you are going to have to set aside some space for it.
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@Save2600: At the end of the day, you have to do what's right for you. I do miss my A2000, but I think for me, keeping the A3000 was the right thing for me. If you've stuck with the A2000, that's awesome. :)
One thing I will point out is that the A3000 is also mostly socketed chips and through-hole as well. People often seem to forget that. The A600, A1200 and A4000 are the only SMD-based Amigas. :)