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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: blakespot on August 12, 2012, 03:07:09 PM
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I am trying to setup an A3000 system with an RTG video card to be used on a 19" Sony CRT. I have no idea which cards out there are decent / capable / well-drivered.
Can anyone lend some opinions? Thanks.
bp
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PICASSO IV (http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/picasso4)!!!
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The 3 best RTG (Zorro II/III) cards for a 3000 are:
1) Picasso IV
2) Cybervision 64
3) Cybervision 64/3D
If you don't have any other Zorro cards or ethernet then you might consider a Mediator.
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A Picasso II Would also make a nice card, but it's not as fast as the others as it's Zorro 2. Other cards to consider are the Merlin, Piccolo and Piccolo SD64 and the Spectrum 24/28. All those cards have video in so will automatically switch between the A3000s Video and Graphic card screens so would make a really nice seamless setup :-)
Robert.
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If you plan on keeping it simple with the '030, a Spectrum 24/28 is a nice little card. Passthrough for Amber, Z3, snappy performance, and clean picture quality. Piccolo SD64 would be a better performer, but they are somewhat rare. I'd steer clear of the Cybervision 64/3D, no passthrough, so you'd need two monitors or some other extra BS.
Picasso IV is hands down the best one, but it's expensive, and overkill for an '030 IMHO. It has its own scandoubler, but it can't be easily calibrated for perfect game scrolling. Some argue that the Cybervision 64 (non-3D) is best suited - performance just a bit below the Picasso IV, and it has a passthrough for Amber. That's what I run in mine.
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If you plan on keeping it simple with the '030, a Spectrum 24/28 is a nice little card. Passthrough for Amber, Z3, snappy performance, and clean picture quality. Piccolo SD64 would be a better performer, but they are somewhat rare. I'd steer clear of the Cybervision 64/3D, no passthrough, so you'd need two monitors or some other extra BS.
Maybe the Spectrum I saw a long time ago had an early driver or something because I thought it was slow in a 3000. The Zorro III mode didn't seem to add much if any performance either. The older manufactured ones had reliability problems of some part blowing up on the card. The passthrough is nice and the used price is usually good. The Cybervision 64/3D has much better 2D performance and can usually be overclocked substantially for better performance. The 3D performance is poor but way better than none. Lack of passthrough is a pain. I have a monitor with 2 inputs and an input switch on the front which is fine after getting used to it.
Picasso IV is hands down the best one, but it's expensive, and overkill for an '030 IMHO. It has its own scandoubler, but it can't be easily calibrated for perfect game scrolling. Some argue that the Cybervision 64 (non-3D) is best suited - performance just a bit below the Picasso IV, and it has a passthrough for Amber. That's what I run in mine.
I agree. The original Cybervision 64 is probably the best Zorro III Amiga 3000 card for the price and very close to the Picasso IV in a 3000.
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Reckon it comes down to the amount of cash you want to spend. Top of the line would be CSPPC + CybervisionPPC.
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You do not need to go blind on the passthru, a cheap vga switch for 10bucks will do the job just fine. Im using this one to switch to my voodoo 3 card after im done with my WHdload gaming.
Used to have a Cybervision 64/3D and that worked just fine with the vga switch.
(http://www.hiwtc.com/photo/products/8/04/91/49154.jpg)
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The 3 best RTG (Zorro II/III) cards for a 3000 are:
1) Picasso IV
2) Cybervision 64
3) Cybervision 64/3D
If you don't have any other Zorro cards or ethernet then you might consider a Mediator.
+1