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Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: lassie on August 25, 2012, 05:11:44 AM

Title: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 25, 2012, 05:11:44 AM
Hi on monday if all goes as plans, i will have my very first Amiga 1200 :) i must also admit i have never tried one before so it was about time. But i am looking forward to getting it like a little child. I could see many of you have amiga 1200 in here, and have good things to say about it, so i desided to get one. And in the future i have plans to upgrade it when there is money to it :) what upgrading do you say i should get for it when the time comes?
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: runequester on August 25, 2012, 06:16:52 AM
I'd look at:

Hard drive of some sort. Compact Flash card adapter for the IDE slot is a very easy and nice option.

Some accelerator card. A nice 030 won't be too too expensive. You'll want at the very least some fast RAM to get most out of her.

Networking or a compact flash adapter through the PCMCIA slot makes transferring files extremely easy.

It's worth upgrading the ROMs to 3.1 too, though it's not a huge deal.


Enjoy! The 1200 is an amazing machine.My candidate for one of the best computers ever made.
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 25, 2012, 06:21:31 AM
Quote from: runequester;705097
I'd look at:

Hard drive of some sort. Compact Flash card adapter for the IDE slot is a very easy and nice option.

Some accelerator card. A nice 030 won't be too too expensive. You'll want at the very least some fast RAM to get most out of her.

Networking or a compact flash adapter through the PCMCIA slot makes transferring files extremely easy.

It's worth upgrading the ROMs to 3.1 too, though it's not a huge deal.


Enjoy! The 1200 is an amazing machine.My candidate for one of the best computers ever made.


Thanks for your answer :) it is going to be cool to get a 1200, what upgrade do you have in yours?
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: amiman99 on August 25, 2012, 06:39:11 AM
Great!
When it gets released, you need to get this accelerator from AmigaKit http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1100
ACA 1220 128MB Accelerator, not much speed gain, but it comes with whooping 128MB RAM, great for WHDLOAD and more, and is under $100.
And yes, you need IDE 2 CF adapter for your HD, and PCMCIA-CF adapter for file transfers from PC to Amiga.
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: desiv on August 25, 2012, 06:40:46 AM
If you are getting a plain 1200, I'd get:

PCMCIA-CF adapter and CF card (Amigakit easyflash or. .)
IDE-CF adapter an a 4G CF card.
Whdload key
Acceleration/RAM
PCMCIA Ethernet card
FF/SD for new monitor (Indi AGA mk2 or GBS82x0)

In that order...

desiv
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 25, 2012, 06:48:27 AM
Quote from: desiv;705101
If you are getting a plain 1200, I'd get:

PCMCIA-CF adapter and CF card (Amigakit easyflash or. .)
IDE-CF adapter an a 4G CF card.
Whdload key
Acceleration/RAM
PCMCIA Ethernet card
FF/SD for new monitor (Indi AGA mk2 or GBS82x0)

In that order...

desiv


Hi thanks for your input :) do you know if 6 mb ram is good for whdload? to run most games
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 25, 2012, 06:51:29 AM
Quote from: amiman99;705100
Great!
When it gets released, you need to get this accelerator from AmigaKit http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1100
ACA 1220 128MB Accelerator, not much speed gain, but it comes with whooping 128MB RAM, great for WHDLOAD and more, and is under $100.
And yes, you need IDE 2 CF adapter for your HD, and PCMCIA-CF adapter for file transfers from PC to Amiga.


Yes that is cheap with all that ram i must say :)
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: desiv on August 25, 2012, 07:01:29 AM
Quote from: lassie;705102
Hi thanks for your input :) do you know if 6 mb ram is good for whdload? to run most games

Yep, plenty for almost all.

desiv
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: som99 on August 25, 2012, 07:17:50 AM
Quote from: lassie;705102
Hi thanks for your input :) do you know if 6 mb ram is good for whdload? to run most games


Congratulations lassie! The A1200 is a great machine I must say!
Do it have 6MB in total or fastram?

6MB is enough to run a lot of games in WHDLoad and as I have explained before removing preload on some big games will help, but you will see that 6MB can do a lot, so before running and buying expansions play around a bit and get to know the A1200 I bet you will love it. ClassicWB lite will run amazing on your setup and it has most things you need to get started.

If I where you I would have dualboot or 2 CF cards to switch between, running CWB lite and a Low mem WB2.x for WHDLoad.
I can supply you with clones of my CF cards used on my A1200 before I got the ACA if you need or have trouble making your own small but usefull WB installs packed with everything you need.

Are you planning to use it on a TV or on a monitor?

Good luck and post pics when you get it!
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 25, 2012, 07:27:22 AM
Quote from: som99;705106
Congratulations lassie! The A1200 is a great machine I must say!
Do it have 6MB in total or fastram?

6MB is enough to run a lot of games in WHDLoad and as I have explained before removing preload on some big games will help, but you will see that 6MB can do a lot, so before running and buying expansions play around a bit and get to know the A1200 I bet you will love it. ClassicWB lite will run amazing on your setup and it has most things you need to get started.

If I where you I would have dualboot or 2 CF cards to switch between, running CWB lite and a Low mem WB2.x for WHDLoad.
I can supply you with clones of my CF cards used on my A1200 before I got the ACA if you need or have trouble making your own small but usefull WB installs packed with everything you need.

Are you planning to use it on a TV or on a monitor?

Good luck and post pics when you get it!


Hi it has 2 mb chip and 4 mb fast as it is now. but can i not use my 2 mb PCMCIA card i have to my Amiga 600 in it? then i will have 8 in total. yes i will be happy to see your clones of your cf cards. I hope i can get it to work, like i have said before, even if i have many amigas i do not know much about them :) I will use it on my flat screen tv. And i will of course post some pictures when she arrives and i get her up and running :)
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 25, 2012, 07:37:17 AM
Is it true that it is better to use an Amiga 500 psu on An Amiga 1200?
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: portarinos on August 25, 2012, 07:55:37 AM
generally speaking yes, but if your A1200 has only a few expansions (030 etc) then it's really not needed. You won't have any problems at all.
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: Damion on August 25, 2012, 07:57:03 AM
Quote from: lassie;705109
Is it true that it is better to use an Amiga 500 psu on An Amiga 1200?


The later "light" A500 PSU is better, but I wouldn't worry about it unless expanding with an accelerator.

And congratulations! The 1200's are definitely my most used Amigas, right along with the 2000. :pint:
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 25, 2012, 08:49:17 AM
Quote from: Damion;705111
The later "light" A500 PSU is better, but I wouldn't worry about it unless expanding with an accelerator.

And congratulations! The 1200's are definitely my most used Amigas, right along with the 2000. :pint:


Many thanks yes it is going to be cool with a 1200 :) as for the Amiga 2000 i have 3 of them. I like those early Amigas :)
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lauri.lotvonen on August 25, 2012, 08:55:35 AM
Gongrats on my behalv too :cool:. It's amazing how much that machine can do with just 020 in it, I'd say it is the best machine for Whdload ever.
If you are "just" going to play games on the A1200, dont get an accelerator with 030-040-060, the 8mb of mem will be just enough for most games. I have an A1200 with 060 and 128ram, and a A1200 with 020 and "just" 10mb ram, I preferr the later when playing games because it's in my living room =).

Oh, and get the PSX-DB9 adapter's from AmigaManiac, they are awesome used with wireless PS2 controllers(a little expensive, but well worth the money). And as you live in EU, get a Amiga 23-pin video to SCART, and you get a crisp image from you Miggy when connected to a Flatscreen TV, plus no flickering on every screenmode (interlaced or not) =).

Linkys:

http://viewitem.eim.ebay.fi/COMMODORE-AMIGA-A500-RGB-SCART-TV-CABLE--2-METRE-LEAD/390349278880/item

http://www.amigamaniac.com/psx2db9.html
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 25, 2012, 09:03:50 AM
Quote from: lauri.lotvonen;705119
Gongrats on my behalv too :cool:. It's amazing how much that machine can do with just 020 in it, I'd say it is the best machine for Whdload ever.
If you are "just" going to play games on the A1200, dont get an accelerator with 030-040-060, the 8mb of mem will be just enough for most games. I have an A1200 with 060 and 128ram, and a A1200 with 020 and "just" 10mb ram, I preferr the later when playing games because it's in my living room =).

Oh, and get the PSX-DB9 adapter's from AmigaManiac, they are awesome used with wireless PS2 controllers(a little expensive, but well worth the money). And as you live in EU, get a Amiga 23-pin video to SCART, and you get a crisp image from you Miggy when connected to a Flatscreen TV, plus no flickering on every screenmode (interlaced or not) =).

Linkys:

http://viewitem.eim.ebay.fi/COMMODORE-AMIGA-A500-RGB-SCART-TV-CABLE--2-METRE-LEAD/390349278880/item

http://www.amigamaniac.com/psx2db9.html


Many thanks i will have a look at these items. It sounds quite cool if i can use playstation controller with amiga :) The 060 Amiga 1200 you have must be quite fast :) when you play 3D games there must not be any slowdown.
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: som99 on August 25, 2012, 12:17:32 PM
Quote from: lassie;705107
Hi it has 2 mb chip and 4 mb fast as it is now. but can i not use my 2 mb PCMCIA card i have to my Amiga 600 in it? then i will have 8 in total. yes i will be happy to see your clones of your cf cards. I hope i can get it to work, like i have said before, even if i have many amigas i do not know much about them :) I will use it on my flat screen tv. And i will of course post some pictures when she arrives and i get her up and running :)


I would not use PCMCIA SRAM with the A1200 since the buss is to slow and you will loose preformance. I would stick to the 2MB chip and 4MB fast instead, keep it in the A600 where it improves preformance.
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: tasmanian guy on August 25, 2012, 12:21:35 PM
Don't buy anything from www.amigamaniac.com (http://www.amigamaniac.com)
 
I've waited for a replacement on a faulty RGB adapter for over a year and ordered more stuff in the hope he would ship the RGB adapter with it, and that has not materialised yet either!
 
He used to be a great supplier of Amiga kit, but I just don't know what has happened to the guy?????
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: Borut on August 25, 2012, 01:30:29 PM
For me the best experience in an A1200 is an 030 turboboard with 16 or better 32 of RAM. A lot of speed for the most things, even most of the newer games will work like a charm and not big costs at all. A harddsik or better CF ist obligatory me thinks.

But for the beginning, as already someone suggested, you will have a nice experience also with your machine. Go to the limits and probably then invest in all the cool stuff you need.
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: runequester on August 25, 2012, 02:59:10 PM
A decent 68030 card will probably run you between 150 and 200 dollars. If you have a RAM expansion already, I'd play with it first and get a feel for what she can and can't do.

That new 020 card looks cool too for the price.
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: vox on August 25, 2012, 03:09:16 PM
Quote from: lassie;705093
Hi on monday if all goes as plans, i will have my very first Amiga 1200 :) i must also admit i have never tried one before so it was about time. But i am looking forward to getting it like a little child. I could see many of you have amiga 1200 in here, and have good things to say about it, so i desided to get one. And in the future i have plans to upgrade it when there is money to it :) what upgrading do you say i should get for it when the time comes?


My first A1200 was plain A1200HD. Suffered a lot due not having FAST RAM on board, big, big mistake. As well as EC 14Mhz that crippled the system. A1200 deserved 030 with MMU and FPU and at least some FAST RAM
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 25, 2012, 03:54:33 PM
Quote from: som99;705128
I would not use PCMCIA SRAM with the A1200 since the buss is to slow and you will loose preformance. I would stick to the 2MB chip and 4MB fast instead, keep it in the A600 where it improves preformance.


Okay i will let it be in the Amiga 600 :)
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: bbond007 on August 25, 2012, 04:39:18 PM
Quote from: lassie;705093
Hi on monday if all goes as plans, i will have my very first Amiga 1200 :) i must also admit i have never tried one before so it was about time. But i am looking forward to getting it like a little child. I could see many of you have amiga 1200 in here, and have good things to say about it, so i desided to get one. And in the future i have plans to upgrade it when there is money to it :) what upgrading do you say i should get for it when the time comes?

Indivision AGA MK2
some sort of 030 or 060 accelerator with 32bit ram
Subway USB
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 25, 2012, 06:24:24 PM
Thanks for all your answers guys :) I have some ideas for the future now. But for now i will let the Amiga be as it is :)
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: gertsy on August 26, 2012, 03:33:54 AM
Quote from: tasmanian guy;705129
Don't buy anything from www.amigamaniac.com (http://www.amigamaniac.com)
 
I've waited for a replacement on a faulty RGB adapter for over a year and ordered more stuff in the hope he would ship the RGB adapter with it, and that has not materialised yet either!
 
He used to be a great supplier of Amiga kit, but I just don't know what has happened to the guy?????


That doesn't sound good.  I hope nothing bad has happened.
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 27, 2012, 01:59:18 PM
Hi i got my 1200 today and it works flawless, very nice machine :) But all games and software are on an external usb hard disk, and i also got PCMCIA adaptor and sanDisk, Do anybody know how to transfere from the usb hard disk to the Amiga with a program called WinRAR?
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: amiman99 on August 27, 2012, 04:14:55 PM
WinRAR is a compression format like ZIP, so you need a decompressor like 7-ZIP. 7-ZIP handles many formats including RAR, ZIP and even LHA.
To transfer files between PC and your A1200, first copy the files from your USB HD to PC.
You also need CF card reader on you PC. IF you have one copy the Amiga files from USB HD to CF card.
I don't know if you have CF drivers installed on your Amiga's HD, if you do, then turn off you A1200, insert PCMCIA card with CF card to the slot. Turn it on, new disk should show up on desktop.
sometimes you need to select "Show All Files" to see the contents.
If you dont have CF drivers already installed, you need to get them from Aminet http://aminet.net/package/driver/media/cfd and FAT95 http://aminet.net/package/disk/misc/fat95
The FAT95, just copy the file from "L" folder to you System:L
The CFD, copy the DEVS folder contents to System:DEVS. If you want the CF0: to start on bootup, move the CF0 file to DEVS/DOSDrivers folder.

I dont know if this is too much info for you, but here you go :D
Title: Re: My first amiga 1200
Post by: lassie on August 27, 2012, 04:37:24 PM
Quote from: amiman99;705530
WinRAR is a compression format like ZIP, so you need a decompressor like 7-ZIP. 7-ZIP handles many formats including RAR, ZIP and even LHA.
To transfer files between PC and your A1200, first copy the files from your USB HD to PC.
You also need CF card reader on you PC. IF you have one copy the Amiga files from USB HD to CF card.
I don't know if you have CF drivers installed on your Amiga's HD, if you do, then turn off you A1200, insert PCMCIA card with CF card to the slot. Turn it on, new disk should show up on desktop.
sometimes you need to select "Show All Files" to see the contents.
If you dont have CF drivers already installed, you need to get them from Aminet http://aminet.net/package/driver/media/cfd and FAT95 http://aminet.net/package/disk/misc/fat95
The FAT95, just copy the file from "L" folder to you System:L
The CFD, copy the DEVS folder contents to System:DEVS. If you want the CF0: to start on bootup, move the CF0 file to DEVS/DOSDrivers folder.

I dont know if this is too much info for you, but here you go :D


Hi many thanks for your help :)  I think it might work now