Upgrading an A1200...

[Ishikodzume]

Hi, uhh... sorry because this is going to be kind of a n00bish ask-for-advice post :\

Anyway, though i've moved to Linux/x86 for all my serious computing work for a while now, i still use my old Amiga 1200 (not upgraded, except for having a HDD). Mainly for watching old demoscene prods, D-Paint pixelling, and as a serial console to one of my BSD boxes.

I've decided i want to upgrade it finally, but i don't know as much about the hardware as i'd like to.

Here is what i want to do with the Amiga:
 - Keep it inside the desktop case!
 - The same stuff i mentioned above. Demo compatibility i still want, so for example, still having usage of the standard AGA video output is a must.
 - Run newer demos at a decent speed.
 - Get it on my lan so i don't have to use 720k floppies to transfer files, can SSH into other boxes, etc etc.
 - Have a nice VGA out and decent res so i am not getting headaches with 640x512 interlaced , and possibly 24bit in D-Paint.

The easy part is i know i need a PCMCIA NIC. If i was to get this first, would my 020 + 2mb ram be enough for the TCP/IP stack and apps like SSH/FTP/etc? This part is probably the cheapest, so it'd be nice to buy it first.

Then more generally, i'd need more RAM and a faster processor... the only problem with that is, the only solution for having a graphics card in a desktop A1200 i have heard of, is the BVision + Blizzard PPC combo, so i am somewhat restricted, *unless* someone knows of another graphics card solution? I mean, i know i want an 060 (or at least an 040) for a lot of demos, but i don't really want a PPC card for any reason... so if i can just get an 060 + GFX card that'd be great. If not, the cheapest Blizzard PPC card with the best 68k chip would be best, i guess.

But then again, if there is a graphics card + 060 accel solution, is just an 060 enough to run most apps nicely? I have a P75 that will run most stuff just fine under Linux, so i assuming a 60mhz Motarola chip would do fine for comparable tasks? How sluggish does workbench (loaded down with MUI etc) get when you move into a high res with just an 060?

Eh, sorry for all the questions. I'm interested to hear what stuff other people who don't want to tower their A1200s have done...
As i said, this isn't my main machine, so it doesn't have to be blazingly fast particularly...

[Ishikodzume]

Thanks for the replies

> Far from being as good as a real GFX-card, but also far cheaper and compatible [flickerfixer]

Yeah, i considered that. Though i was kind of looking forward to nice 1024x768 on my Amiga, i guess as the BVision solution isn't that good... so at least i can run the old res but without the flicker.
I think i'd go with an external one though, so i can still put the amiga through my old monitor or TV through a SCART.

> dont run a BvisionPPC/BlizzPPC combo in an A1200 desktop case

So, it's still going to be flakey even if i get a decent PSU? I guess i'll be going for the plain 060 then...

> but you'll need a tower to put it in

Like someone else said, this is out of the question because i really want to keep my old amiga feeling. My room is absolutely filled with towers, and i don't want Just Another Tower to have my Amiga in - the existing case is just so cute!

> Used 030's and 040s can be found quite cheap around.

Not seen too many 060s though... :\

> a Blizzard 1260 with SCSI card and 128 MB ram

Is the SCSI controller on the 1260 board, or do you mean separate?
Do i really need a SCSI controller/CD-ROM? I was thinking it'd be cheaper and better just to mount any CD-ROMs i might need to use over NFS, or if there is no NFS client for AmigaOS, just FTP the files across onto the hard drive and do any installing from there. Is there any reason why that isn't feasible? It's what i do with all my other boxes, there is 1 DVD-ROM shared between several other computers.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies!
My current thinking is this:
 - 060 accelorator card with somewhere around 32 or 64mb RAM
 - NE2k PCMCIA NIC
 - External flickerfixer/scandoubler

Off to Amibench and eBay i guess!

[Ishikodzume]

> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=177&item=3434390358
[...]
> Netgear FA410

Thanks, i'll make a note of those two cards for when i get it.

Well, there is a Blizzard 1260 on eBay right now i am keeping my eyes on... hopefully it wont be too expensive . Any idea what is a decent price to pay for one? I can't seem to find that many examples...
I saw an 060 (Cyberstorm MKII i think) on Amibench for about £180, but that was with a load of RAM too.
Do you think it's realistic to be able to get an 060 for about £150 or somewhere around there?

> A gfx card is almost useless anyway for most demos

Yeah i know, but i was thinking the GFX card would be nice for hi-res desktop, and also maybe for graphics work... Amiga art packages tend to be so much nicer than everything else for my uses
But this isn't something i desparately need, and i am on kind of a tight budget... so...

> (you want an internal for best video quality)

Ah... but then doesn't the option of using my old monitor or a TV go out the window? I want to be able to use a VGA monitor, yes... but i'd still like to use the old graphics modes too. I was thinking with the external, all i do is unplug it, and it's back to normal...

> Well, you need a cd-rom for OS3.9 to install

I'm assuming it doesn't actually care about the media itself, though? I mean couldn't i copy the install files to the HDD and then ask it to use them there? It seems a waste to get a CD drive and controller etc, when i'm never going to need it.

> about 100 demos has to this date been made for PPC amiga's

Yeah, but... well, i'm more impressed with the demos that use the original hardware, really. If i want to watch a demo that has a crapload of processing power available to it, i might as well go watch one of the PC demos in my 15 GB collection
The plain 68k AGA/ECS demos impress the pants off of me just because of the amazing stuff they do on that older hardware, and remind me how much better it is than 'equivilent' x86 hardware for graphics work.

[Ishikodzume]

> It seems you have misunderstood something. Scandoubler
> makes it possible to view original graphics modes on an SVGA
> monitor. So you only need one monitor to get all the modes.

Umm, no misunderstanding
What i am saying is, i want to be able to run it on a TV (and composite looks like crap). I mean, for watching demos, a 25" TV is much nicer than a 15" VGA monitor (which is all i have spare).
Also, i am assuming a 'flicker fixer' basically means it deinterlaces the image... however, there are times when you would /want/ interlacing, so, what do you do then?

> Works on OS3.5

Yay!