1997. I was going off to college, and didn't think my A2000 was up to the task even with a 68040/40. My parents were willing to buy me what I needed.
I was still devoted to the Amiga, I started pricing upgrades for my favorite system. A 68060 card for starters... $1200. RTG graphics... New SCSI HD... more RAM... Ethernet...
Or I could pick up a complete PC with a 200MHz Pentium-MMX, 64MB RAM, PermediaNT 24-bit 1600x1284 graphics, AWE64 sound, and a 5GB HD, dual-booting Win95 and NT4, for about $1500. And it could play X-Wing vs Tie Fighter, Quake, and every other modern game that was worth playing.
I fretted over it for a month, but that was when I realized it was over. Sadly, I have not spent more than $25 on my Amigas since then... While prices eventually go down, the comparative value has gone down faster. I can't justify spending, for example, $169 for a brand new 15 year old EGS Spectrum. Used '060s go for $300 or more, while a complete PC that can run UAE faster than a 68060 costs less. So I continue to get by with what I can find as a freebie or trade spare parts for, which isn't very much.
