I've been an Amiga user since 1987 and love original hardware. I was a UAE "resister" for a long time - used the same arguments as others - timing of emulation was off, etc. But I'd actually never tried it - or tried to tweak it properly.
Then my long babied hardware finally broke down. I was forced to try UAE.
A well tweaked UAE system is awesome. Feels an Amiga with a very fast accelerator and SCSI setup, and an ultimate memory expansion (although you can also configure it to the original limited specs as well).
I use mostly productivity software (including MIDI music sequencers where timing is important), but games also run well for me.
I still love the original Amigas. And I like using the original keyboards, etc. But I have an old Model-M keyboard on my PC for that retro-feel....and honestly, the Amiga UAE experience is flawless. It would be cool to hook up the A2000's keyboard to my PC if that was possible (but I'm not sure how the lack of F11 and F12 would impact use of programs on the Windows side).
With the latest version of WinUAE, you can even emulate the scan lines and blur of a 1084 monitor on an LCD screen. Looks very convincing.
Before I got an LCD monitor, I was using a CRT monitor and seriously, the output looked EXACTLY like my A2000 with flicker fixer on a CRT monitor (because the PC's CRT could even change scan-rates and resolution according the the emulated Amiga's screen preferences).
If I had hidden the PC under a desk and put an Amiga user in front of the monitor and keyboard, I'm not sure they would have been able to tell the were not using a real Amiga.
Yes, once in a while (rarely) WinUAE crashes when I push it super hard - like editing a 100MB bitmap file in ImageFX. But these crashes are far less than the GURUs I used to get on real hardware.
I still have my old A2000 and will try and resurrect it, but for productivity work, the speed and memory available to WinUAE can't be matched.
Plus, starting games is no slower than clicking a mouse (I have all my old Amiga games set up in Amiga Forever, each configured with a custom Amiga configuration and screen mode in RP9 files)....so games that require Workbench 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 3.1, etc. all run instantly.
It's been a very positive experience for me - and I've never been more productive in AmigaOS than now. I essentially view my machine as an alternative platform that supports AmigaOS and runs it very well.
The best part is that I can buy off-the-shelf replacement hardware instead of sweating about expensive ancient irreplaceable hardware that might break down any time. I would switch back to real hardware if I could get a real hardware Amiga that could offer me the same speed and memory that WinUAE can, and if I would not be always praying that old hardware wouldn't break down every time I turned the machine on.
If you're really anti-windows, then I would buy an older single or dual core intel machine, install a stripped down version of Windows XP (bare minimum) and install WinUAE on top of that. The machine would then seem like it was booting straight into AmigaOS, giving an almost seamless Amiga experience.
I think if AROS was equal to WinUAE, I would consider that too.
So, if you already having functioning original hardware - by all means use it. If you own nothing original and want to get into a good working AmigaOS system as cheaply as possible try Amiga Forever (which is based in WinUAE with an easier to use interface for novices). For an even more authentic experience get an old CRT monitor for the WinUAE PC. Or download and try WinUAE for free.
