A1200 System recommendation please?

[skilgannon]

Hi all!

Can someone out there help me please?  My beloved A1200 has died and so has my Microvitec Multiscan Monitor!

It's the video port on the computer and the monitor is just dead now (I think whatever happened killed them both!).

Anyway - My A1200 hard drive is still ok and what I want to know from you experts out there is what I need to do to fulfil the following requirement:

I would like a new A1200 system that can:

-Use my existing Hard Drive if possible
-Possibly use my existing accelerator (68040 card with 32Mb Ram) if appropriate
-Be able to output to a monitor (preferably my spare 19" LCD monitor but I have a spare 17" CRT as well)
-Be able to play my WHDLoad games.
-Be able to access the web (my current amiga could via a Goldcard PCMCIA network card).
-Be able to use a CD Rom drive (I have a legal OS3.9 CD in case I can't use my hard drive and need to reinstall)

My main goal I suppose is to be able to easily play WHDLoad games on a normal monitor and talk to my Amiga Forever share on my PC.  All the rest (web access etc) is a bonus.

I'm fine about it being a tower system and I guess it would have to be to accommodate the last requirement.  My problem is that I just don't know what I need to buy (bus boards and what not) in order to make the above requirements a reality.

It also doesn't need to be a kick @ss machine and price isn't an issue for me - I just need to know what to buy

Can someone help please - it would be very much appreciated?

Kind regards and thanks in advance

John

[skilgannon]

Thanks for the reply Doog, I've had 1084's and Philips MK2's in the past and they have died eventually also (why I eventually got the multiscan).  I know my HD is ok as it boots fine in a friends A1200 but I really want to be as future proof as possible now that all the amiga kit is getting more rare so a PC monitor makes sense to me.  

I think I am trying to make a 1200 system that will be as easy to use as possible and have some scope for the future if I decide to do anything rash like make it my main machine for browsing the web etc.

Do any of the busboards let me use a normal GFX card to play games on?  I have an old Voodoo card which I believe might be of use but am not sure in what context.  I also have an old SB sound card which might be of use - but am not sure.  Although money is not a real issue - it would be nice to use some of my existing old kit to make an A1200 that will run on modern equipment - you know?

John

[skilgannon]

Thanks everyone - I will call Amigakit during the week to see what they can offer.  WinUAE is not a solution for me as even though it is evolved it's not good enough (I use Amiga Forever and it's just not the same).

PLUS - I am a retro collector (especially Commodore) and would like as much as possible to have original kit (I own a Commodore SX64 for instance - which is great!).

I have a massive spec gaming PC (New Commodore one of course) and various other PC's at home and still can't get it to perform like an original A1200 would (That's maybe my problem - too many Microsoft qualifications and don't understand Amiga technologies well enough - lol).

I now understand (I think) that an Amaiga video card solution might not be the way to go unless I use a very specific board (but that's maybe the answer!).

Really - I want to keep with as much "real" amiga hardware as possible while being able to run Workbench and normal A1200 WHDLoad games on a modern monitor (LCD/CRT).

I really do appreciate everyone's time in answering but feel I am not any closer in understanding what I need to buy to achieve my goal (I would love someone to say - buy this, this, that and that). If possible I would rather not buy yet another soon to be dead Mk11 or 1084 and Amiga 1200 to put my hard drive into knowing that in a few months I may be back where I am just now.

My friend has a couple of A4000's that he was going to give me but when we tested them - there were real problems getting them to boot (storage wasn't kind to them I think) but it's that kind of solution had it worked would have been great as I could have just plugged an old PC monitor in and away I would go.

Thanks all

John

[skilgannon]

Thanks all.  Flashlab - I know what you mean about giving buying advice but from my perspective, all I need is examples of what kit I should buy in order to build a 1200 tower capable of running workbench and games on a VGA monitor.

Because I don't really get the bus board thing, if I want to build a tower that fits that requirement do I need to buy for example:

1200 tower box from Elbox or somewhere
Busboard (does this plug into an A1200 motherboard?)
Appropriate Ram
Appropriate Processor
Video card that will do both workbench and games
Expansion board
Sound card

Cheers

John