ACA1233 25MHz of 40MHz with 128MB fastram

[paul1981]

I am hesitating in buying an accelerator card for my Amiga 1200.

I will have to decide between an ACA1233 25MHz of a ACA1233 40Mhz with 128MB fastram.

I only play games (WHDload) on my Amiga 1200. Which one of these accelerator cards will be the best choice considering the price difference between these two? Price difference is 80 euros.

Always buy the best you can afford. The 40 MHz edition makes games like doom/breathless more playable. Everything else will be just fine with the 25 MHz edition, overkill actually for a 'classic Amiga' gaming rig.

[paul1981]

I'm new to the Amiga with a 1200 as my first machine. Strictly gaming. I don't mind buying the 55Mhz accelerator, but will it benefit me in any way over the 25 or 40?, ie, is the GUI going to be noticeably more responsive?

The 40 MHz ACA is very fast, and for the money it is an excellent buy and will give you a faster Workbench experience than the cheaper 020 cards. But if you're strictly gaming, then why do you ask about GUI?

If you don't mind buying second hand goods, and you have some cash to spare, then there are faster cards around such as the 68040 and 68060 Apollo and Blizzard cards.

Then again, if you're upgrading from a stock A1200 or one with just Fast RAM in the trapdoor, then even one of the cheaper 020 cards will be a significant boost!

My advice - get the 40 MHz 68030 card, then later down the road if you want even more power then perhaps the Vampire 1200 will be released by this time which will be faster than the fastest 68060 cards.

[paul1981]

Regarding Workbench speed, I'm personally happy with any 68020 with Fast RAM. My first A1200 was stock for over a year, then I made it much happier when I gave it some Fast RAM in the trapdoor and a hard drive. Those years I ran that configuration were the most enjoyable. On such a system you can still have a snappy Workbench and enjoy all the old classic Amiga games (even with WHDLoad).

[paul1981]

Will a slower accelerator provide better compatibility for old games? It sounds like you are suggesting that is the case.

No, I was suggesting that you don't need a processor above the standard A1200's 68020 to really enjoy Workbench and WHDLoad.

I have a 80 MHz 68060 and all the WHDLoad games work fine.

[paul1981]

Personally I wish older games would take advantage of faster processors (for example, to run more smoothly), but you have to think back to the era they were coded in, and the fact that most games were coded for the "lowest common denominator" (A500 with 1MB & no fast ram, in most cases).  Turrican 2 stutters if you jump in the waterfall area at just the right place with a 68060 as it does with a 68000, haha.  :p

Games that use the blitter aren't going to speed up much if at all (as in smoother movement). Back in the A500 days the blitter was quicker even for 3D drawing too, hence processors which are a hundred or more times faster don't make any difference to these games. And I agree, personally I've yet to find a game that 'runs too fast'. This just doesn't happen with Amiga games.