Upgrading my A1200

[Starrunner]

I am looking for my next upgrade for my 1200.  I have been told that getting a Mediator to run with the 030 accelerator is going to be pure nightmare.

So at this point I wish to know, which upgrade is going to do me better:

An 060 accelerator

A PPC board of some kind

Any thoughts are welcome.  I need thoughts as I used mine up for the week already.

[Everblue]

First of all you need a tower... and for the stuff you have mentioned, LOADS of cash

Now for the mediator - yes when I tried a Mediator project I had loads of problem with the Blizzard 030, and also had same problems with Apollo. I had an old version of the mediator though, maybe they fixed the problems.

Anyway, it all boils down to what you plan to do...

An "ideal" amiga 1200 would be:

Tower
Mediator
Voodoo Graphics Card
Network Card
Soundcard
Kickstart 3.1
VGA Monitor for OS3.9
RGB/Scart monitor for games
PPC with 060 and loads of RAM
FAST ATA 3
PCMCIA 90 degree adapter
DVD-ROM
HDD


If like me, you only want to play games, the following would be enough:

Desktop A1200 with Blizzard 030 and extra RAM
External SCSI CD ROM Drive
Squirrel
Internal 2.5HDD

[Starrunner]

I already have the thing in a tower.  I also already have the Blizzard 1230.

Alright...cash is something that comes and goes.  I figured both would cost me loads.

[Everblue]

First of all - what kind of Amiga 1200 do you want? What will its use be? In other words, do you need a mediator?

[Starrunner]

I love for it to be able to play MP3's and to play my old meds and mods.  I also wouldn't mind being able to do some internet surfing with the thing as well.  In short I wouldn't mind using it almost as much as I use my PC.

[murple]

If like me, you only want to play games, the following would be enough:

Desktop A1200 with Blizzard 030 and extra RAM
External SCSI CD ROM Drive
Squirrel
Internal 2.5HDD

I don't even need that much. I've got an 030 with plenty of RAM, a 4GB 2.5HDD, and a PCMCIA Compact Flash reader for transferring files from PC. I have an IDE splitter that will let me use an external IDE CDROM, but I dont think I actually NEED that for anything. The CF card does the job.

From what I've seen, Squirrels are pretty expensive. Unless you really need SCSI, just grab an IDE splitter. And if you're just playing games and demos like me, you probably don't even need that much.

Stuff like a PPC/060 and Mediator are gonna cost you a big chunk of cash. Unless you're doing pretty fancy stuff on your Amiga and really need that stuff (or unless you luck out and get a great bargain on the hardware) I wouldnt get them just to have them.

If you do want all that I think Everblue's list is pretty good, though you could also do a flicker fixer/scan doubler rather than Voodoo card to get VGA output that could also be used for games.

[Everblue]

"I have an IDE splitter that will let me use an external IDE CDROM, but I dont think I actually NEED that for anything."
How did you take the IDE cable out of the A1200 case? Is there some sort of adapter which plugs in the unused port on the back?

"From what I've seen, Squirrels are pretty expensive"
Well I got mine for £30 on ebay.

Oh, and if you plan to use VGA, forget LCD, get an old CRT.

[Everblue]

Starrunner wrote:
I love for it to be able to play MP3's and to play my old meds and mods.  I also wouldn't mind being able to do some internet surfing with the thing as well.  In short I wouldn't mind using it almost as much as I use my PC.

Well - well I'd love to use the internet with an Amiga too, but its browsers are so ancient that lots of new stuff isnt supported.

[CLS2086]

@Starrunner : my 2 cents :
keep your A1200 in desktop with a BZ1230+scsi+fpu+ram and thez games you loved will still work, if you put a 040 or highier it will cost you an arm, and you'll suffer of compatibility problems.
If you want to get more power, than a 030 see and buy a Pegasos1 (150 euros) or a AmigaOne G3 (400/600 euros) and you'll have a more stable systems, with correct browsers and more 'actuals' tools.

[Starrunner]

Well, I am already in a tower case and that is how I bought it so that is staying.

I guess the jist of this is that putting an 060 in the thing is not going to really do me any good?

[murple]

I guess the jist of this is that putting an 060 in the thing is not going to really do me any good?

It depends what your goals are.

If your goal is to have a great vintage Amiga for playing old games and running old demos... then you're probably better off with an 030 and spending the money on something else.

If you want to turn your Amiga into a modern PC... thats probably not very realistic. You can put in a crazy fast CPU and various other frankenhardware and get something that is a more advanced Amiga, but its going to cost you compatibility with vintage software and still wont be as powerful as a modern PC.

If you want something Amiga-like thats more like a modern PC you can try some of the stuff like the AmigaOne or whatever. They aren't Amigas, but they run a similar looking OS.

[murple]

Everblue wrote:
"I have an IDE splitter that will let me use an external IDE CDROM, but I dont think I actually NEED that for anything."
How did you take the IDE cable out of the A1200 case? Is there some sort of adapter which plugs in the unused port on the back?

I didn't (yet). The person who sold me the splitter just dangled the cable out of the case near the PCMCIA slot. I have some very long IDE cables which I think will stretch far enough to reach the unused/expansion port... failing that I may try to carve a slot in the rear and mount the connector there. I haven't done anything so far though since I haven't had a pressing need for a CDROM. I may do so sometime soon though to install OS3.9, but for the most part I've just transferred software to it by compact flash and havent needed a CD drive yet.