Selecting an accellerator (A1200)

[Principher]

After having problems getting most of the demos from the net to work, due to memory shortage, I have thought of getting an accelerator with some memory. However I am in doubt. What should I look for? I dont want a PPC board since my Amiga is in its original desktop case and I like it that way .

So the choice is between some kind of 060 board(expensive) or a 030 board (leaving out 040 with heat issues).

Also would my powersupply (A500 one) be sufficient for any of the accellerators when it already is driving a 3.5" HD and a CD drive.

Finally, how much RAM should I be looking for? Most of the demos do not write how much they depend on so do anybody have an idea how much is usual to expect?

As you can see there are lots of things to keep track of, and I am not as strong in the Amiga market as I would like to be was a C64 user in my younger years, and did not get an Amiga until recently.

[PaSha]

You could perhaps look for a Blizzard 1230-IV with 32 MB of RAM. Shouldn't be too expensive.

-Paul

[Principher]

That was more or less what I my self was thinking, but got in doubt whether it was a better idea to buy something faster while I was at it.

[Doppie1200]

Any 68030 will do. Some are not PCMCIA compatible. This means with 8MB RAM installed the PCMCIA port will stop working.

Most people are only recommending the blizzard. But because of that these cards have a tendency to be a little more expensive.

If you find a second hand accelerator just google for it's specifications. Keep in mind the PCMCIA compatibility if expanding over 4MB.

[Principher]

Thanks for the replies, all of you. Guess you are right; most, non PPC, demos probably will rely on at most 030 so thats what it will be when I have saved up the cash

[c64_d0c]

get the blizzard 1260 and 32mb ram and you should beable to run all demos except the ppc demos...

alot of cool demos is made for the 1260 that you will not beable to play on a 1230...

whdload is also much better with a 1260
________
Anice

[bubba]

I'm waiting for the Power Vixxen LT (PPC@400mhz).  Rumor has it it is in production now with a target price of $299 US.  The only question I still have is weather or not it will work with OS3.x since it is targeted for OS 4.0.


-bubba

[rustednail]

Is there an accellerator that will allow more then 4mb and still have PCMCIA access?

Is there another option for connecting to a LAN then through the PCMCIA port?

[Colin_Camper]

It definitely won't like OS3.x. PV is for OS4 only.
Your best bet will be the Dragon - similar specs and for OS3.9 and upgradeable to OS4.0 via Shark (If it ever comes).

[uncharted]

rustednail wrote:
Is there an accellerator that will allow more then 4mb and still have PCMCIA access?

As far as I understand it, PCMCIA access is only a problem when using an upgrade that doesn't have a CPU (that is a card with just memory, or memory and an FPU).

Can someone else confirm this?  I've been wrong on these things before.

[uncharted]

Colin_Camper wrote:
Your best bet will be the Dragon - similar specs and for OS3.9 and upgradeable to OS4.0 via Shark (If it ever comes).

From the pictures I've seen it looks like it will require a tower.

[Argus]

bubba wrote:
I'm waiting for the Power Vixxen LT (PPC@400mhz).  Rumor has it it is in production now with a target price of $299 US.  -bubba

Wow!  Any news on an exact release date?  Where to buy?

[Lemmink]

Most accelerators can be expanded over 8 MB.
It's only the cheepish ones that put it's memmory in the autoconfig adressspace (that overlaps with the PCMCIA adresspace and is only 8 MB in size) to save the logic to handle the memory by it's own.
Typical all bare RAM-cards, 020 accelerators for the A1200 and most of the m-tec 030 fall into that category.

On all other card the memory is only limited by the size of SIMM that fit physically / are available (as for GVP)
The 1230IV can take up to 128 MB, 256 MB with additional SCSI-kit that has another SIMM-slot.

[doctorq]

@Principher

If you don't want to waste any money, get a Blizzard 1230 MK4 at first, instead of the lower priced competitors out there. Blizzard boards are simply the best, as these have no problems with PCMCIA as many others have. Furthermore, the Blizzard can hold up to 128 MB standard 72 pins memory modules, but 32 MB should be enough.

[Legerdemain]

whdload is also much better with a 1260

Really? Then I must have missed out on something! I've had way much more trouble with WHDLoad games since I upgraded to Blizzard 1260 (previously had a Blizzard 1230). Not only did MANY games stop running like they should with the NTSC tooltype active, but also many slaves, at least at the time (It has gotten better by now, and will get better in the future aswell, but anyways), weren't really written with the 060 in mind.

I can't think of many games at all, besides the 3D ones, which really benefits from the 060. So, please, it would be great to know why a 060 is so much better to use together with WHDLoad?