VGA Support on a a1200

[Linchpin]

Anyone here know where i can get one of those convertors from? I think i need one with some sort of flickerfixer/scandoubler in it? Thanks :-)

[Leo42]

If you want to be able to display all Amiga modes (including non-DOS games, demos,...), then you need a scandoubler.

If you want to be able to display the WB, sys-friendly apps, you don't need an expensive scandoubler. The only thing you need is an adaptator DB 23 <-> VGA which should be very cheap compared with a scandoubler...

Leo.

[Linchpin]

Any idea on any prices/places i can get one? Or is the other option to get an amiga monitor? at the moment im using my TV :-(

[carls]

An RGB-to-VGA converter can probably be found at your nearest Amiga dealer. It shouldn't cost too much, 10-15 € perhaps.
Then you can connect a VGA monitor to your Amiga and run Workbench, Word processors, Web browsers etc. in Multiscan: Productivity. If you keep your TV connected to composite-out you will still be able to play games and watch demos that the VGA monitor won't be able to display.

An amiga multisync monitor would probably be pretty expensive if you can find someone who are willing to sell one. They're very rare but admittedly it's by far the best solution.

And, if you're the handy type, you can build one yourself. Schematics are all over Aminet. Or just search google.com using keywords such as: Amiga vga adaptor.. well, you get the picture .

[Linchpin]

Well Done! Will have a blasT!!!

[Jaruzel]

I've got a spare one, I'm in UK. Mail me if you want it - £15 inc.

-Jar.

[Cluke]

I'd advise getting a scandoubler. Those Multiscan/Productivity modes are death. They use so much custom chip bandwidth that the machine slows to a crawl no matter how fast a processor you have (so forget about using it for internet apps), and they suffer from quirks like the mouse pointer disappearing when you go to the far right of the screen, and wrecking screen dragging to non-productivity modes. Oh, and minimal overscan.

(Or, even better, get a gfx card ;-)

[Linchpin]

Cool a gfx card sounds cool! Can i put one in my a1200 standard model? Its not in a tower or anything.

[PMC]

'Fraid not!  

You'll need a tower if you want a graphics card, as you'll either have a Mediator PC bus or a Blizzard PPC thingy which runs very hot.

I got my Power Tower from www.amibench.org for a very reasonable £35.  It's made of metal and is very sturdy and will give you plenty of room for expansion.

If you go for a Mediator you can fit a 3DFX Voodoo 3/4/5 PCI card which is pretty much all you'd need these days.

[Linchpin]

can i use my old tower i have at home? i have got like 3 of them, maybe one of them will work?

[carls]

@Cluke
If you have a 030/50MHz or better you can use FBlit or a similar program to speed up the Productivity modes. It worked wonders for me on both 040 and 060.

The mouse pointer does not disappear in Multiscan:Productivity unless you seriously mistreat it in MonEd first, which kind of ruins the point with a VESA-compliant graphics mode...

[carls]

@LinchpiN
You CAN mount your A1200 in a standard PC tower, but not without some _serious_ modifications. You'll need to drill holes for the A1200 MoBo and backplane but it a quite lot of people have pulled this off. You'll need a pretty big tower since the A1200 MoBo is quite a lot bigger than an ATX one.

Then you have three options: Either you try to get hold of a Blizzard PPC card with a BVision graphics card which fits onto the PPC card. You can also get a Z-IV busboard which plugs into the A1200 CPU connector and also needs some work to fit into the tower. If you have a Z-IV busboard you can use classic Amiga graphics cards like Cybervision 64/3D or PicassoIV. You could also get a Mediator PCI busboard which will let you use Voodoo graphics cards.

I wouldn't recommend using a graphics card with anything less than a 040 CPU and at LEAST 16MB of fast-mem.

I would recommend a Z-IV busboard or a Mediator, because then you can also buy an Ethernet card and a Sound card for your Amiga which will really spice it up :-)

[kolla]

Really, you wont get satisfaction until you have bought a flickerfixer/scandoubler, preferably an internal one, but also the external ones are good. I think KDH has both of them, and if not there are Vesalia and others who might have them.

[Leo42]

I've been using DBLPAL 640x512 during 2 years and the mouse never disappeared, screen scrollings were perfect...

It was SLOW but usable (from my point of view).
(FBlit and BlazeWCP help a lot )

The choice between a scandoubler/gfx card and VGA adaptator (for dblpal/ntsc) really depends on your money and what you want to do with it...

Leo.