Could someone recommend me a way to go??

[phill25]

I've sent the seller of this (link below) Amiga 4000

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Amiga-4000-video-workstation_W0QQitemZ320101870005QQihZ011QQcategoryZ4193QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

a question about whether or not its working.

I really would love to get myself a bit more updated with either my current Amiga 1200 (has 030 @ 50mhz + FPU, 16mb, 3Gb 2.5" HD, 3.0 roms and thats about it) to something that could be used for MP3's and maybe even a bit of surfing the internet?

Could anyone help me along with getting this project off the ground??

[Kronos]

No mention on a network-card nor RAM-size. You'll need to sort out these before you can even think about joining the interweb.


If you do you'll soon gonna grave for GFX-card and bigger monitor, but plain AGA does work in principle.


Same for playing MP3, possible with just Paula, but a sound-card is defintly needed if want some real qualtiy.

For real world use I would also advise doing something bout that case (yuk it's gone past the stage of yellowing right into browning ....) and you'll need a CD-ROM.

Still at the current bid (100Euro or what ?) it would be a sweet snap  ;-)

[reddwarfer]

It comes with a Personal Animation Recorder!
I remember reading somewhere that Aardman used these with Amiga A4000's to create Wallace and Gromit.

[phill25]

I mentioned I had 16Mb of ram  I did forget to mention however, I have a PCMICA 10Mb network card.. :oops:

I have seen a Voodoo 3 3000 PCI on ebay for £10 (buy it now, plus postage) and I have also seen a Voodoo 5 5500 on ebay (that I have put a £10 bid on - unsure how much I would actually pay on it, not much more I dont think)

What sort of sound card could I get for a 4000 or even my 1200?  There was an advert on the Amibench with a couple Amiga 1200's and 4000's for sale, but I've yet to hear from the seller :-(

I'd love to put my current 1200 in a big tower and add a CD or DVD drive as I mentioned..

I have sent a message to the seller to see if he knows the Amiga still works etc and if he's interested in an offer.. Shame I'm 200 miles away from it really...

I do own 2 19" TFT models with my two Dual Core PC's (AMD and Intel) so I assume I could use one of those??

[SamuraiCrow]

Actually, an A1200 can be expanded as much as an A4000 can be.  Sometimes cheaper too.  You need to look into a tower case and a Mediator PCI expansion deck that will allow you to use a Voodoo 2,3 or 4 graphics card and a SoundBlaster Live soundcard.  Also, you'll need version 3.1 ROMs if you want to add version 3.5 or 3.9 of the OS.

Personally, I'm keeping my A1200 in its current configuration (similar to yours) just in case there's a chance that ACK Software Controls comes out with a PPC accelerator for the A1200 at about the same time as the final release of AmigaOS 4.

[phill25]

So tower, mediator PCI (4 or 6 PCI slots needed??) and a SoundBlaster live card...  I am considering having two Amiga's, one like I currently have and another thats in a big ass tower :-) :lol:

I'm looking into some 3.1 Roms as Banshee (a AGA only game) requires it the way I'm trying to play it so, its worth it anyways :-)

Is the Amiga still owned by anyone??  Is anyone releasing hardware or software for the Amiga still??

I do have a bit of yellowing on the keys going on, is there anyway I can stop it or even clean them up completely?

[SamuraiCrow]

If you're planning on using AmigaOS 4, go with the Mediator.  If you're planning on going with MorphOS on PowerUP, forget the Mediator and find some other expansion deck for it since MorphOS doesn't have drivers for the Mediator.

If you're going to have two systems, I'd forget the expansion deck and sound card for the A1200.  It's more compatible with the old stuff using the AGA chipset and an '030 accelerator.  128 megs of RAM is possible on a Blizzard 1230, other accelerators may not be able to hold as much.  Be sure to get the 3.1 ROMs though, since they contain many bug-fixes.

For your second system, try to find a PowerPC-based system either running MorphOS or AmigaOS 4.  Since AmigaOS 4 is getting ready to ship (according to this interview with one of the developers), I'd wait before committing to any PowerPC system as it may be accompanied by new hardware from another company besides Eyetech.  (The AmigaOne series was discontinued for a reason, after all.)

[phill25]

How much will it be for the Amiga OS 4?  

I was looking into a Amiga 4000 with PPC etc if I'm honest... I think its the way to go :-)

I think the ram I have on the Amiga 1200 is fine at the moment (16Mb) but maybe 32mb or 64mb would be better?  I'd put as much ram as possible to the Amiga 4000 just because I could :-) :lol:

Many thanks for all the help! :-)

[humppa]

If you're planning on using AmigaOS 4, go with the Mediator.

Not sure if this is a good suggestion. Mediator is only supported through emulation, so you would have to use the 68k drivers. No idea what that means regarding stability and speed. With a BVision or CybervisionPPC you would have both possibilities: OS4 _and_ MOS Powerup. You could even make a nice dual-boot system.

[phill25]

If I could find one for the Amiga 4000, I'd go with the Cybervision PPC Card as I think it would be the fastest thing thats about for it...

[SamuraiCrow]

The fastest running system for MorphOS is a Pegasos 2.  The fastest thing for running AmigaOS 4 is currently an AmigaOne XE G4.  The A1200 with the proposed but not officially produced PowerVixxenLT will beat the pants off of a Cybervision PPC if it ever makes it to market.  There are also many other non-Amiga-dependent PowerPC-based hardware solutions that will beat the crap out of a Cybervision3d.  The only problem is if you want to run both MorphOS and AmigaOS 4 on them, you're stuck with the classic models running with a PowerUP-style PPC accelerator.

In short:  If you've already got an AGA Amiga with an '030 accelerator, you're set for all of the old software.  If you want something to run the next generation AmigaOS 4 or MorphOS, you're better off leaving the classic models behind altogether since they're so overpriced and likely to fail at any minute due to their age.

[phill25]

The age of them is a problem I guess.. parts are a touch hard to get now I suppose :-(

What sort of hardware is recommended then for the OS 4 or MorphOS?

[SamuraiCrow]

A used Pegasos 2 would be the preferred MorphOS route.

Since used AmigaOne computers are rarely found for sale and in working order you'd be better off waiting for the official release of AmigaOS 4 when there is expected to be new hardware available for it such as the SAM440EP.

[phill25]

I really do like the look of Amiga OS 4...  But one question that goes through my mind is, whats OS 4 got that should make me want to buy a brand new setup??

I mean, are any of the older Amiga games going to work on it at all?  Whats it all for??

[humppa]

@SamuraiCrow

The A1200 with the proposed but not officially produced PowerVixxenLT will beat the pants off of a Cybervision PPC if it ever makes it to market.

Don't bet on that. ACK promised a lot but delivered absolutely nothing. Why does anyone expect him to deliver the PV LT, when he can't even deliver the much simpler CPU modules?
And even _if_ he ever delivers, his his business practices are questionable.

There are also many other non-Amiga-dependent PowerPC-based hardware solutions that will beat the crap out of a Cybervision3d.

Possibly. Just like they are completely irrelevant due to their unavailability.

The only problem is if you want to run both MorphOS and AmigaOS 4 on them, you're stuck with the classic models running with a PowerUP-style PPC accelerator.

The problem turns to an advantage if you are interested to run Classic (OS3.9) software (scene demos, Amiga games using whdload) with the highest degree of compatibility.

@phil25

I really do like the look of Amiga OS 4... But one question that goes through my mind is, whats OS 4 got that should make me want to buy a brand new setup??
I mean, are any of the older Amiga games going to work on it at all? Whats it all for??

On OS4 you run most of those games only using E-UAE. It's basically like Winuae, only slower (no JIT) and with less features.
And why pay 800 EUR for emulation when you can have the same thing on a 200 EUR PC or natively on an Amiga Classic?