So.. what are we all buying?

[legion]

Ok. I'm going to place my order for my A1 in the next few weeks here, and my question to you all is what do you think is the best value?  Should I order the SE, and save the money?  Should I order the XE with G3 because of CPU interchangeability, and save a little by not ordering with a G4, or should I go all out and just order the G4 board?  Do you think that any apps will actually use Altivec in the next year?  2 years? I've been debating this, and it seems that the XE G3 seems the most attractive.  If I want to swap with a G4 later I can, and it will offer crushing performance right away with current PPC apps.

Thoughts?  

[jumpship]

I went for the XE-G4. But having said that, unless you are planning on doing some heavy number crunching (and until apps start to use Altivec) a G3 @ 600MHz should suit most poeple. It will allow you to surf the net with easy, make up letters and spreadsheets and should be more then powerful enough (so i am lead to belive) to play DVDs with.

The actual reason I went for the G4 is soley because I never couold afford an A4000 when they first came out, although I wanted the "top of the line" Amiga I had to settle for the A1200. Now I can afford it and want to have the TOTL AmigaONE that I wanted as a teenager.

I have realised my dream as it were ;-)

[quenthal]

If remember correctly, it is even possible that 600MHz G3 may do some things faster than 800MHz G4 because of more cache(?). The true power of G4 isn't shown until Altivec is supported. Then it is quite clear to choose G4.

[JurassicCamper]

I was going to order my A1 XE(G4) mobo today.
I emailed eyetech with some questions but havn't got a responce yet.

The Questions I want answered before I buy are.

1. What Memory is recommended ?

2. Does the Mobo come with a LinuxPPC CD Distro  ?
....Just a £600 paperweight otherwise until OS4.

3. Does the mobo come with all leads i mean AMR Header, ATX blanking plate, usb header leads, floppy ide etc. decent manual. Like PC mobo's

I mean whats the point of having on board modem audio usb etc. if they aint gonna ship an AMR / usb header with it.

4. Do you need a CPU Fan ?

I have this horrible feeling your gonna get a mobo in a dull brown cardboard box with a cpu and a bad photocopy on a sheet of A4 paper, that will be your lot.

5. Can I use USB mice / keyboards or only when OS4 is finished. Is it PS2 only until then ?

6. What PCI / AGP cards are supported ?

I dont feel you can realy buy it until these questions are answered.  :-)

[SilvrDrgn]

I'm getting the XE-G4 ... mainly because of the changeable CPU.  Figured as long as I'm spending money, might as well get the top of the line.

[xeron]

I'm going for the XE-G4! Gimme gimme!

[legion]

JurassicCamper:

VERY good points.  Keep me posted on their response, will you?

[MikeB]

I am opting for an Amiga-XE motherboard, as I would like to do performance tests between various software titles running with different specced CPUs.

But as a user I would probably have opted for a G4, the AmigaOne is afterall the first new Amiga motherboard in a decade, no need to get cheap about it.  :-D

I am sure there will be Altivec versions of software titles pretty soon. If you look at classic Amiga software and all the different CPU optimised versions out there, I have no reason to think this will not be the case for AmigaOS4 software as well.

@ quenthal

In general a 800 Mhz G4 is significantly faster than a 600 Mhz G3, even without software utilizing Altivec.

[quenthal]

I am sure there will be Altivec versions of software titles pretty soon. If you look at classic Amiga software and all the different CPU optimised versions out there, I have no reason to think this will not be the case for AmigaOS4 software as well.

I too think this will happen... I'll get G4 version asap..

@ quenthal

A 800 Mhz G4 is significantly faster than a 600 Mhz G3, even without software utilizing Altivec.

Well, that's it - G4 it is!  :-D

[pioneer]

It probably won't be until next year that I can afford a motherboard (by then AmigaDOS4 will probably be out). Considering the questionable nature of the whole thing, I plan to keep expenditures to a minimum. So I would get the XE/G3. My PC is a real powerhouse and I plan to use it for the heavy-duty stuff for the foreseeable future.

I haven't upgraded for years. I have an Amiga 2000 with AmigaDOS 2.1, and haven't put any money into it since. This seems like a good time to upgrade to the latest hardware and operating system, even thought it's just a big hardware toy.

[olegil]

In general a 800 Mhz G4 is significantly faster than a 600 Mhz G3, even without software utilizing Altivec.

Maybe in general, but it DOES depend on "what G3?". The 700MHz 750FX is faster than the 800MHz G4. Really. But it's not gonna be shipping until January, so if you want it before christmas, the G4 is your friend.

[Rudei]

I ordered the AmigaOne XE G4 800 about a week ago!  I figured same as other people, could never afford A4000 when I was younger and want TOTL.

Besides, whats £200 between processors?  :-)

[MikeB]

@ olegil

According to benchmark tests performed on Mac hardware the G3/G4's integer performances (does not utilize Altivec) is basically the same at similar clock speeds.

However the floating point performance is roughly 30% better at the same clock speeds for the G4. (And of course there are big performance gains for Altivec optimised software.)

[Marky_D_Sahd]

/me trying to look like Johnny Cockran:

"if you buy the top,
you won't have to swap."

Seiously, although your logic does seem fine, in the end it adds a few hundred dollars to the price of your machine.  Go G4!

[jumpship]

@JurassicCamper

4. Do you need a CPU Fan ?

Yes, in a word! ;-)

But if you want answeres email/phone Eyetech, I am sure they will be happy to put your fears to rest

6. What PCI / AGP cards are supported ?

I asked Hyperion and was told to go for the ATI Radeon, so i now have a 7500 :-)