Classic Amiga buildup

[Ranchu]

Hi

I'm looking to build up a decently spec'd classic Amiga to use as my main home computer.  Its been ages since I used a 'real' Amiga - for the past 10 years I've run Amithlon and UAE.

Interested in:
- OS 3.1
- Web browsing
- Email
- Word processor/spreadsheet
- MP3
- DVD

What parts are readily available and would made a good set up?

[NovaCoder]

Ranchu wrote:
Hi

I'm looking to build up a decently spec'd classic Amiga to use as my main home computer.  Its been ages since I used a 'real' Amiga - for the past 10 years I've run Amithlon and UAE.

Interested in:
- OS 3.1
- Web browsing
- Email
- Word processor/spreadsheet
- MP3
- DVD

What parts are readily available and would made a good set up?

A classic Amiga will not be able to perform all the items you listed at an acceptable speed unless you get a PPC + graphics card.  When you add the cost of all that up, you're prob better off buying a SAM.

I love using my desktop 1200 at home for a retro fix but it's never going to replace my PC (unfortunately).
 

[Ranchu]

Yeah I assumed that a PPC accel would be on the cards... no way a 060 would have the grunt to play DVDs.

What would be the best platform to build on?  1200/2000/3000/4000?  Okay I know an A4000 is probably the best base, but would the cost be justified given that it would need upgrading anyway?

I would like to "play" with some real Amiga hardware again.  I've had a look at the SAM to be honest I think I'd rather go with AROS.

[ddniUK]

I have a supremely specced Amiga.

A1200T
Blizzard 603+ PPC 175mhz
68060 50mhz.
256mb RAM.
16GB SCSI CF.
20GB IDE HDD.
IDE CDRW.
OS3.9 BB1+2.
Mediator.
Voodoo 3 P96.
PCI Ethernet 100mb.
SB128 Soundcard.
TV Tuner.
Indivision 1200 AGA SD/FF.

It has taken a leisurely three years to get it up to the spec that I have always desired.
I have to admit though, that the process of gathering the parts, building it and creating a stable Workbench environment was far more fun than actually using it.

It is EXTREMELY fast for a Classic Amiga.

But now that it is finished what have I got?
A lovely bit of hardware that does almost everything that I want from a computer.

However compared to a modern computer it is SLOOOOW...

Classic gaming on my A1200T is wonderful, but an A1200D with CF card, 030 and 16meg of RAM would do it better...
(A SAM440ep is not yet a real option for Classic gaming).

If I were starting out now, would I build my system up again?
ABSOLUTELY!! As I said the fun is in the journey, not the destination.

[spirantho]

Not sure I understand your goal here....

You want OS 3.1 rather than anything later, which is only advantageous for games, but you're expecting to need a PPC accelerator.

If you want to use your PPC correctly you should at least get OS 3.9 but you'd be much better off getting OS 4. Forget about DVDs though, you'll never be able to play them well on a classic Amiga, no matter what hardware you throw at it.

For the above tasks though I'd say it's a no brainer - you have to have OS 4, which'll do everything apart from DVDs. You won't regret it (I didn't).

Personally though I'd just get a SAM and keep a 1200 just for games.

[McVenco]

Ranchu wrote:

I'm looking to build up a decently spec'd classic Amiga to use as my main home computer.  Its been ages since I used a 'real' Amiga - for the past 10 years I've run Amithlon and UAE.

My 2 cents:

Buy something cheap and fast (which means non-Amiga) for DVD, mp3 and web browsing stuff, and get yourself a real Amiga for the retro-fun (which can of course include web browsing, but not to modern-day standards). Depending on what type of case you like go for an A1200 or A4000, and then beef it up with a network card, USB, fast accelerator and gfx card. Of course you can use an Amiga as everyday machine, but then DVD's a no-go. MP3 might be quirky too without some extra hardware.

Don't waste your money on a PPC card (my opinion), unless you really, REALLY want one - the same money that will buy you a Cyberstorm PPC card will provide you with a decent G4 Mac mini, MorphOS 3 (when it's released), plus a 22" TFT screen. With OS4 and MorphOS becoming available on more machines - not only the also ridiculously overpriced AmigaOne and Pegasos - I think it's worth considering using one of these OSes rather than classic AmigaOS.

[Ranchu]

Okay thanks for the comments guys...

I already have the latest Macbook Pro for work, and a high-end notebook running Vista and high-end desktop running Linux at home.  These machines are certainly more than capable of doing everything I need.

I guess I am looking for something a bit different.  I might think about getting a basic A1200 setup for the Amiga experience and leave the main tasks to other computers...

Cheers.

[darksun9210]

at the moment, my most used/usefull machine is an 030 based a1200 with a 4gb compact flash and a 10Mb pcmcia network card.
WHDLoad classic amiga gaming (put floppy disk games on harddisk), basic web browsing, pop3 email access.

mp3? yes, with 040/060/PPC for decent quality. for anything less CPU wise, decode it to a WAV file and play that back instead. or get a floppy/parallel/clock port MP3 decoder card from individual computers..

DVD? erm. kinda. with 200mhz PPC603 dumping 8bit greyscale out to a bvisionPPC graphics card and AC3 decoding you might be able to  put up with it. i remeber still using a DVD decoder card with a 400mhz PC...

Web? mmmmyeah... basic web is fine with aweb or ibrowse. a more modern web expirience can be had with Origin Web Browser, but it wants an 040/060/PPC and OS3.9+BoingBag2 with 64+Mb ram and possibly a GFX card as a starting point..

[tone007]

I have a problem with "Classic Amiga buildup"

..they're building up in my house/garage!

I thought Origin was only for OS4.