Adding fast ram to an A600.

[PanterHZ]

Hi,

Soon I'm getting hold of a bog standard Amiga 600 which I have plans of upgrading. I have ordered a IDE to CF adapter, and I already have a couple of SanDisk CF cards lying around. I also have plans of purchasing an A603 expansion in order to get 2 MB chip ram.

The only thing that then remains is some fast ram, and after checking what options I have, it seems like the only option is getting hold of a pcmcia memory card - something which I don't have much experience with.

That's why I ask you for advice upon things I should look out for. I have read that the card should be max 4 MB in size, but what happens if I install a larger card? I have also read about sram cards and flash ram cards, are they the same type of cards, and will they work with an A600?

If I buy a card it will most likely be from ebay, but things get even more confusing after reading that many of the cards listed as pcmcia cards there are actually not pcmcia cards after all (have different type of connector). is there anything I should look out for here?

I have a strong feeling that purchasing a ram card is going to be a hit and miss affair. But anyway, I hope somebody can help me out here :-)

[Cammy]

You are SOOO in luck The new A608 will be out soon, which is a PCMCIA-friendly 8MB Fast RAM expansion for the A600 which fits nicely at the same time as the A603. If you use a PCMCIA card, like a CF-reader or Ethernet adapter, the RAM will be reduced to 5.5MB, which is a limitation of the A600 design, but this is better than 4MB! Of course, once you've got the A603 and A608 in there, you can also fit an Indivision ECS, a ROM switcher and 3.1 ROMs, and maybe an MP3@64 or Subway USB on the Clockport.

The A600 is suddenly becoming expandable!

Here's a link to the forum where you can put your name down for an A608 - http://www.a608-amiga.co.uk/

10MB A600s rock for WHDLoad games!

[PanterHZ]

This is good news indeed, so I guess it will be a A608 instead of pcmcia ram then

I did some further research, and it seems like it's only sram cards that can be used as fast ram expansion in a A600. And these type of cards are both expensive and very hard to find, so it's good there is an alternative that in addition is a better solution.

It will leave the pcmcia port free for other stuff as well.

[Crumb]

You are SOOO in luck The new A608 will be out soon, which is a PCMCIA-friendly 8MB Fast RAM expansion for the A600 which fits nicely at the same time as the A603. If you use a PCMCIA card, like a CF-reader or Ethernet adapter, the RAM will be reduced to 5.5MB, which is a limitation of the A600 design, but this is better than 4MB! Of course, once you've got the A603 and A608 in there, you can also fit an Indivision ECS, a ROM switcher and 3.1 ROMs, and maybe an MP3@64 or Subway USB on the Clockport.

The A600 is suddenly becoming expandable!

Here's a link to the forum where you can put your name down for an A608 - http://www.a608-amiga.co.uk/

10MB A600s rock for WHDLoad games!

yes! I own one of those mighty 8MB russian expansion and it's great! :-) Since it's going to be produced again in the UK it's a good chance to get one.

[amiga1260]

Is it possible to pay with paypal?

[orange]

no doubt the price will change when it moves to UK.. :/

[e5frog]

... and we're still waiting for the A608.

Has anyone heard anything, did someone die?

[J-Golden]

But is there enough space to install the A603, A608 AND two Indivisions?!?!?

[alexh]

The people making the A608 are users, not business people they are trying to get them produced but only as their hobby. The PCBs are made, the components on back order and have been for months. Then they need assembling by hand.

If you have the money then you could consider the new Individual Computing ACA630 accelerator coming out before xmas. No price announced but expect roughly 3-4x the price of A608

[Buzzfuzz]

Why not wait for this:
 

 
Individual's ACA 630, 25Mhz 030 and 32MB ram

[MelbourneBen]

Does anyone know if the A608 is still being made or what the production status is? The website http://www.a608-amiga.co.uk/ seems to be down.

[Cammy]

I don't know. I think Zetr0 may be too busy.

With any luck someone else might make a run of them, they could cost as little as $60-70 each, maybe even less, who knows.

[alexh]

My A608 (2008) cost $45 + shipping but I don't think they made any profit at all.

[fitzsteve]

On top of being unwell recently Zetr0 when we last spoke has been waiting for the longest time time for the CPLD's

I've seen the PCB's he has them all but its just waiting on some parts.

However these will only facilitate the first batch or two and I think their is quite a long list.

I know its quite expensive compared but the new ACA630 looks awesome and is available via Amigakit.  Check it out, I really want to invest in one

I've seen quite a few of the 2007 A608's on ebay recently for around €50 if you are desperate keep a look out there.

Steve.

[fhansson1]

I would go for the ACA630 anyday. It's not worth to spend that money and chance to damage the computer just for 4-8Mb RAM these days.. You are still stuck with the slow 68000 CPU!