Planning new A1200 purchase, any must have upgrades?

[drewz21]

In my sig, you will see my A1200 upgrades.  I have purchased these items from both AmigaKit.com and Softhut.com.

[Karlos]

Does RAD: have a Higher priority than the HDD at boot ? Or did you have to have the Mount List for the RAD: device defining a higher priority than devices on SCSI.device ?

My A1200 has a 64MB simm on my DKB Cobra. (and a 4GB CF card).

I don't remember RAD's specific default boot priority (probably zero), but my bootable HD partitions are all set below zero. As soon as the RAD is created, it is now top of the list (after floppy).

[ChaosLord]

@pkupcik

Definitely 32MB of ram and a hard drive (or flash drive).

If I were you, I would get an 060 accelerator and a flickerfixer.  But that is because I love my Amiga and want the best for her.  If you don't love your Amiga, or if your wife took all ur money, then you might have to skip those 2.

[bbond007]

Just as others have mentioned here, the best things to add to an A1200 are:

8MB RAM/FPU/RTC card or 020/030 accelerator with at least 8MB RAM
4GB CF card on a CF-IDE adapter formatted with Workbench 3.1 on it
PCMCIA card reader, either SD or CF (remember SD cards are limited to 2GB each as SDHC isn't supported yet, but are cheaper than CF)
PCMCIA network card, either wireless or ethernet
CD32-compatible control pad or at least a Sega MasterSystem or MegaDrive/Genesis pad (which the Amiga uses as a 2-button pad)
Subway USB card
USB Missile Launcher
USB card reader

I have most of the stuff from Cammy's list...

GVP 030/40 "Typhoon" (with scsi) from softhut. The GVP also is equipped with a math coprocessor. I'm not sure which one. I ordered it with the 32mb ram chip. I did look at getting a 64mb FPM SIM but those seem to be quite rare. Also they look like much larger SIMMS.
 
NOS A1200,Subway and PCMCIA network board are scheduled to arrive from amigakit tomorrow. Even if that delivery slips a day, I'll still have it for the holiday weekend...

I'm also going with a 4GB CF HD adapter. I have 2 cards one is 133x and the other is 80x. I wonder if it makes a difference? I also have a 32GB card, but I'm holding off trying that immediately.

I did not actually order the USB rocket launcher yet, I really wanted to build (my own) upsized version  that uses standard lawn-darts as ammunition.

I'm having a setback on that. Apparently, There is a real shortage of lawn-darts at the moment - even on the second hand market.

[Cammy]

Lawn darts are an awesome idea!

[whiteb]

I have most of the stuff from Cammy's list...

GVP 030/40 "Typhoon" (with scsi) from softhut. The GVP also is equipped with a math coprocessor. I'm not sure which one. I ordered it with the 32mb ram chip. I did look at getting a 64mb FPM SIM but those seem to be quite rare. Also they look like much larger SIMMS.
 
NOS A1200,Subway and PCMCIA network board are scheduled to arrive from amigakit tomorrow. Even if that delivery slips a day, I'll still have it for the holiday weekend...

I'm also going with a 4GB CF HD adapter. I have 2 cards one is 133x and the other is 80x. I wonder if it makes a difference? I also have a 32GB card, but I'm holding off trying that immediately.

133x and 80x you will not notice the difference.., the slowest part of the chain is going to be the IDE on the motherboard.  That is not to say it will be slow, far from it.  The CF card just will use the IDE channel to its FULLEST (Not to mention SILENT, No HDD whine).

[bbond007]

133x and 80x you will not notice the difference.., the slowest part of the chain is going to be the IDE on the motherboard.  That is not to say it will be slow, far from it.  The CF card just will use the IDE channel to its FULLEST (Not to mention SILENT, No HDD whine).

No to mention I'm sure it uses less power than notebook drive.

Anyway, the one thing to consider also might be an upgraded power supply I suppose?

I was going to try the stock power supply first. If that proves to be flakey then maybe I'll look into building something with Pico-PSU. Would 90 watts be enough for the system?

http://www.virtech.ca/detailProduct.php?str=GE-PSU901487¤cy=USD

[whiteb]

No to mention I'm sure it uses less power than notebook drive.

Anyway, the one thing to consider also might be an upgraded power supply I suppose?

I was going to try the stock power supply first. If that proves to be flakey then maybe I'll look into building something with Pico-PSU. Would 90 watts be enough for the system?

http://www.virtech.ca/detailProduct.php?str=GE-PSU901487¤cy=USD

My A1200 runs Like a dream on my A500 heavy brick (60W). At least commodore had the willingness to be cheap enough to reuse the connectors and the same pinout as the A500.  I am sure it was them being UBER CHEAP, but it enabled a lot of us to replace the weak as piss, lightweight A1200 supply.

[edit] @ that link, that ONE PCB is the ENTIRE PSU ?, You are fracking kidding me ?

Thats awesome, but I need one in excess of 145W for my A4000 (Existing wattage).

[edit2] Oh wait, thats 90W 12V to ATX (DC to DC)..., thats no good  Would be awesome for 240VAC to ATX.

[bbond007]

My A1200 runs Like a dream on my A500 heavy brick (60W). At least commodore had the willingness to be cheap enough to reuse the connectors and the same pinout as the A500.  I am sure it was them being UBER CHEAP, but it enabled a lot of us to replace the weak as piss, lightweight A1200 supply.

[edit] @ that link, that ONE PCB is the ENTIRE PSU ?, You are fracking kidding me ?

Thats awesome, but I need one in excess of 145W for my A4000 (Existing wattage).

[edit2] Oh wait, thats 90W 12V to ATX (DC to DC)..., thats no good  Would be awesome for 240VAC to ATX.

I had one in an efika once. Its more of a power-regulator than anything. You supply the 12V with a laptop style power brick. Almost all of those can switch from 220/110 with as simple plug converter...

[LoadWB]

Just as quick note, I used a Transcend 5-in-1 PCMCIA card reader to successfully read a 16GB M2 card (as used in my SonyEricsson phones.)  I assume that it will also read the same size in MS and MS Pro as the M2 was in an MS Pro adapter.  That would be a maybe-no-so-cheap-way to overcome the 2GB limitation of the SD (what were they thinking?!)

Sad thing: my 1200 can read the 16GB M2 using this adapter, while my Windows XP x64 machine cannot.

But then, CF cards are MUCH more portable than M2.  I think someone also mentioned using a MicroDrive in the PCMCIA adapter.  I have given that some thought as I plan to replace the 4GB MicroDrive in my Palm LifeDrive with a CF card.

[NovaCoder]

For a games (WHDLOAD) machine running 3.1, I'd recommend:

1) 8MB RAM card
2) IndivisionAGA (or SCART TV)
3) 4/8GB CF HD

If you want to run OS3.9 and/or play more of the later demos/games then:

1) 32/64MB 030
2) IndivisionAGA (or SCART TV)
3) 4/8GB CF HD

If you want to muck around on the internet (slow) you can also add a PCMCIA network card (only for 030+).

If you have money to burn you could also go for an 060 rather than the 030 but avoid 040's.

A PCMCIA card reader is also a great idea (who needs floppy discs!).

[marcfrick2112]

Well, I'd pretty much echo what's been said. An '030 accel. , with as much RAM as you can get, an Indivision (unless you have easy access to an Amiga-compatable monitor) and a CF-to-IDE adapter. You might also want to take a look at English Amiga Board, there's quite a bit of advice regarding using CF cards on Amiga's.

I think an '030 should do fine for most gaming, and some light productivity too, if you end up getting into it. I love my '060, but it's definitely not cheap.... And it's maybe overkill if games are your primary goal.

Cammy, you'll have to give us details about using the USB rocket launcher on an Amiga... I thought there was PC-only software to aim it? Are you using a PC emulator for it? Anyway, should you want to escalate the war, here's a link to a version that can be daisy-chained, with a laser sight

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/warfare/8bc4/

I wish I hade better skills with electronics. I'd like to do one with an integrated camera for aiming, displaying on the PC, and maybe an infrared (heat) or motion sensor for unattended firing.  

Oh, and I'd add a USB plasma ball....:roflmao:

[Cammy]

If you have a USB card in your Amiga and run the Poseidon USB stack, RocketTool is built-in to it, so all you need to do is plug it in and pick up the joystick or control pad and control it. The Amiga allows you to move the rocket launcher in all eight directions in real time, including diagonals, and you can shoot while moving. The PC software only allows you to move it in one direction at a time and doesn't support diagonal movements, so the Amiga is just way better for using these missile launchers. The only thing lacking is support for those newer ones with webcams, but a classic Amiga wouldn't handle a live video feed very well anyway.

These are the ones I use, I have one on the A1200, one on the Aros laptop and one on the Aros netbook. If you download Icaros Desktop you can use the missile launchers straight away to see how they would work on a real Amiga. http://home.exetel.com.au/amiga/CammyRocketLauncher.JPG

I uploaded a video ages ago demonstrating my A600 on a CRT TV, but at the end of the video I pick up the CD32 ontroller and fire the missile launcher attached to the A1200. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTLvrhlNdyc

[XDelusion]

You know, I love throwing lawn darts at children just as much as anyone else, but what the hell is all this Missile business? I thought you were joking, but no, they actually make USB Missile Launchers.

So what is this, an office toy to shoot your co-workers/cat with or something?

[a1200]

For most the best 68030 powered accelerators are The Phase5 (DCE) Blizzard 1230 MK IV and the GVP Turbo II/Jaws II. The later being comparable in quality but with the problem the RAM is proprietary. Not so much of a problem as Softhut and GVP-M now stock it, I am awaiting my 2x16MB Simms in the post (coming from the USA), upon where I will sell my 2 4MB sticks for other GVP accelerator owners to enjoy.

[Cammy]

You know, I love throwing lawn darts at children just as much as anyone else, but what the hell is all this Missile business? I thought you were joking, but no, they actually make USB Missile Launchers.

So what is this, an office toy to shoot your co-workers/cat with or something?

I guess if you want to build the ultimate computer, it won't be complete without missile launchers. Just like Gus' computer from Superman III - http://meatfighter.com/superman3/part4/index.html

They're great for shooting at cats and visitors. My cat found the blind spot where it can't reach him, right behind it - http://www.flickr.com/photos/24340362@N08/4463504749/

He jumps up and tries to grab the missiles if I fire them at him, and he makes that sound that me makes when he sees birds outside.