Get an Amiga, then what?

[husby]

Hello!
I have got a serious case of nostalgia going on right now, i regret i did not keep any of my amigas :cry:
I have installed WinUAE on my laptop and are enjoying all the oldskool demos and games i used to watch and play on my 500, and later 1200...
I have been checking out ebay and local sales pages and seen a few 500's for sale. I'd really like to get one, or a 600 or 1200.
But after the first euphoria has settled, I'm afraid it's just gonna collect dust on the desk, since using my laptop is so much comfortable.
And then I'm probably gonna sell it, and later on regret it again, lol
Have you guys experienced something similar, and what do you recommend i do?

[spirantho]

I recommend buying an Amiga, and getting stuck into a game that'll keep you occupied! I'm currently wading through Dungeon Master on my A500. Then again, I could never use a PC as my Amiga, it's just not the same. You need the feel of the mouse, the clicks and whirrs of the disk drive, and the smoothness of the experience. For me, no emulation comes close.

(Gratuitous plug: In case it's of any use, I have some quite nice A500s in my shop at the moment - let me know if I can help!)

[bloodline]

Hello!
I have got a serious case of nostalgia going on right now, i regret i did not keep any of my amigas :cry:
I have installed WinUAE on my laptop and are enjoying all the oldskool demos and games i used to watch and play on my 500, and later 1200...
I have been checking out ebay and local sales pages and seen a few 500's for sale. I'd really like to get one, or a 600 or 1200.
But after the first euphoria has settled, I'm afraid it's just gonna collect dust on the desk, since using my laptop is so much comfortable.
And then I'm probably gonna sell it, and later on regret it again, lol
Have you guys experienced something similar, and what do you recommend i do?

It's often nice to have one in the cupboard for moments when you want to look at one... Also nice to show children, many will be fascinated at such a museum piece. Other than that, UAE will perform suitably for other tasks

[save2600]

I agree with spirantho, but unless you're prepared to lay down some serious scratch with the initial investment and upgrades and don't mind dealing with the hassle of getting software off the net and onto your Amiga, I wouldn't bother since it sounds like you're pretty comfortable emulating. OTOH:

A500's can be had pretty cheap, but good luck getting acceleration for it, more RAM than 1mb and getting disk images onto it unless you enjoy dealing with a null modem cable setup.

A600 has built in pcmcia and ide but only a 68k processor. Totally adequate though if all you're going to do is visit the occasional game. Machine has a nice small footprint too and is typically only a few bucks more than an A500 when you can find one.

A1200's go for a lot more money, but they are already accelerated (doesn't stop most from further investing in an 030 though), has a built in pcmcia port so you can transfer images easily with a cf card adapter and has an ide port built in as well.

[persia]

Over the years I've shifted more and more towards UAE, simply because it's portable, right there in front of means I can just shrink it when I need to do work.  It's a faster Amiga than you'll find in hardware and it's easy to change ROMs.

[Iggy]

Personally, I'd side with bloodline.
Emulation is adequate.
And you're going to miss your laptop's portability.

[kedawa]

It also depends on where you live.
I bought an A500 a couple of years ago, and while I don't regret it one bit, I barely use it. Since I'm in Canada with an NTSC machine, and much of the software is designed for PAL systems, it's just more practical to emulate.

[SysAdmin]

Hello!
I have got a serious case of nostalgia going on right now, i regret i did not keep any of my amigas :cry:
I have installed WinUAE on my laptop and are enjoying all the oldskool demos and games i used to watch and play on my 500, and later 1200...
I have been checking out ebay and local sales pages and seen a few 500's for sale. I'd really like to get one, or a 600 or 1200.
But after the first euphoria has settled, I'm afraid it's just gonna collect dust on the desk, since using my laptop is so much comfortable.
And then I'm probably gonna sell it, and later on regret it again, lol
Have you guys experienced something similar, and what do you recommend i do?

You could buy the Amiga netbook when it comes out.

[spirantho]

Given the OP's wanting to buy some hardware, I'd guess that emulation isn't enough for him - but then maybe when he gets an Amiga he might change his mind. For most people, emulation is adequate - just not for me.

Given the stupid prices of A1200s at the moment, I'd get an A500 and a couple of games cheap, and see if it "does it" for you. If it does, then upgrade to an A1200 with accelerator, so you can use WHDload. I wouldn't recommend an A1200 straight off though as they're crazy prices and so are the accelerators needed for WHDLoad.

Think of the A500 as a "try before you buy" thing.

[Darrin]

Get a Minimig or FPGA Arcade.  It is as close to "the real thing" as you can get, but on new hardware and not having to worry about read errrors from old disks.

[Kremlar]

I share the same fears as you.

Although I've been pretty much lurking on forums like this for years now out of nostalgia, I only recently took the plunge and purchased some hardware.

I called out to all my old Amiga buddies looking for hardware stuffed in their basement and also kept my eyes opened on eBay and Craigslist.  I got fantastic deals on a near mint 4000T, a neglected 3000, and a busted 3000T.

My thoughts going into this were to be patient and not over pay for anything.  Time aside, I know I could always resell anything I have and get my money back plus more.  As for the time I've put into it, it's been frustrating at times but fun always - so I don't regret it a bit.

I've finished off (I hope) my 4000T and 3000, and trying to finalize my 3000T at the moment.  I haven't actually played a single game yet, but the true fun for me has always been the tinkering.

I love WinUAE and might get a FPGAArcade, but it's not the same as real hardware (both good and bad aspects).

As for getting bored and selling the systems, I hope I'll never need to sell for cash and space for me is not an issue, so I'd like to think I'd keep them indefinitely.  Like collecting antique cars I think uncommon systems will only increase in value as machines break and they get more and more rare.  I hope to keep mine in good condition.

My advice to you would be the same - use emulation, take your time, and don't overpay.  There are deals to be had out there if you're patient.

Good luck!

[Tenacious]

If you're not someone who likes fiddling with hardware (I do!), stick with emulation.

There are some hassles with vintage Amigas:  1] does it come with a compatible monitor or do you have one?  2] are you willing to expand it enough to make it usable (This might include some fast ram, or a hard drive, or some kind of card reader, or a video adapter.  Or all these things, depending on your goals.)

Many of us are happy museum keepers.     It sort of takes a critical mass of hardware and software to do more than play games.

[Tenacious]

 ... so I'd like to think I'd keep them indefinitely.  Like collecting antique cars I think uncommon systems will only increase in value as machines break and they get more and more rare.  I hope to keep mine in good condition.  

This sort of captures my motivations as well.  I have a small collection and I feel it is worthy of conserving for the future.  I think that I'm reasonably healthy.

[Kremlar]

Yeah... Now I think there are far more lucrative things to invest your money in, but if you don't overpay I think the chance of losing money (again, time aside) is very slim.  At least on basic, uncommon systems.

Now if you buy a tricked out 1200 for $1500 all bets are off!

[kickstart]

@husby

Thinking in room space or other things like this, maybe emulation is wins, but a real amiga is another feel (at least for me).