Opinions / Info - AmigaOS 4.x Systems

[SamuraiCrow]

Hey guys, where is the best place to find a used Sam440 or 460 motherboard that would ship to new zealand can't see any on ebay, any recommends? i couldn't find any on amigakit guessing only used ones available now? And how much do these 2 motherboards usually sell for these days? thanks

Note also, the AmigaOne 500 is a Sam 460-based complete system.

[klx300r]

I'm getting all the bits for my x1000 tomorrow I would recommend a second hand Sam 440 first, though, as they're cheap and give a good idea of the OS. They're plenty fast enough for most uses, but too slow for hi-def video and the browsers are a bit sluggish... but if you find you like it you can then sell that without any loss, probably, and go up to the next level like a 460, or even an x1000 which is very expensive but very nice! And if you don't like it, you can still sell it and not lose anything.

+1, except I would recommend getting a Sam460 (aka AmigaONE 500) since it supports the latest HD cards and has more grunt for E-UAE stuff ie. heavier AGA games (mind you with the way Rachi is going with JIT this might not be an issue any more).

which ever OS4.x machine you get, I highly recommend getting a Catweasel to use all your old floppies using spirantho's awesome drivers here http://www.retroreview.com/iang/Catweasel/

[amigakit]

The AmigaONE X1000 supports the latest RadeonHD cards (5000/6000 and 7000 series), has 7.1 digital HD sound in AmigaOS and features the fastest CPU available to AmigaOS 4.1.

The X1000 is soon going to have AMIStore app store launched for it and there are several other software developments arriving for it this year.  A-EON's focus this year is enabling more software for the X1000, its flagship product.

[klx300r]

The AmigaONE X1000 supports all the latest RadeonHD cards, has 7.1 digital HD sound in AmigaOS and features the fastest CPU available to AmigaOS 4.1.

The X1000 is soon going to have AMIStore app store launched for it and there are several other software developments arriving for it this year.  A-EON's focus this year is enabling more software for the X1000, its flagship product.

man that's great news since new hardware isn't a problem for us anymore

[amigakit]

Yes, A-EON is working very hard on the new AMIStore application and platform to support all the developers out there who want to bring their software to the AmigaOS market.   Software is now the emphasis that the AmigaONE X1000 is available to customers.

[Erol]

 A-EON's focus this year is enabling more software for the X1000, its flagship product.

I guess the X5000 wont be a focus until its release?
Will this focus also include games,  on the gaming forum here -

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=67028  

We talking about RPG Games, the Steam guys think its possible to port Unity to OS4.
Could A-eon and Amigakit start a competition on Steam providing hardware for them to port to OS4?

[OlafS3]

I guess the X5000 wont be a focus until its release?
Will this focus also include games,  on the gaming forum here -

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=67028  

We talking about RPG Games, the Steam guys think its possible to port Unity to OS4.
Could A-eon and Amigakit start a competition on Steam providing hardware for them to port to OS4?

Unity is commercial. A platform with only a couple of hundreds user is certainly not interesting to them (I know that because I tried to contact them some time ago).

You should better set realistic goals like porting a opensource engine. And there is now Antiryad Gx for almost all platforms (except AmigaOS). Perhaps you could persuade the developer to support AmigaOS in future. Unity is completely unrealistic. They will not even respond to you.

[vox]

The AmigaONE X1000 supports the latest RadeonHD cards (5000/6000 and 7000 series), has 7.1 digital HD sound in AmigaOS and features the fastest CPU available to AmigaOS 4.1.

The X1000 is soon going to have AMIStore app store launched for it and there are several other software developments arriving for it this year.  A-EON's focus this year is enabling more software for the X1000, its flagship product.

It sadly has 2D with all cards except Radeon 9250 which is even slower on X1000 PCI bus.
Not even onboard ethernet and SD card are visible under OS 4.2, not to mention above 256MB VRAM, 2GB FAST and second core
(32-bit limits). Its a killer flagship system, but way too advanced for OS. A single core G5 performant, 2GB DDR3, Radeon 9100 256MB VRAM
with Sound Blaster 5.1 would be more suitable. PA Semi has bad CPU but good FPU, Altivec and Memory Transfer, kind of between G3 CPU and G5 level tech.

I am glad there will be more X1000 software this year, but X1000 users are waiting for full OS 4.2, as paid.

[amigakit]

Could A-eon and Amigakit start a competition on Steam providing hardware for them to port to OS4?

It is intended that AMIStore will eventually be our equivalent of Steam for AmigaOS.

[amigakit]

I am glad there will be more X1000 software this year, but X1000 users are waiting for full OS 4.2, as paid.

A-EON is not in responsible or in charge of the Amiga Operating System development but every time there is a commercial opportunity for A-EON to support new software for the X1000, then this will be taken.

I guess the X5000 wont be a focus until its release?

The X5000 is a long way off consumer release and when it is finally ready, drivers and software all have to be written for it.  The AmigaONE X1000 is the product that A-EON is focusing all software efforts on.

[takemehomegrandma]

I can also recommend getting a used SAM440. Amiga OS responsive nature makes it feel like you are using a very fast computer

"It feel like you are using a very fast computer", well yes, until you actually start doing stuff of more modern kind, like watching videos (modern codecs, modern resolutions), browsing complex and heavy web sites, compiling, rendering, emulation, etc. There is no shortcut around the need of decent CPU power.

I do use both SAM460 and X1000, its nice to have em, but man, they are not fully used by OS, starting with more modern gfx cards that work 2D only

AFAIK, the proper 1.0 version of the 2D accelerated driver is strictly speaking not here yet AFAIK, only in beta/RC, yes? But it's said it will be soon?

[takemehomegrandma]

The X5000 is a long way off consumer release and when it is finally ready, drivers and software all have to be written for it.

Some (like the customers) could argue that it's not finally ready until the drivers are, right?

[takemehomegrandma]

I'm curious if anyone knows of any FAQ's, or has any direct feedback, on the various incarnations of OS 4.x Amiga's that have come across to date.  I may be in the market for a used one or even an X-#### model and would like to know what I'm getting into ahead of time if possible.

For example, I seem to recall one motherboard has an audio issue due to a missing capacitor or resistor?

I'm particularly interested in info on the Sam440/460 models as I've seen them advertised more than others.

Thanks!

IMHO you would be best off searching for a second hand Pegasos 2 G4. Happy hunting!

[vox]

A-EON is not in responsible or in charge of the Amiga Operating System development but every time there is a commercial opportunity for A-EON to support new software for the X1000, then this will be taken.

Surely, no one is responsible, that is best part of it. :roflmao::rtfm:

[amigakit]

@takemehomegrandma

Some (like the customers) could argue that it's not finally ready until the drivers are, right?

Yes, you are of course correct, the main drivers need to be ready before consumer release.  That is why we are in the process of working with developers for the provision of Cyrus' SATA, USB, Ethernet at the moment.  Although this is one for the long term.  Our priorities at the moment are the provision of more software for customers who have X1000s out there currently.  This is where AMIStore app store becomes so important.

[vox]

@takemehomegrandma
Yes, you are of course correct, the main drivers need to be ready before consumer release.  That is why we are in the process of working with developers for the provision of Cyrus' SATA, USB, Ethernet at the moment.  Although this is one for the long term.  Our priorities at the moment are the provision of more software for customers who have X1000s out there currently.

Since SAM 440 no board has came with complete drivers, including NEMO. If this is true, this would be great lesson learned that unfinished products (from software side) should not be shipped, since it causes quite a lot headache to end users. And support too.

Even its a bit shameful that X5000 will come with OS 4.1.7 again, which means OS 4.2 has become kind of OS 5.0 mythical. As TW 22. Investment in software on any base is as important, if not even more, then new hardware development.

While I am happy Cyrus will provide more horsepower, it doesn`t accelerate AmigaOS development in any way.