Hardware I would like

[Iggy]

As a side note, what the heck is it with people always wanting "Amiga" + "cheap"?  Go build a WinUAE system out of an old freecycle PC if you want cheap.  You gotta know this hobby isn't for cheapskates!  Gaaah!:destroy:

Sure it is.
Since when do Amigans want to pay for anything (unless it is something they are fixated on)?
And my legacy system of choice, the A2000, IS still cheap.
As are the PowerMacs I run MorphOS on.
And the PC I have AROS installed on (an Atom based system).
And the PC I run WinUAE on...
etc.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Sure it is.
Since when do Amigans want to pay for anything (unless it is something they are fixated on)?
And my legacy system of choice, the A2000, IS still cheap.
As are the PowerMacs I run MorphOS on.
And the PC I have AROS installed on (an Atom based system).
And the PC I run WinUAE on...
etc.

That just proved my point.  All of those emulated platforms are cheap, and great for someone who wants to just tinker around with something that "feels like an Amiga".  But anybody who thinks they're going to get a high-spec, accelerated, classic system with "all the bells and whistles" for anything less than a G is either fooling themselves, or really lucky (like that guy who tripped over all the A4000T's in an alley.  I still hate him!  :laugh1:)

[Tenacious]

I'm all about having a full fledged, full desktop "Amiga" to run things on...    I've never played games on my Miggies, and never will.  I realize that makes me a minority in the larger scheme of things...

A minority of 2?  I love the OS and the HW, not the games that can be played.

I'm always suckered into the threads about guys who want to expand their basic system (A500, etc) into fully functional (as modern as possible) systems that do everything.  Then, after many posts to the thread, the focus of the endeavor is revealed to be gaming.  My enthusiasm for the discussion usually tanks.

DGMW, gaming is fine.  OTOH, I often wonder how many are here for other reasons.

[Iggy]

Sorry Mike,
I didn't realize my A2000 didn't qualify.
I admit that a fully blown out A4000 is expensive, but then they were ungodly expensive when new.
I hope all of you don't think that some FPGA based miracle is going to occur that will do everything a high end legacy system would, and more.
I can't see that happening.
Something more modest, maybe.
Now that Jens has an agreement for licensing kickstart roms arranged with Hyperion, maybe we will see something finally coming from him.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Sorry Mike,
I didn't realize my A2000 didn't qualify.

I own two A2000's.  When you factor in the cost of the system itself plus accelerator, Indivision or graphics card, CF solution, memory expansion, upgraded ROM and other chips, network card, USB card, etc., both of them are well over $1000.  And that's just to "modernize" an A2000.  Build something more rare like an A3000 or A4000 with the works ('060 or PPC, PIV or CV64 graphics card, etc.), and it's going to be 2-3x that.

Even base systems themselves are typically in the $300-$400 range these days.  And I'm not talking about the $139 one on ebay right now with "CPU socket corroded will need to be replaced", and a whole laundry list of other problems.

At this point Amiga's are pretty much like classic cars.  All the good ones have already been bought up and restored.  It's hard to enter the classic hardware market without expecting to lay out a few bucks.  

[Iggy]

I have approached building my system via a slow, careful accqusition of parts.
I just recently aqquired a 40 MHz '030 card to replace my 14 MHz '020 card.
I got it at a really good price.
I friend just recently offered me a sound card.
I bought a video digitizer from a German source a few months ago, also at a good price.

If you are patient, cost is not that great an issue.
Except maybe for RTG video cards.
I doubt I will ever find a good buy on one of those.

And sometimes you just need to let it go.
I had an '040 accelrator card until about two years ago.
Sold it to a Russian at an obscene price.
I needed the funds for more modern hardware.

BTW The hardware you dismiss as pure emulation kicks legacy hardware's ass.

[danbeaver]

Cheap (inexpensive) + Amiga = That dog won't hunt

[Lurch]

Items that would be nice,

SATA for my A1200T.
Warp3D drivers for my ATI 9200 so I can ditch my Voodoo 5, and stop using the 9200 as just a RAM card.
A fix for switching between AGA and RTG mode, some games through WHDLoad refuse to work.

That's about it

[Iggy]

Cheap (inexpensive) + Amiga = That dog won't hunt

Sure it would, but the owner would probably be stupid enough to shoot it while hunting.

Although I probably should not spend too much time harping on affordability.
It might make me look foolish were I to follow my own fixations and I buy an X5000 when they become available.

[gertsy]

Items that would be nice,

SATA for my A1200T.
Warp3D drivers for my ATI 9200 so I can ditch my Voodoo 5, and stop using the 9200 as just a RAM card.
A fix for switching between AGA and RTG mode, some games through WHDLoad refuse to work.

That's about it

Can't you just use a Pata to Sata adaptor? And what speed advantage would you get over a fast CF Card and IDE adaptor?

[Iggy]

Can't you just use a Pata to Sata adaptor? And what speed advantage would you get over a fast CF Card and IDE adaptor?

Tied to an A1200, probably not much.
SATA can overwhelm the bandwidth of a PCI bus.
A PCI bus tied to a Zorro bus could easily overwhelm that, etc.

But you'd get a big boost in potential capacity.

[Lurch]

Can't you just use a Pata to Sata adaptor? And what speed advantage would you get over a fast CF Card and IDE adaptor?

Tried one of those and the FastATA didn't like it, and now no longer works :-(  I have a buffered IDE adapter might try it again on that.

The reason for trying is that IDE is becoming rare and SATA HDDs and DVDs can source really easily and readily through work.

CF Cards are limiting too, why have a 8/16/32GB card when I can have a 250GB HDD plus a DVD writer?

You'll never fill that 250GB? Sure I have just about filled it with downloading various items off the internet and 3000+ WHDLoad games etc ;-)

Its not about the speed but about future proofing the A1200 :-)

[trekiej]

I noticed that the Graffiti is an non-RTG video card that connects externally.
I have seen those in an Amiga magazine for years.
How does it work internally?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

CF Cards are limiting too, why have a 8/16/32GB card when I can have a 250GB HDD plus a DVD writer?

I actually had a pretty hard time finding an 8GB CF card recently.  Most places are only pushing sales of 16GB+, and 128GB cards are dropping close to the $100 USD mark.  Still more expensive than a hard drive, sure, but isn't 127GB the largest an Amiga can support?

Edit:  According to Wikipedia, largest PFS can do is "137GB Max volume size", and SFS "127GB Max volume size".  Not sure if that means you could have multiple volumes/partitions on a single device?

Edit again:  Nevermind, I just googled and found a note that PFS can do up to 2TB.  I guess you'll all be secure to download the entire Aminet onto your hard drives, as soon as an appropriate interface for said drives becomes available!  :lol:

[QuikSanz]

This is a good point.  It would be nice to see accelerators that allow the use of legacy SCSI peripherals/drives, as well as modern SATA standard.  Would hate to see only one or the other.  Sort of a "bridging the past with the future" kind of thing.  And SCSI chips cost what, $5?  Would hardly push it over the limit in terms of cost, LOL.  :lol:

Still not gonna happen, but hey, why not, right?  

And if FPGA is the only way we're gonna get accelerators for big box systems, then ones that fully implement '040 or '060 instruction codes with FPU & MMU would be nice.  Say how about a 100MHz '060 card with built in X-Surf 100, RapidRoad, compatibility with modern RAM, SCSI & SATA.  How much would you pay for such a thing?  I'd plunk down at last $500, but I suspect it would cost a lot more than that, and that's not even counting the "Super AGA" that I'm sure people are going to ask for in this thread soon!  :laughing:

I would be more ambitious. Lets make that minimum 100mhz 060 and add a PCI expansion port.

Now you can maybe stash a small PCI board expansion over the ISA slots and run a cable, or, lets say you can't get the Zorro board you wanted or you original MB is failing, you can get a replacement with PCI slots that fits your original case.

Of course if you crap in one hand and wish in the other what do you really have. lol

Chris

[mechy]

Tried one of those and the FastATA didn't like it, and now no longer works :-(  I have a buffered IDE adapter might try it again on that.

The reason for trying is that IDE is becoming rare and SATA HDDs and DVDs can source really easily and readily through work.

CF Cards are limiting too, why have a 8/16/32GB card when I can have a 250GB HDD plus a DVD writer?

You'll never fill that 250GB? Sure I have just about filled it with downloading various items off the internet and 3000+ WHDLoad games etc ;-)

Its not about the speed but about future proofing the A1200 :-)

Ide to sata adapters are dirt cheap. you will get ide speeds but can use sata devices.