A4000 Upgrade - Mediator VS Deneb

[LordSpunky]

It has been awhile, but here goes.

I've off and on thought about upgrading my Amiga 4000D.
Current setup: 3.1 ROM's / Workbench 3.1 / 2MB ChipRAM / Cyberstorm2 68040 @40MHz, 32MB FastRAM / Picasso MKIV / 4GB CF-IDE HDD / CD-ROM

I've thought about buying an X-Surf at some point - but that just gets me on the net, then I thought of a Deneb, but that just gives me USB, so I've been thinking of a Mediator that gives me PCI and then I can get a network card, a Spider and I have all those things. (A great cost and if I can find them).

And do I still 3.1 or go 3.5 / 3.9

Thoughts would be great.

Tris

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I've thought about buying an X-Surf at some point - but that just gets me on the net

You are aware of the RapidRoad module, right?  Plugs into the X-Surf 100 and activates the USB ports.  Pros & cons have been debated to death already in the forums, but an X-Surf 100 + RapidRoad module will give you perfectly usable USB for less than half the price of a Deneb.  It's what I use and IMHO they work great.  

[trekiej]

I book marked the museum.

[Gulliver]

I would go for the Mediator.

The problem with the X-Surf100 + RapidRoad combo is that it still has unsolved technical issues. With a Mediator, the expansion possibilities are even wider, and you could even sell that Picasso IV to fund the entire Mediator setup.

The Deneb is a no go for me. Too pricey for what it does.

[matthey]

I would go for the Mediator.

The problem with the X-Surf100 + RapidRoad combo is that it still has unsolved technical issues. With a Mediator, the expansion possibilities are even wider, and you could even sell that Picasso IV to fund the entire Mediator setup.

I was thinking the same thing about selling the Picasso IV to fund a Mediator but there are advantages and disadvantages.

Mediator advantages/disadvantages
+ Voodoo3-5 or Radeon gfx boards are more than 2x as fast at 2D than the Picasso IV
+ Voodoo3-5 has 3D
+ gfx card memory can be added to Amiga fast memory
+ good and cheap PCI gfx, ethernet and USB boards are possible
- Elbox sells overpriced Spider where generic USB PCI cards are cheap
- separate gfx card monitor output from Amiga
- no scan doubling/deinterlacing/flicker fixing or pass through of Amiga native modes

If not using native Amiga modes much and wanting to play with 3D, then the Mediator is a good choice. It is too bad that Elbox's greed with the Spider makes the Mediator setup so much less appealing. I bet they would make *more* money if they supported generic PCI USB cards and had a better reputation.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

it still has unsolved technical issues

I wonder how many "unsolved technical issues" are actually "ID10T" or "PEBKAC" errors?  :lol:

Oh well, damned if you do, damned if you don't.  /snark  

[mechy]

I wonder how many "unsolved technical issues" are actually "ID10T" or "PEBKAC" errors?  :lol:

Oh well, damned if you do, damned if you don't.  /snark  

Mine will not work in z3 mode,as soon as the stack tries to ocme up and call the driver it crashes the machine, tested it in 4 different amigas with all the available drivers and tcp/ip stacks as well as os3.1 -3.9-spent a week of nights testing to make sure i had setups right, the reply i got back from amigakit was "reinstall the drivers".
annoyed about it i just put it in the box and tossed it in a corner lol. i must be getting old because i guess that just annoyed me.

[LordSpunky]

The museum has changed a bit. It is now called The Silicon Vault.

[LordSpunky]

Hm I guess I could get a Mediator and keep the Picasso for awhile. It seems more flexible than just a Deneb. But the price us putting me off.

[SACC-guy]

I wonder how many "unsolved technical issues" are actually "ID10T" or "PEBKAC" errors?  :lol:

Oh well, damned if you do, damned if you don't.  /snark  

I too, had "tech" problems. I couldn't get the roadshow usb to work with usb sticks on my quikpak 060. Moved it to a bog standard 4000 and that was okay but had to drop to zorro2.

The xsurf100 by itself works fine in zorro3 and with the quikpak060... with that said,
it can be a good combo if your machine is compatible.

[mechy]

Hm I guess I could get a Mediator and keep the Picasso for awhile. It seems more flexible than just a Deneb. But the price us putting me off.

The Picasso IV is a great card, i would keep it. I had bought one brand new in 1995 i think for $379-best thing i ever bought since it allowed 24bit workbench and stuff.

That being said the mediator is great also, it allows workbench in 1900x1280x32 and mapping video card ram to the amiga if you need it. the down side is for 15khz stuff you need a scan doubler or some way to see it,which is a vga switch with 15khz amiga video in and radeon/voodoo video in(i use a dell st2420L LCD monitor that can handle 15khz in so it makes it easy.
it is possible to run a PIV and Mediator radeon/voodoo at the same time but you will likely need the mediator pro tower with lotsa slots.

The great thing about the Deneb is its fast, and it has a 1MB flash you can store the os3.9 rom in and avoid the reboot.(you can also do this with easy flash i guess).
i would say its the finest card i have ever owned next to a PIV,with the algor pro coming in 3rd.
the deneb is one fine card and i wish i had bought half a dozen when they went for $150usd or so.

 I have tried ethernet via the deneb with a linksys m200 stick and it worked great,but i prefer ethernet on zorro or pci since usb always has more cpu usage and overhead. I use a $2 dell ethernet card in the mediator i got new from ebay.
the deneb is better than the spyder for the reasons above,but the spyder can be made from a nec card

Mech

[LordSpunky]

I've had a look around, and I am toying with the idea of an X-Surf 100 and a Rapid Road.
That would give me ethernet and USB, two major things. The Picasso is a great card and Zorro which would be nice to keep to be honest. Maybe the Mediator is in the future.

AmigaKit don't have any X-Surf 100's in stock and turns out I can order the whole lot from Spain for £1 cheaper! That includes buying EasyNet Pro from Amigakit aswell. £180 all in is alot better than spending £260+ for a Mediator and then adding the cards.

Attending Amiga30UK has renewed my passion.

[Rob]

Attending Amiga30UK has renewed my passion.

Good stuff.  I hope this 30th anniversary does the same for many others.

[jj]

Was there not a way of re-flashing some cheap generic usb cards with the product id of the spider so you didn't need to get Fd in A be elbox for no reason.

[mechy]

I too, had "tech" problems. I couldn't get the roadshow usb to work with usb sticks on my quikpak 060. Moved it to a bog standard 4000 and that was okay but had to drop to zorro2.

The xsurf100 by itself works fine in zorro3 and with the quikpak060... with that said,
it can be a good combo if your machine is compatible.

hah! mine is the opposite, the x-surf crashes the machine in z3, i tried it with many different stacks and all the latest drivers for it. forced to z2 it works,but of course the whole point of buying it was i wanted to use z3 mode.
why did you have to drop to z2 in the stock 4000?