Need some advice.
 

Hi guys.

I need some help and advice. And I am just confusing myself with the sheer amount of information floating around about Amiga's. :crying

I currently own a 600. It's served me well for a long time now but I am starting to get into games that require HDD installs to make the most out of them, UFO and Tower Assault to name a few. And it's all starting to get a little bit confusing.

Firstly I have decided that I want to go for a Solid State/Flash based HDD. However I have seen two types and am not sure which one to go for.

One is the CF based HDD from Amigakit (http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...roducts_id=883) and the other is a dual SD/CF based one from Vesalia (http://www.vesalia.de/e_ide25sdcfhdd.htm).

Now it seems like the popular option is to go for the CF one. However the SD/CF one looks interesting. So can someone tell me what the pros/cons are to using CF or SD? Also if there is the compatability issues with some brands of SD cards like there is with certain brands of CF?

Also I have been researching about HDD upgrades for the 600 and it seems like most simply just buy a 1200 because of the newer Kickstart roms.

I am not opposed to buying a 1200, because I am kind of interested in the AGA games and software. But would buying one and installing the HDD create a more universal, for lack of a better word, Amiga experience? As in, would I still be able to use all my current software with ease if i went with the 1200 over my 600.

I may just be over complicating things. But between reading on other forums about the 600's not been able to take large capacity drives. Needing to replace Kick roms with newer versions. 1200's been functionally better. And the advantages of been able to use workbench 3.1. It's all just confusled me a little too much.

And i won't be getting rid of my 600, it's been my trusty companion next to my C64, but I just want to know what would be best in the long run.

Just think of the A1200 as being an A600 with clockport, more available accelerators (although I believe Jens just released a cheap-ish accelerator or the A600), more powerful/more memory in stock form, AGA of course, numeric keypad, etc.
It's obviusly "better" than the A600 & if you can afford one, I think everyone here would suggest you buy one :)

That being said, if you don't want AGA & are just interested in playig "classic" Amiga games, maybe you don't actually need an A1200? However, some would classify "need" & "want" as being the same thing...LOL

Anyway, grab an A1200 & have the best of both worlds I say :D

By the way, you CAN use 3.1 on your A600 if you install the correct ROM ;)

PZ.

The more I read about the 1200's the more I start to like them. I think I will end up buying one to be honest with you. And then keep the 600 for a "just in case" system.

Thanks for the help on that part. Now just to find out about the hdd options that I have seen.

Oops, forgot to address the flash HDD opton.

Look, personally I've tried both CF & SD cards as HDD options on my A600 (now sold) & A1200.

They both worked more or less the same for me, so just go with whatever floats your boat.

One would assume that SD cards will remain in production longer than the old CF units, so that may be a consideration. However, an adaptor for either card type to IDE is only about $2 (or less) on eBay, so who cares if a change is required at some stage down the track? Just buy both now & keep the unused one stored away.

Not to rag out AmigaKit or Veslaia (they are good Amiga sellers), but you can put this together yourself for peanuts :)

PZ.

Thanks Fingerlickin_B for the advice.

Just been on eBay and found some CF adapters for £2.50 including delivery. So I might buy a couple of them, one for my 600 and one for the 1200 when I get round to investing in one. Though that may be after the christmas with the way money is going at the moment :(

BOO TO NO MONEY!!!!

Just need to find some CF cards now.

I have found that the compatibility of the 1200 is a bit on the crappy side, even with relokick a lot of games wont work, so whdload is what you will need. I've also put my A600 away in the cupboard, and only use either the ol'500 or my 1200.

I prefer the IDE to SD over CF.

Yeah, IDE will always toast SD/CF options and let's face it, IDE drives are pretty cheap these days... :)

There are more reasons why certain games/apps won't run than using a different Kickstart/Relokick option. The best scenario is to use a 500/1200 if you want ultimate compatibility.