Is Blizzard the accelerator to have for A1200 ?

Kakaboy · 08 March 2010, 05:56

Hi Fellas,

Is Blizzard the Ducks nuts in Accelerators for A1200 ?
What should we pay for one of these ?
Is this waht you need to run OS 3.9 and above ?

Ebay item in OZ:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Amiga-1200-Bl...50262940374531

coze · 08 March 2010, 07:17

there are many accelerators for the 1200. Blizzard is a good one, but others will do fine as well. For OS 3.9, you need at least a 030, but for a pleasant experience 040/060 recommended. (why do you want OS 3.9 anyway ?)

a blizzard 030 should go around 100-150 Euros I think.
a 040 is perhaps 200-250 euro and for 060's you need to dig out 250 euros or more.

btw, if I were you I would stay away from that board. It looks defective, it may cost a lot to get it repaired/serviced.

Kakaboy · 08 March 2010, 10:26

Thanks for your reply . Im just looking at different addons . I think most people set up their A1200 with 6mb ram and I think that would make it really nice to run 3.1 and whdload . I noticed this has plenty of ram that comes with it and the accelerator as a bonus . Im new to all this as im still coming to grips with my A500 lol .
But im looking into getting an A1200 as I can get more ram and CF HDD and connecto a VGA monitor .

asm1 · 08 March 2010, 11:32

As Coze says, there are many accelerators for the A1200, everything from RAM only cards to things like that 060. The only thing I would have to add is that most RAM only cards are incompatible with the PCMCIA slot if you use 8MB ram - that is why most are set up jumpered to 4mb for a total of 6Mb. Of course that doesn't mean you can't have 8mb installed, I have an 8mb card I use just fine, it just means that you cannot use the PCMCIA slot at the same time.

Now on to that 060, I would still keep an eye on it. if you can get it cheap then there is the off chance you may have an easy fix - My 060 was booting with similar "black screen" symptoms (or not booting as it were) - A reinstall of my OS sorted the problem. I'm not suggesting you take a chance, merely that the 060 will be all the accelerator you will ever need and they are normally an expensive upgrade... so if it goes cheap, and IS a simple fix then you have an absolute bargain. Whether you take the risk or not is up to you.

Now on the subject of "other" Accelerators - 030 and "as much ram as you can" seems to be about the maxim. I had a Typhoon Mk2 with an 030 at 42 Mhz and 32 (later 64) MB of RAM and this was more than enough to run OS 3.1 /3.5/3.9 and all WHDLOAD games. Blizzards are nice but there are "non- Blizzard" cards going about which will do the job equally well. Apollo is another card brand to look for.

030/040/060 ? Well it depends what you want to do, and whether you want "Fastest Possible" or "best value" SOme cards have a SCSI interface on them, some do not, and this may affect price accordingly. The blizzards are nice in this respect as you can add a SCSI board later if you wish on some revisions.

If I were you I'd go for an 030 @ 50Mhz, its a good all-rounder and will save you a lump of cash which you can then spend elsewhere. The 040 will be faster, and can be upgraded (in most cases) to an 060 by changing the chip... but this is a weebit more work than some are willing to undertake (myself included) and not something I would recommend as a new user, although if you can get an 040 for the right price it may be the way to go.

I hope this doesn't confuse you too much

Andrew

coze · 08 March 2010, 11:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by asm1

Now on to that 060, I would still keep an eye on it. if you can get it cheap then there is the off chance you may have an easy fix - My 060 was booting with similar "black screen" symptoms (or not booting as it were) - A reinstall of my OS sorted the problem. I'm not suggesting you take a chance, merely that the 060 will be all the accelerator you will ever need and they are normally an expensive upgrade... so if it goes cheap, and IS a simple fix then you have an absolute bargain. Whether you take the risk or not is up to you.

yes, but I would like to add that that seller regularly sells amiga stuff and probably well versed about amiga hardware. if it was an easy fix he'ld definitely do that and sell the board as fully working. just my two cents.

kriz · 08 March 2010, 12:28

Go for a blizzard 060 !! A working one ofcourse

Loedown · 08 March 2010, 12:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by coze

yes, but I would like to add that that seller regularly sells amiga stuff and probably well versed about amiga hardware. if it was an easy fix he'ld definitely do that and sell the board as fully working. just my two cents.

He/she says had trouble with 1200, I think that should automatically sound alarm bells in someone's mind. If you want a decent accelerator, fine, just be prepared to pay for it, the cheaper option isn't always.

mombasajoe · 08 March 2010, 12:37

I´d got several cards for my 1200. The Blizzard 1230 IV und 1260 IV are great accelerators. Stable and compatible. You can even put a SCSI-kit onto them. What I do not like is the fact that you can only turn everthing on/off (CPU+RAM), not only the CPU or only the RAM. If you haven´t got a tower I would not buy a 1240. It´s getting really, really hot. A card I also liked was the HARM Turbo jet (030 @ 25Mhz). Not as fast as the Blizz. 1230, but it was able to be turned on/of by two jumpers (RAM and/or 030 CPU). I unfortunately don´t remember if there were problems with the PCMCIA

Kakaboy · 08 March 2010, 21:44

Thanks for all your suggestions and input appreciate it

Kitty · 09 March 2010, 14:39

Can you not run a 040 cooler if you leave the trapdoor off the a1200?

mombasajoe · 10 March 2010, 10:22

Believe me...it works but it´s no fun.

dabone · 10 March 2010, 19:06

I'm running a 040/40mhz with the trapdoor cover installed just fine.

(Of course I made my own cooling solution)

http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?t=4986

Later,
dabone

mombasajoe · 10 March 2010, 21:58

Impressive

That´s exactly what I was trying to say with "no fun"...if you love to do mods it is something different indeed.

08 March 2010, 05:56	#1
Kakaboy Amiga life crisis Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Sydney/Australia Age: 54 Posts: 256	Is Blizzard the accelerator to have for A1200 ? Hi Fellas, Is Blizzard the Ducks nuts in Accelerators for A1200 ? What should we pay for one of these ? Is this waht you need to run OS 3.9 and above ? Ebay item in OZ: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Amiga-1200-Bl...50262940374531

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08 March 2010, 07:17	#2
coze hastala vista winny vista Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: mt fuji Age: 46 Posts: 1,335	there are many accelerators for the 1200. Blizzard is a good one, but others will do fine as well. For OS 3.9, you need at least a 030, but for a pleasant experience 040/060 recommended. (why do you want OS 3.9 anyway ?) a blizzard 030 should go around 100-150 Euros I think. a 040 is perhaps 200-250 euro and for 060's you need to dig out 250 euros or more. btw, if I were you I would stay away from that board. It looks defective, it may cost a lot to get it repaired/serviced.

08 March 2010, 10:26	#3
Kakaboy Amiga life crisis Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Sydney/Australia Age: 54 Posts: 256	Thanks for your reply . Im just looking at different addons . I think most people set up their A1200 with 6mb ram and I think that would make it really nice to run 3.1 and whdload . I noticed this has plenty of ram that comes with it and the accelerator as a bonus . Im new to all this as im still coming to grips with my A500 lol . But im looking into getting an A1200 as I can get more ram and CF HDD and connecto a VGA monitor .

08 March 2010, 11:32	#4
asm1 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Age: 44 Posts: 637	As Coze says, there are many accelerators for the A1200, everything from RAM only cards to things like that 060. The only thing I would have to add is that most RAM only cards are incompatible with the PCMCIA slot if you use 8MB ram - that is why most are set up jumpered to 4mb for a total of 6Mb. Of course that doesn't mean you can't have 8mb installed, I have an 8mb card I use just fine, it just means that you cannot use the PCMCIA slot at the same time. Now on to that 060, I would still keep an eye on it. if you can get it cheap then there is the off chance you may have an easy fix - My 060 was booting with similar "black screen" symptoms (or not booting as it were) - A reinstall of my OS sorted the problem. I'm not suggesting you take a chance, merely that the 060 will be all the accelerator you will ever need and they are normally an expensive upgrade... so if it goes cheap, and IS a simple fix then you have an absolute bargain. Whether you take the risk or not is up to you. Now on the subject of "other" Accelerators - 030 and "as much ram as you can" seems to be about the maxim. I had a Typhoon Mk2 with an 030 at 42 Mhz and 32 (later 64) MB of RAM and this was more than enough to run OS 3.1 /3.5/3.9 and all WHDLOAD games. Blizzards are nice but there are "non- Blizzard" cards going about which will do the job equally well. Apollo is another card brand to look for. 030/040/060 ? Well it depends what you want to do, and whether you want "Fastest Possible" or "best value" SOme cards have a SCSI interface on them, some do not, and this may affect price accordingly. The blizzards are nice in this respect as you can add a SCSI board later if you wish on some revisions. If I were you I'd go for an 030 @ 50Mhz, its a good all-rounder and will save you a lump of cash which you can then spend elsewhere. The 040 will be faster, and can be upgraded (in most cases) to an 060 by changing the chip... but this is a weebit more work than some are willing to undertake (myself included) and not something I would recommend as a new user, although if you can get an 040 for the right price it may be the way to go. I hope this doesn't confuse you too much Andrew

08 March 2010, 12:28	#6
kriz Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: No(R)Way Age: 41 Posts: 3,200	Go for a blizzard 060 !! A working one ofcourse

08 March 2010, 12:37	#8
mombasajoe Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: D Age: 49 Posts: 528	I´d got several cards for my 1200. The Blizzard 1230 IV und 1260 IV are great accelerators. Stable and compatible. You can even put a SCSI-kit onto them. What I do not like is the fact that you can only turn everthing on/off (CPU+RAM), not only the CPU or only the RAM. If you haven´t got a tower I would not buy a 1240. It´s getting really, really hot. A card I also liked was the HARM Turbo jet (030 @ 25Mhz). Not as fast as the Blizz. 1230, but it was able to be turned on/of by two jumpers (RAM and/or 030 CPU). I unfortunately don´t remember if there were problems with the PCMCIA

08 March 2010, 21:44	#9
Kakaboy Amiga life crisis Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Sydney/Australia Age: 54 Posts: 256	Thanks for all your suggestions and input appreciate it

09 March 2010, 14:39	#10
Kitty Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: London UK Posts: 1,532	Can you not run a 040 cooler if you leave the trapdoor off the a1200?

10 March 2010, 10:22	#11
mombasajoe Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: D Age: 49 Posts: 528	Believe me...it works but it´s no fun.

10 March 2010, 19:06	#12
dabone Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Chattanooga TN, USA Posts: 109	I'm running a 040/40mhz with the trapdoor cover installed just fine. (Of course I made my own cooling solution) http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?t=4986 Later, dabone

10 March 2010, 21:58	#13
mombasajoe Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: D Age: 49 Posts: 528	Impressive That´s exactly what I was trying to say with "no fun"...if you love to do mods it is something different indeed.

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