Need advice on Amiga 600 build

[elowan]

I don´t want to buy an A1200, because I like the small footprint and look of an A600 case.

I wonder, if it is really (ok) possible to surf the web (except for flash/you tube) and play games like Virus, Hunter, Agony, … from an internal HD on an Amiga 600 configuration like this:

A603 expansion for 2MB Chip Ram in total
PCMCIA Ethernet card
IDE-CF 4GB hdd
Subway USB with Anaiis Software (for modern Mouse/Gamepad/USB-Stick)
A620 Turbo-Card with 8(?)MB Fast Ram

(optional Kickstart-switcher 1.3/3.1)

“S-Video Cable” or “flicker-fixer” (Got a 22” or was it 24”? flat screen PC-monitor)

What OS/WB must be installed (for websurfing/mp3/mail) OS3.1, 3.5 or 3.9 ?

[demolition]

Theoretically it's possible, however it won't be a pleasant experience surfing the web with that CPU. I know it isn't on my 33MHz 030. And I think you can forget about mp3, unless we're talking really low bitrate mp3s.

For OS I'd recommend 3.1 as less complex is faster.

[elowan]

So there is any software for browsing the web on WB3.1?

[DDNI]

Yes there is ibrowse & Aweb both of which are os3.1 compatible browsers.

BUT please prepare yourself for a very limited and slow web experience. Classic web browsing is a fun achievement, but it is ultimately frustrating.
It is however worth getting a network stack running so that you can IRC, Email and FTP on your A600.

[demolition]

AWeb and IBrowse will run fine on 3.1.

Edit: Too late

[DDNI]

@ demolition

[elowan]

hey, that sounds good

So pimping the A600 like the things on my list will be ok for running 3.1?
Or is 3.1 ultra friendly on resources and pimping is not needed that much?

[DDNI]

3.1 is very light on resources compared to 3.5 or 3.9 (neither of which are worth trying with your machine).

3.1 won't make your web surfing experience any nicer though.... After the initial yay I got my Amiga on the WWW, you will soon see that it is still truly horrible (by 2013 standards).

Read this great guide by fitzsteve about getting net access.
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=52235

[demolition]

3.1 is definately a lot faster than 2.x in my experience. 3.5 should be ok if you want an advanced WB, but at the cost of some speed. I'd recommend a ClassicWB based on Scalos.

[elowan]

Ah, i see. Thanks for posting your experiences!

Another Question: To install OS3.9 (not 3.9XL) with emulation software on pc or mac - i still need the complete WB 3.1 disk-set to be installed first? Or is AmigaOS3.9 a "stand alone" install.?

I´m just confused, some websites mention a previous 3.1 install is needed for 3.9, some don´t...

[DDNI]

For Mp3, a mas player may be worth considering.
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...oducts_id=1078

[jimbob]

I've personally never needed a kickstart switcher. I also think an indivision ECS is more value for money than a subway. On A600, pcmcia is totally adequate for file tranfer so flash sticks are not a big advantage and games cannot use USB mouse/joypads so you'll still need to keep original type mouse/joystick around anyway. IMO, you get much more advantage from being able to use a modern display.

Subways are sold out too and apparently not likely to get made again soon. Also A603 is replaced with A604 1MB expansion.

As for web browsing, it is worth setting up, mainly for "because you can" entertainment value but if a site isn't loaded with modern features, it is reasonable to use, notably, aminet.net and eabmobile.abime.net. It is slow on ACA630 though, might just be unbearably so on the ACA020. For choosing an OS, have you seen classicWB. You need a set of WB disks then these packages add on a host of useful stuff. http://classicwb.abime.net/

[elowan]

Japp, classicWB seems the Way to go... Nice!

Ok, USB may not that usefull... Good Point.


So, if i dont want to browse, no ACA6x0 is needed?
I mean just for ClassicWB and Games!

[demolition]

If you're not using an accelerator, you have to choose one of the two 68k versions. The normal versions are using Scalos which is a big improvement over the regular Workbench, however they require an 020 CPU.

[elowan]

Thanks for the informations provided. Now, i can got a better a picture of all this stuff!

[alenppc]

I tried AWeb with Aca620 and PCMCIA LAN. It works fine, with all the memory enabled. But it's slooooow. It takes 2-3 minutes to render something as simple as aminet.net. It's best to disable image loading also. But other than that it's stable. Also forget about CSS which AWeb does not support anyway, so best limit your surfing to HTML-friendly websites.

[Hewitson]

Originally Posted by alenppc

I tried AWeb with Aca620 and PCMCIA LAN. It works fine, with all the memory enabled. But it's slooooow. It takes 2-3 minutes to render something as simple as aminet.net.

Eh? Aminet (via Aweb) is perfectly usable on my A2000/010.