Apollo 1260 rubbish or not?

alexh · 17 February 2006, 18:14

I've seen an Apollo 1260 for sale at a not so outragous price. Were these cards any good? I've seen several posts say steer clear and Blizzards are best etc. etc.

Anyone any thoughts or feelings?

Do some things just not work right (like 060 libraries etc.) with an Apollo 060?

RetroMan · 17 February 2006, 22:41

Apollo cards are faster then Blizzards but their SCSI sucks bigtime

And they are nervous with some other hardware, personally I never had any problems with Apollo cards ...

alexh · 18 February 2006, 00:35

Do you need to shell out for oxpatcher?

RetroMan · 18 February 2006, 00:46

Never used it ....

ant512 · 18 February 2006, 01:36

Yes, you'd need Oxypatcher (unless you're lucky enough to use only software that doesn't need it - pretty much everything I used needed Oxypatcher to run properly), and no, don't even think about buying one of these shit cards.

I've posted on the subject several times, but essentially I had nothing but trouble with the Apollo. It clashed with my motherboard, it was unstable, it was picky about the RAM I used, it had incompatibilities with some software, it didn't come with an Oxypatcher-style program (the Blizzard ships with CyberPatcher), it required a hefty PSU, it overheated... The list of complaints is huge. I might have had more luck had the card not had a 50MHz chip overclocked to 66MHz, but ignoring that:

- The card was cheaply made (it's built around 040 board with a voltage regulator added; the jumpers on the card are mislabelled; etc);
- The software was ropey;
- The saving you make buying an Apollo is nothing to the amount of frustration it might cause you.

Different people have had different experiences, but I've never seen a duff Blizzard board (currently have an A1230-IV and two A1260s; sold another A1230-IV a few years ago).

Slayer · 18 February 2006, 01:39

afirm

I have an Apollo 060 in one of my machines... took a few ram purchases to get 4 32 meg simms that would work together... (even 4 of the same wouldn't)

but apart from that I've never had any problems with it... and yes, the scsi interface/setup can indeed be finicky...

in all honesty I just think most people don't want any hassles at all and of course we all know life isn't like that all the time...

take it or leave it, point me in the right direction, I'd buy another one...

Slayer · 18 February 2006, 02:02

btw

here's a little bit of reading regarding these cards

http://www.canit.se/~glenn/apollo.html

also like Retroman I never bothered with software enhancement software... I'm sure it had its uses for rendering in Imagine for example but for everyday use the advantage I felt was marginal...

besides, if anything conflicted with your 060 it was just another thing you had to consider disabling to track down the real cause...

the card seems to operate quite happily with the blizzard libraries but using its own provided a marked stability...

Slayer · 18 February 2006, 02:06

on second thoughts... the card sux!

listen to Ants512...

now... how about a link to this not so outrageous auction?

alexh · 18 February 2006, 10:20

Slayer, that link is for Apollo boards for A3000/4000 not A1260's for A1200. I wondered why you were talking 4 SIMMS when the 1260 only can take 1!

It's not an auction it's a direct sale.

The main reason for me getting one is the fact that the 75MHz version (the one for sale) has a socketted CPU. AFAIK it's the ONLY 1260 with a socketted CPU.

I want to swap the LC060@75 for a FULL 060. I've got some of the MC68060 chips which overclock nicely to 100MHz (cannot overclock that fast on an Amiga turbo board because RAM not fast enought!)

I think I may have to do some more research before deciding...

D-Dan · 18 February 2006, 10:57

Sadly, my real Amiga was consined to the spare parts and flogged on Ebay pile long ago, including the Apollo 1260, which I loved dearly. I have to say despite the negative posts I never had an oundce of trouble other than the oscillator packing up (which was easily replaced).

Ran the card at 66Mhx instead of 50 for over a year with no probs.

And you don't "Need" Oxypatcher. Cyberpatcher, or even better MMU tools and linb can work quite happily with it.

DoctorQ · 18 February 2006, 11:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

AFAIK it's the ONLY 1260 with a socketted CPU.

My old Blizzard 1260 had a socketed 060. It was a DCE board, but don't know if all Blizzard 1260 boards had socketed 060.

17 February 2006, 18:14	#1
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,354	Apollo 1260 rubbish or not? I've seen an Apollo 1260 for sale at a not so outragous price. Were these cards any good? I've seen several posts say steer clear and Blizzards are best etc. etc. Anyone any thoughts or feelings? Do some things just not work right (like 060 libraries etc.) with an Apollo 060?

18 February 2006, 01:36	#5
ant512 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: California Posts: 965	Yes, you'd need Oxypatcher (unless you're lucky enough to use only software that doesn't need it - pretty much everything I used needed Oxypatcher to run properly), and no, don't even think about buying one of these shit cards. I've posted on the subject several times, but essentially I had nothing but trouble with the Apollo. It clashed with my motherboard, it was unstable, it was picky about the RAM I used, it had incompatibilities with some software, it didn't come with an Oxypatcher-style program (the Blizzard ships with CyberPatcher), it required a hefty PSU, it overheated... The list of complaints is huge. I might have had more luck had the card not had a 50MHz chip overclocked to 66MHz, but ignoring that: - The card was cheaply made (it's built around 040 board with a voltage regulator added; the jumpers on the card are mislabelled; etc); - The software was ropey; - The saving you make buying an Apollo is nothing to the amount of frustration it might cause you. Different people have had different experiences, but I've never seen a duff Blizzard board (currently have an A1230-IV and two A1260s; sold another A1230-IV a few years ago). Last edited by ant512; 18 February 2006 at 01:43.

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17 February 2006, 22:41	#2
RetroMan Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 3,704	Apollo cards are faster then Blizzards but their SCSI sucks bigtime And they are nervous with some other hardware, personally I never had any problems with Apollo cards ...

18 February 2006, 00:35	#3
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,354	Do you need to shell out for oxpatcher?

18 February 2006, 00:46	#4
RetroMan Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 3,704	Never used it ....

18 February 2006, 01:39	#6
Slayer Amiga Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: New Zealand Age: 56 Posts: 695	afirm I have an Apollo 060 in one of my machines... took a few ram purchases to get 4 32 meg simms that would work together... (even 4 of the same wouldn't) but apart from that I've never had any problems with it... and yes, the scsi interface/setup can indeed be finicky... in all honesty I just think most people don't want any hassles at all and of course we all know life isn't like that all the time... take it or leave it, point me in the right direction, I'd buy another one...

18 February 2006, 02:02	#7
Slayer Amiga Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: New Zealand Age: 56 Posts: 695	btw here's a little bit of reading regarding these cards http://www.canit.se/~glenn/apollo.html also like Retroman I never bothered with software enhancement software... I'm sure it had its uses for rendering in Imagine for example but for everyday use the advantage I felt was marginal... besides, if anything conflicted with your 060 it was just another thing you had to consider disabling to track down the real cause... the card seems to operate quite happily with the blizzard libraries but using its own provided a marked stability...

18 February 2006, 02:06	#8
Slayer Amiga Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: New Zealand Age: 56 Posts: 695	on second thoughts... the card sux! listen to Ants512... now... how about a link to this not so outrageous auction?

18 February 2006, 10:20	#9
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,354	Slayer, that link is for Apollo boards for A3000/4000 not A1260's for A1200. I wondered why you were talking 4 SIMMS when the 1260 only can take 1! It's not an auction it's a direct sale. The main reason for me getting one is the fact that the 75MHz version (the one for sale) has a socketted CPU. AFAIK it's the ONLY 1260 with a socketted CPU. I want to swap the LC060@75 for a FULL 060. I've got some of the MC68060 chips which overclock nicely to 100MHz (cannot overclock that fast on an Amiga turbo board because RAM not fast enought!) I think I may have to do some more research before deciding...

18 February 2006, 10:57	#10
D-Dan AMD powered UAE Join Date: May 2004 Location: Oldham, UK Age: 59 Posts: 68	Sadly, my real Amiga was consined to the spare parts and flogged on Ebay pile long ago, including the Apollo 1260, which I loved dearly. I have to say despite the negative posts I never had an oundce of trouble other than the oscillator packing up (which was easily replaced). Ran the card at 66Mhx instead of 50 for over a year with no probs. And you don't "Need" Oxypatcher. Cyberpatcher, or even better MMU tools and linb can work quite happily with it.

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