Which Amiga.....?

Im gonna start off by saying hello to everyone here and what an awesome board!

I was recently playing on an amiga emulator on a friends comuter (winuae i think it was) and it brought back some old memories of the amiga i used to have but cannot recall which one i had Im looking at buying one again but im unsure which one to go for so im hoping someone could point in the right direction , its only gonna be used for games so im gonna want one that will run pretty much any game i throw at it?

[TCD]

Go for an A1200 with some extra RAM & a CF card and use WHDLoad
Oh and welcome to EAB

[deicidal]

Pretty much what TCD says, maybe also consider an older KS1.3 a500 for backwards compatability but with the added annoyance of using floppy disks. But if you are only after one amiga then TCD's suggestion is the best. Of course you buy one and then your done for, you will soon be working your way through your bank account.

[Fingerlickin_B]

^^^^What he said^^^^

Best forum ever...you'll love it here!

PZ.

[BrooksterMax]

I think the general opinion for a first machine is the A1200 - its the most versatile and probably the best economical choice to re-start your Amiga career. Its got the later AGA chipset, IDE and PCMCIA so you can go places with it if you want to upgrade!

Thanks , I was googling some pictures to see if I could recognise any , and I think it was an a1200 that I used to have , I cant remember what happened to it , I was about 8 last time i saw it, think my parents replaced it for a playstation that never got used! do you know what a good price is to be paying for one in decent condition ?

[Fingerlickin_B]

Originally Posted by Bucko

my parents replaced it for a playstation

Comments may come hard & fast from this point onward! Blame your parents...disavow any involvement in such heresy! LOL

PZ.

[Djay]

Originally Posted by Bucko

Thanks , I was googling some pictures to see if I could recognise any , and I think it was an a1200 that I used to have , I cant remember what happened to it , I was about 8 last time i saw it, think my parents replaced it for a playstation that never got used! do you know what a good price is to be paying for one in decent condition ?

check out... http://www.amibay.com/
and of course
ebay...

[skateblind]

Originally Posted by Bucko

do you know what a good price is to be paying for one in decent condition ?

£60 for a decent one, but no more. You could probably find one for that price with a CF card, games and a joystick.

Excellent thanks guys , im getting all excited now , cant wait to hear the noises of the old floppy drives etc bring back some old memories!

[BrooksterMax]

You can pay more than £60 easily, but I would expect it to be boxed and lovely pristine white condition with extras like manuals etc Happy shopping.

What is more funky today, is that you don't even need floppies to play the classics like Sensi Soccer, Monkey Island etc. - there is something called Whdload mentioned earlier. So using a HD, they boot superfast compared the good old days of disks.

Enjoy the ride!

I have read alittle about using harddrives etc , im not too bothered about that at the moment id like just to have that feeling i had as kid playing superfrog and gods and silkworm! ill more than likly install a harddrive and look into other mods and stuff later down the line , i think iv still got some games at my parents house in the loft

[Slayer]

what's scary is if you're 22 like it says some of us owned and were using an Amiga years before you were even born heh

( 3 years is still years )

[Paul_s]

Is it me or is an Amiga not an Amiga without the sound of the floppy drive? I think it adds charm, down with WHDLoad!

Buy an A500 to start off with, they are cheap and pretty much reliable. If you end up using it a lot then upgrade to the 1200.

You still have access to over 90% of Amiga software titles out there that will work with the 500. Hardware is cheap/more accessible if you want to upgrade the 500

[skateblind]

Originally Posted by Paul_s

Is it me or is an Amiga not an Amiga without the sound of the floppy drive? I think it adds charm, down with WHDLoad!

Buy an A500 to start off with, they are cheap and pretty much reliable. If you end up using it a lot then upgrade to the 1200.

You still have access to over 90% of Amiga software titles out there that will work with the 500. Hardware is cheap/more accessible if you want to upgrade the 500

Except you have to make ADF's or buy the games you want to try/play, unless you can run whdload on an A500? Might be cheaper in the long run to go straight to an A1200 and not have to spend any more in the future.

[BrooksterMax]

A500 are pretty cheap - so why not get both! Then you can try all possibilities!

Well Iv been to see my grandparents today and my grandad said he had an A500 up in the loft so i went and got it down , plugged it in it powered up for a couple of seconds then turned off , not come back on since , im hopeing its just Power supply but ill take a look at it over the weekend.

[Nipedley]

If you are looking to get one I'd definately recommend going for an A1200, simply because it gives you a lot more opportunities. Whdload is a fantastic tool, though if you want to play some of the larger games you will probably need to start getting into the world of accelerators or fastram expansions (though it is most definitely worth it to avoid those lengthy load times!)

Though I have to say, with this new A600 accelerator on the way, I'm sorely tempted. A600 was always my favourite amiga when I was young!

[Dreedo]

If your after someones opinion that doesn't know much about Amigas (for a change, im younger then you so why i own one, who knows?) then this is what i would say:

A500: Cheap, large heavy, upgradable to a good degree, but upgrading wont affect you much if your just using official genuine floppy disks, this one isnt ideal for unofficial programs that fans have made, as most need at least 1MB RAM, usually 2MB+, for good ones anyway, but its a great starting point.

A500 Specs:

7MHZ prcoessor, this wont affect too much, if your happy waiting for programs. Unofficial ones often need at least 14MHZ.
512kb of RAM, i think nearly all official games run on this, utilities will struggle.
No direct method of downloading games from the internet and playing them i dont think.
OCS, will only run OCS games, cant run ECS or AGA games, you might be able to upgrade, but i have no knowledge on the subject, luckily a lot of games are compatible with both ECS and OCS systems.

A600: My baby..... urrmmmm. Ok this one has 1mb of RAM stock, so can do basic unofficial games, and can run most official software, minus a few utilities such as OCTAMED 4 ect. Not as upgradable as the A500 and costs more, but is lighter, smaller, and has more RAM in it, as well as a PCMCIA slot if you wanted to use unofficial software or games on it (easier).

A600 Specs:

7MHZ processor, identical to A500.
1MB of RAM, will run most utilities except advanced ones
PCMCIA slot, combine with some drivers, a CF card, and a PCMCIA-CF adaptor, plus a program for copying ADF files, you can get hold of free Amiga games. Minus cost of the Floppy disks, you can install a HDD if you will, either a CF card INSIDE your amiga, or a real one, i believe both work with WHDLOAD.
ECS, will run OCS and ECS games.

A1200: Similar to A600 in most ways, this one has a AGA chipset, which means it can run newer games such as Simcity 2000, i hear it has incompatabilities with certain OCS gamess, but its easy to fix i believe. OCS games are like older ones, 1980's to early 90's really. I believe this has 2MB of RAM in it? (correct me if im wrong) so it will run a good deal of unofficial software, and i believe all official software. This one costs a lot more than the others, but its got the ease of downloading games and putting them on floppies like the A600 has, it has a AGA chipset so can run any Amiga game (official), and has a faster processor than both the A500 and A600 (which have 7MHZ, A1200 has 14MHZ at least), if you have the cash, you'll probably want this one.

A1200 Specs:

14MHZ processor, will run a good deal of unofficial programs
2MB of RAM, will probably run all official programs, and will help with unofficial.
PCMCIA slot, exactly the same as the A600.
AGA can run all Amiga games.

So much for a different opinion on the matter....

[deicidal]

@Dreedo
I think you painting quite a dark light on the old a500 which happned to be the most successful amiga. As far as I know ECS only programs are few and far between and you did get the ECS chipset in the a500 during the end of the KS1.3 era (which happens to be the a500) i own, also with it been the most successful model it also makes it the most readily available meening you can pick one up for bugger all if you shop arround i got mine for £5 .

As far as the a600 goes and i know this opinion probably wont be popular i have always considered in the jack of all traids but master of none machine. When it was launched i did think whats the point when the a1200 was only a bit more. Now I am older and wiser(?) I can see its place, and will probably get hold of one.

As far at the a1200 incompatabilities these have plagued amigas since the started upgrading the kickstarts probably the biggest problem was when they jumped from ks1.3 to ks2.0 . Part of the reason i suggested a a500 ks1.3 for the best compatability .