Help Me build my amiga!

16 December 2009, 19:40

HI, EAB not sure if this is the right place to post this but...
Could some one give me a basic guide what a 1200 needs to run 4.1os im a little confussed...

also im planning on building a A1200 in to a EZ Z4 tower case, im pretty new to the whole amiga scene! im planning on buying the following and just wondering will this all work togeather??!? or is there other hardware i need to buy. im not to conserned about the budget but am trying not to go over 500 quid.
so far:
EZ Z4 tower.
Easy Compact flash kit.
Amiga 1200 (Refurbished, 120 gb hardrive, wirless 802.11b)
E-matrix 1230/40mhz accelerator.
Mediator 1200TX PCI busboard and MMCD. (possably)

if any one would like to help me out i would appreciate it very much!!

Graham Humphrey · 16 December 2009, 20:00

You can't run 4.1 on a 'classic' Amiga, you need a dedicated system for it I'm afraid. Goes above £500 too.

You can run 4.0 but you need a PowerPC card and a graphics card amongst other stuff. Really not sure it's worth the time, money and effort to be honest.

Cammy · 17 December 2009, 01:01

It's not worth it. Getting a MacMini for MorphOS IS worth it though, if someone is interested in a modern Amiga with potential, more applications, games, and runs faster than 4.1 Actually, 4.1 has nothing worth mentioning except screen dragging, but so does my A500.

The A1200 tower is going to be fun though, but you'd be best to dualboot it in 3.1 and 3.9. 120GB is a bit excessive, you'll never fill it with Amiga stuff and just mounting partitions that size will chew up your RAM. You would be better off getting a 4GB CF card and using that with an IDE-CF adapter, and keeping games and things on external CF cards to plug into the PCMCIA slot.

Before going for the Mediator and EZTower though, just try the A1200 with the accelerator and storage and see what you think. AGA is slower than a graphics card, but with a 030 you can have a pretty nice Workbench setup. You're certainly in for a huge learning experience as the way you think about computing is changed around.

asm1 · 17 December 2009, 02:10

H3R1X,

A fellow Scot... welcome

I cant really add to what Graham and Cammy have said. Getting an A1200 expanded (doing it yourself), making it work and finding out why it doesn't is both terribly frustrating and rewarding at the same time. And it WILL change the way you think about computing.

I agree, - An A1200 With CF and an 030 is a nice start. 120GB is too much storage - the Operating system takes less than 100 MB

If you can find one (as they seem to be out of stock atm) The indivision Scandoubler/Flickerfixer is a nice addition. Whilst it is not quite a "graphics card" as such, it will allow you to plug your A1200 into a shiny new LCD/Flat Panel/ or not so new PC VGA monitor of your choice.... with no problem. Remember the A1200 was designed to plug into TV's, and whilst that is bearable to some, it is rather "nasty" to others.

The indivision was the first thing I bought - before I even got an Amiga. My Obsession (not to mention my CC bill

) spiralled from then on...

You have the right idea with the Easy ADF /CF kit - that and a cheap USB card reader will allow you to transfer stuff PC>Amiga and back again using the A1200 PCMCIA port.

Start with the basics, its a steep enough learning curve as it is. I'm nowhere near done having just got into the Amiga this year

.

But yes, I am now putting together an Ez Tower

- it isn't something I would have relished when I just started out and in many ways I am still

and frustrated when things don't work

. Often what seems simple, and in fact IS simple has you tearing your hair out just because you have not learnt enough about the subtleties of the Amiga and how it works compared to what you are used to doing with a modern PC/Mac.

Be prepared for lots of swearage

. Especially when you start getting your Credit Card bills

All the best

Andrew

NovaCoder · 17 December 2009, 04:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by H3R1X

HI, EAB not sure if this is the right place to post this but...
Could some one give me a basic guide what a 1200 needs to run 4.1os im a little confussed...

also im planning on building a A1200 in to a EZ Z4 tower case, im pretty new to the whole amiga scene! im planning on buying the following and just wondering will this all work togeather??!? or is there other hardware i need to buy. im not to conserned about the budget but am trying not to go over 500 quid.
so far:
EZ Z4 tower.
Easy Compact flash kit.
Amiga 1200 (Refurbished, 120 gb hardrive, wirless 802.11b)
E-matrix 1230/40mhz accelerator.
Mediator 1200TX PCI busboard and MMCD. (possably)

if any one would like to help me out i would appreciate it very much!!

Yep, I agree with the others. It's just not worth spending that much $$$ to upgrade an Amiga 1200 these days, you'd be better off buying a SAM or MacMini.

On the other hand, if you just want to play some retro games then all you need is a 1200 + 030 + IndivisionAGA

Cammy · 17 December 2009, 06:08

It's a shame there won't be any more Indivisions for a little while, but if you'd like a cheaper alternative that works with an LCD TV or monitor (if you use an additional adapter) you could try AmigaManiac's RGB-to-S-Video adapter. I use one with my LCD monitor and I love it, it's good for games and Workbench. I made a little demo video a while ago to show it off here [ Show youtube player ]

This will give you an idea of the performance of Workbench and browsing the web on an A1200 030 in 1376 x 536.

17 December 2009, 06:44

Yeah I have to agree with people here, I have been in the Amiga since 1986, went through the all the Amiga models, towering up the A1200 with power pc card and bvision but after all that I still find a desktop A1200 with an Indivision and 030 is the best way to experience the classic Amigas. There is still so much classic software to find and use.

MazinKaesar · 17 December 2009, 10:33

I think the best thing to do is wait for Natami board. All OS4 and MorphOS board are just "Amiga inspired", and not trully Amiga: you need UAE to play old games and use old software, so you can make the same in a cheaper way under Windows or using the free AROS operative system. A nice Amiga board is the minimig, but it's just an Amiga 500, so if you really want a powerful Amiga compatible computer, the best thing to do is still wait for Natami, IMHO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NovaCoder

On the other hand, if you just want to play some retro games then all you need is a 1200 + 030 + IndivisionAGA

Well, many LCD monitors have the SCART plug, so Indavision is not necessary...

ck1200 · 17 December 2009, 11:36

Welcome and as said i'd start with a a1200 and get the 030 and the 4gb cf

as regards monitors i now use a recon phillips cm8833 but plan to go for a white lcd tv with scart while the indivision is out of stock

Chris

musashi5150 · 17 December 2009, 12:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by MazinKaesar

I think the best thing to do is wait for Natami board

Excellent

16 December 2009, 19:40	#1
H3R1X Posts: n/a	Help Me build my amiga! HI, EAB not sure if this is the right place to post this but... Could some one give me a basic guide what a 1200 needs to run 4.1os im a little confussed... also im planning on building a A1200 in to a EZ Z4 tower case, im pretty new to the whole amiga scene! im planning on buying the following and just wondering will this all work togeather??!? or is there other hardware i need to buy. im not to conserned about the budget but am trying not to go over 500 quid. so far: EZ Z4 tower. Easy Compact flash kit. Amiga 1200 (Refurbished, 120 gb hardrive, wirless 802.11b) E-matrix 1230/40mhz accelerator. Mediator 1200TX PCI busboard and MMCD. (possably) if any one would like to help me out i would appreciate it very much!!

17 December 2009, 11:36	#9
ck1200 CBM & Retro Mad Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: North Wales/Wirral Uk Age: 42 Posts: 611	Welcome and as said i'd start with a a1200 and get the 030 and the 4gb cf as regards monitors i now use a recon phillips cm8833 but plan to go for a white lcd tv with scart while the indivision is out of stock Chris Last edited by ck1200; 17 December 2009 at 13:16.

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16 December 2009, 20:00	#2
Graham Humphrey Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Age: 37 Posts: 11,167	You can't run 4.1 on a 'classic' Amiga, you need a dedicated system for it I'm afraid. Goes above £500 too. You can run 4.0 but you need a PowerPC card and a graphics card amongst other stuff. Really not sure it's worth the time, money and effort to be honest.

17 December 2009, 01:01	#3
Cammy Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Age: 39 Posts: 1,189	It's not worth it. Getting a MacMini for MorphOS IS worth it though, if someone is interested in a modern Amiga with potential, more applications, games, and runs faster than 4.1 Actually, 4.1 has nothing worth mentioning except screen dragging, but so does my A500. The A1200 tower is going to be fun though, but you'd be best to dualboot it in 3.1 and 3.9. 120GB is a bit excessive, you'll never fill it with Amiga stuff and just mounting partitions that size will chew up your RAM. You would be better off getting a 4GB CF card and using that with an IDE-CF adapter, and keeping games and things on external CF cards to plug into the PCMCIA slot. Before going for the Mediator and EZTower though, just try the A1200 with the accelerator and storage and see what you think. AGA is slower than a graphics card, but with a 030 you can have a pretty nice Workbench setup. You're certainly in for a huge learning experience as the way you think about computing is changed around.

17 December 2009, 02:10	#4
asm1 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Age: 44 Posts: 637	H3R1X, A fellow Scot... welcome I cant really add to what Graham and Cammy have said. Getting an A1200 expanded (doing it yourself), making it work and finding out why it doesn't is both terribly frustrating and rewarding at the same time. And it WILL change the way you think about computing. I agree, - An A1200 With CF and an 030 is a nice start. 120GB is too much storage - the Operating system takes less than 100 MB If you can find one (as they seem to be out of stock atm) The indivision Scandoubler/Flickerfixer is a nice addition. Whilst it is not quite a "graphics card" as such, it will allow you to plug your A1200 into a shiny new LCD/Flat Panel/ or not so new PC VGA monitor of your choice.... with no problem. Remember the A1200 was designed to plug into TV's, and whilst that is bearable to some, it is rather "nasty" to others. The indivision was the first thing I bought - before I even got an Amiga. My Obsession (not to mention my CC bill ) spiralled from then on... You have the right idea with the Easy ADF /CF kit - that and a cheap USB card reader will allow you to transfer stuff PC>Amiga and back again using the A1200 PCMCIA port. Start with the basics, its a steep enough learning curve as it is. I'm nowhere near done having just got into the Amiga this year . But yes, I am now putting together an Ez Tower - it isn't something I would have relished when I just started out and in many ways I am still and frustrated when things don't work . Often what seems simple, and in fact IS simple has you tearing your hair out just because you have not learnt enough about the subtleties of the Amiga and how it works compared to what you are used to doing with a modern PC/Mac. Be prepared for lots of swearage . Especially when you start getting your Credit Card bills All the best Andrew

17 December 2009, 06:08	#6
Cammy Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Age: 39 Posts: 1,189	It's a shame there won't be any more Indivisions for a little while, but if you'd like a cheaper alternative that works with an LCD TV or monitor (if you use an additional adapter) you could try AmigaManiac's RGB-to-S-Video adapter. I use one with my LCD monitor and I love it, it's good for games and Workbench. I made a little demo video a while ago to show it off here [ Show youtube player ] This will give you an idea of the performance of Workbench and browsing the web on an A1200 030 in 1376 x 536.

17 December 2009, 06:44	#7
ami_junkie Posts: n/a	Yeah I have to agree with people here, I have been in the Amiga since 1986, went through the all the Amiga models, towering up the A1200 with power pc card and bvision but after all that I still find a desktop A1200 with an Indivision and 030 is the best way to experience the classic Amigas. There is still so much classic software to find and use.

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