Building an Amiga 1200?

[Dreedo]

Hi i was wondering a few things, i used to own an Amiga when i was very young, about 2 years old or so, but im not sure what model it was, probably a budget one as my family isnt well off. But is it possible to build an Amiga from scratch nowadays?

I heard from a few sources that parts of the Amiga are actually soldered into place and cant actually be sold seperately, i dont know if that is true or not. But if it is possible to create an Amiga 1200 from scratch, what parts would i need?

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, im new to the forum.

[DJBase]

Well, everything starts with a motherboard which is more or less complete as most chips are soldered. Only the kickstarts are in socket in an A1200. So you need a motherboard, a case, a floppy, a psu, kickstart roms and some software - or get a complete basic system which aren't really expensive these days.

[Dreedo]

Thanks, i've been looking around for systems, but on ebay UK they tend to go for around £50+, which is quite high as i dont have a job. Amazon uk marketplace dont sell any amiga's. Amigakit charges £99.99 minimum, so they're totally out of the question. I just wasnt sure whether its cheaper to build one my own or to buy a pre-built one.

[ck1200]

Welcome to the forum, You can still by an amiga 1200 new (as in old amiga technologies stock) and there are various upgrade options etc

Link> http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...roducts_id=305

Or there is always e-bay then look out for a few choice bits, if you want a clean looking keyboard though i would suggest a new replacement again from amigakit as most have yellowed by now

Chris

[ck1200]

Slightly late on the reply front there sorry

[Dreedo]

As i said, even though the Amigakit ones are new, they cost a lot, its £100 for a amiga with a PSU and a mouse.

EDIT: haha no problem.

EDIT#2: Is a HDD necessary for an amiga?

Looks like building one is even more expensive, the Amiga 1200 motherboard alone is £45 on amigakit.

[8bitbubsy]

You don't need a HDD, but it's very handy if you want to install games, do stuff, run workbench apps etc...
You can use a CF (Compact Flash) card as a HDD, just get a little CF to 2.5" adapter

[DJBase]

You can also check amibay.com if there is an A1200 for a decent price.

[fitzsteve]

Best bet is to keep an eye out at Car boot sales, you might be lucky and grab a cheap one.

If not keep an eye on these boards they come up from time to time at a slightly more reasonable price.

Steve.

[Dreedo]

Ok i see, i dont have a CF card, but i do have a CF card slot on my PC, actually my pc came with loads of slots i dont use, has a memory pro duo slot, xD card slot, SD card slot, CF I/II slot, 11 USB Ports and loads of other stuff lol.

I think i need to do some more research on Amiga's. Is the 1200 a good Amiga to get? I heard the best is the A500, but that doesnt allow networking and it misses out on quite a bit i understand. Im not sure about the A600, but i heard some people on other amiga forums saying it was awful, and said the A500 was the best amiga.

EDIT: Unfortunately i havent been to a car boot sale in years i went to one last year but that was the first time in probably at least 4 years, i dont really live in an area with that many near me, i'd probably have to travel more than an hour before i got to someplace that would have a large car boot sale. I did see one when i went to a car boot sale when i was on holiday last year.

Thanks to everyone who's helped me.

[Dreedo]

So anyone got any suggestions about which amiga i should buy? Im more leaning towards the 600 and 1200 at the moment.

[DJBase]

Use the A1200, best machine to start nowadays IMHO.

[Dreedo]

Right thanks, i've been searching for the past few hours were to get one at a reasonable price.

Ebay has tonnes of accesories, but only 2 1200 motherboards, both at about £30 or so, i can buy a pre-built one on ebay for about £40 or so, probably the best place to get one.

By the way i heard A600 batteries leak, do 1200 have the same problem?

[prowler]

You've got no choice now, mate! You're committed to an A1200, or you'll have to start another thread!

Lucky for you, then, that you chose the right machine.

Edit: The A1200 uses no battery unless you fit a memory expansion or accelerator card.

[Dreedo]

Ok thats good to hear .

I've pretty much decided i'll get a pre-built A1200 now, so thanks everyone.

[Lorfarius]

Yeah prebuilt is the best way to go. I started with an A600 and have just upgraded to a 1200 but if you are on a budget maybe you should consider going for the 6 as its just as upgradeable.

[Dreedo]

I would go for a A600, but i would probably need to buy a pre-owned amiga, and nearly all the pre-owned ones i've seen have trouble with the batteries leaking onto the motherboard.

[DJBase]

Upgrading an A600 is harder and more expensive than an A1200 so I wouldn't recommend an A600 even if its smaller and handier.

[Paul_s]

It would be nice if some kind soul made an 'enhanced' 1200 motherboard again. Straight drop in replacement, re-worked and all flaws sorted, USB onboard, PPC, 68060 with 68020 for fallback, full ECS chipset alongside, Indivision built in.... we can but dream.

[Rebel-CD32]

A600s don't have batteries on them. The Amiga that had the big leaking battery problem is the A2000. A1200s and CD32s are renowned for their leaking capacitors, which have less acid to cover the motherboard when they explode than a battery, but can still do serious damage if left unchecked. I'm pretty sure A600s would suffer from the same problem, being made of surface mounted components and covered in caps like the A1200/CD32. Some older A500 and A600 memory expansion boards have barrel batteries like the A2000 and these can explode too. I've seen many dead A500s because the battery on the memory card exploded.

A600s are good though, and easy to expand with new hardware available now. A1200s have it all, already. Everything the A600 has got, and more, but usually at a higher price, and it won't be long before you crave a RAM expansion or accelerator with extra RAM on it, which at the moment can't be bought new. The A600 has the A603 1MB (for a total of 2MB ChipRAM) expansion available to buy from www.amigakit.com and hopefully soon the A608 8MB (FastRAM) expansion from Zetr0 will be here. Unless someone out there makes a cheap 8/5.5MB/RTC RAM expansion card (preferably with automatic or software switchable 8MB or 5.5MB modes for PCMCIA usage) for the A1200 some time soon, the supply of available second hand RAM and accelerator cards is going to dry up and prices will continue to skyrocket.