14 June 2024, 17:01 | #1 |
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Amiga 500 Buying Advice?
When buying an Amiga 500 today, are there any things to look out for or things to avoid. Are there any preferred revisions? etc.
(and probably 101 other questions I can't think of right now) (bear in mind I am considering putting a pistorm in it and a rgb2hdmi) Last edited by Fuzzball; 14 June 2024 at 17:08. |
14 June 2024, 21:17 | #2 |
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Try to get a revision 6 machine right away. Easy to detect: if the power led can go dim, it is rev 6 or newer. If it can only be off or bright, then it is rev5 or older.
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14 June 2024, 22:15 | #3 |
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I'd say rev 6a or newer as well. Rev 5 has some quirks, especially to upgrade roms, that you don't have with newer boards. Older revs I honestly don't know. Rev 6a and newer is a lot easier to upgrade chipram to at least 1MB as well.
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14 June 2024, 22:31 | #4 |
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Get a rev.8 A500, but not the A500+.
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15 June 2024, 12:39 | #5 |
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Thanks everyone for the info. Are there advantages/disadvantages with the 500 plus?
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15 June 2024, 13:19 | #6 |
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I have a 500+ and I like it. The downside everyone considers is that it has a later chipset (ECS) and a later rom revision (2.04) both of which are not natively compatible with some if not many earlier games and stuff. Using a Relockick disk to boot it in rom 1.3 "Usually" fixes that but not always.
The things I like, is the A500+ can have 2MB chipram (ram that bottlenecks graphics ability and raw processing). It has 1MB standard but adding a 1MB card in the trapdoor bumps it to 2MB. A early standard A500 can't be expanded like that without modifications to the motherboard. Only 512k fastram expansion. Modern alternatives and third party addons are a workaround. Another advantage of the A500+ is it has "Extra Half-Bright" graphics modes on top of what the A500 has. Although not frequently implemented in most software. The A500+ is also good to go if a self-booting Hard drive if added using Workbench 2.1 which is a nice middle of the road OS over the 2.04 rom. |
15 June 2024, 13:25 | #7 |
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Thanks for that. I think I will stick to looking for an A500 for now. The reason I asked is the A500+ on Ebay seem to be in much better condition. As well as that a lot of the A500 on Ebay are listed as "Untested". Yeah right, of course it is "Untested" rather than "It doesn't work but I want the max price I can get".
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15 June 2024, 13:56 | #8 |
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Well, it's a bit of lottery but a lot of them are genuinely untested, because they are sold by "normal" people, not Amiga hobbyists. To test an A500 you need cables, PSU, a disk - often an additional expense.
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15 June 2024, 13:59 | #9 |
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A500+ also has a Real Time Clock and (dreaded) Varta battery which is prone to leakage destroying the motherboard. I wouldn't buy an untested A500+ because of that. I've replaced the battery in mine.
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15 June 2024, 19:43 | #10 |
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The late A500 with Rev8 main board are the same as the A500+, but without the deadly VARTA battery.
So that's why you would chose an A500Rev8 instead of an A500+. You'd get the 2MB AGNUS, ECS chip set. |
15 June 2024, 20:29 | #11 |
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Yes the more I look into it, the more I am being put off buying one. Also I think I would always be worried about it packing in. I have a Mister FPGA which is great but I do miss the "tactile feel" of using a real Amiga. I miss the floppy drive sound, etc. The Mister just doesn't have the nostalgia factor for me.
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