Nova's new Amiga build - Checkmate 1500+

[NovaCoder]

My new Amiga build!

Specs:

Checkmate 1500 Plus case
19" Sony Trinitron CRT
020 @ 40 Mhz (fast enough for WHLOAD games)
RTG/AGA output
256 MB FASTRAM
LAN
USB

I was after a new Amiga but didn't feel like messing about with 30 year old motherboards again trying to get something running properly (my last few A1200's all had issues).

Also considered a Vampire stand alone but decided that wasn't the direction I was interested in.

After watching the [ Show youtube player ] showing how to mount a MisTer FPGA computer into a Checkmate 1500 case I decided to do the same thing.

Really loving the MiSTer!

It's great to be able to play Genesis/SNES games in 640*480 on a CRT and also classic 486 PC games using real general MIDI

The best part of the Amiga side is being able to run a sharp RTG Workbench and have it automatically switch over to PAL 50Hz for smooth gaming using WHDLOAD

Hasn't been cheap though, I could have got a PS5 or two for the same price

[ Show youtube player ]

[lesta_smsc]

Looks great! Very neat.

MISTer seems like a nice product, but considering you have a desire for PC games too, a PC running Windows/DOS natively and running WinUAE for Amiga (at native resolution) would have also worked.

CRT is the way forward - I have a 15kHz compatible LCD and the pixels are an eye sore... not how I remember gaming other than DOS (though 480i for DOS looks very nice!) Nice SONY 19" Trinitron. I use a 28" 4:3 CRT to have the same setup as you but also runs all emulators at their native resolution - which are not 640x480:
SNES : 256×224, 512×448 (NTSC), 256×240, 512×480 (PAL)

Genesis : 320×224, 256×224, 320x240 (some PAL games)

[NovaCoder]

Originally Posted by lesta_smsc

Looks great! Very neat.

MISTer seems like a nice product, but considering you have a desire for PC games too, a PC running Windows/DOS natively and running WinUAE for Amiga (at native resolution) would have also worked.

CRT is the way forward - I have a 15kHz compatible LCD and the pixels are an eye sore... not how I remember gaming other than DOS (though 480i for DOS looks very nice!) Nice SONY 19" Trinitron. I use a 28" 4:3 CRT to have the same setup as you but also runs all emulators at their native resolution - which are not 640x480:
SNES : 256×224, 512×448 (NTSC), 256×240, 512×480 (PAL)

Genesis : 320×224, 256×224, 320x240 (some PAL games)

Thanks

Yep I could have gone for an old PC build but I prefer the flexibility of the MiSTer. I can also run a perfect C64 with stereo SIDS or a plus4 etc etc.

Yep the MiSTer is very flexible with the display, I can run all old consoles at native resolution but prefer to scan double... looks much better in my opinion.

[lesta_smsc]

Originally Posted by NovaCoder

Yep I could have gone for an old PC build but I prefer the flexibility of the MiSTer. I can also run a perfect C64 with stereo SIDS or a plus4 etc etc.



Yep the MiSTer is very flexible with the display, I can run all old consoles at native resolution but prefer to scan double... looks much better in my opinion.

I run it off a laptop which has inbuilt ATI card lol

Have you tried MAME? The 1st time I saw Final Fight run pixel perfect with no flicker I just went back to how much money I spent playing that game.

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by NovaCoder

My new Amiga build!

8><------------------

Hasn't been cheap though, I could have got a PS5 or two for the same price

[ Show youtube player ]

Surely not with the current scalper prices on PS5? ;-)
Nice machine though, and I've been looking for one of those Sony Trinitron displays for a long time.. And size-wise, it looks like a perfect match for the Checkmate box.

[klx300r]

@ NovaCoder


sweet tidy setup

[NovaCoder]

Thanks guys

I'm really enjoying it so far, currently playing old PC space sims like Tie Fighter and Wing commander 2 with that awesome midi soundtrack, also getting into some awesome Genesis shooters (never had a Genesis back in the day but very impressed with it).

Genesis games run at 640*480 at 60 Hz on this setup and look so damn good.


I'll post up some more pics of my Checkmate build soon, just got to finish the last few tweaks

[skan]

Originally Posted by NovaCoder

Thanks guys

I'm really enjoying it so far, currently playing old PC space sims like Tie Fighter and Wing commander 2 with that awesome midi soundtrack, also getting into some awesome Genesis shooters (never had a Genesis back in the day but very impressed with it).

Genesis games run at 640*480 at 60 Hz on this setup and look so damn good.


I'll post up some more pics of my Checkmate build soon, just got to finish the last few tweaks

Nice beast, congrats!
Can I ask... Why 640*480?

[NovaCoder]

Originally Posted by skan

Nice beast, congrats!
Can I ask... Why 640*480?

MiSTer allows you to double the native resolution without any scaling artifacts, looks gorgeous on a CRT and super smooth at 60 FPS (NTSC)

[skan]

Originally Posted by NovaCoder

MiSTer allows you to double the native resolution without any scaling artifacts, looks gorgeous on a CRT and super smooth at 60 FPS (NTSC)

Oh, cool! But do the pixel look square-ish or are them smooth and fuzzy just like they're supposed to be?

Damn, MiSTer is so tempting...

[NovaCoder]

Originally Posted by skan

Oh, cool! But do the pixel look square-ish or are them smooth and fuzzy just like they're supposed to be?

Damn, MiSTer is so tempting...

Looks perfect to me

[Valken]

Beautiful. I would look at PC insides in the future but that is very cool. How fast is it compared to a REAL Amiga?

[skan]

Originally Posted by NovaCoder

Looks perfect to me

I wonder if it works well with a good ol' 1942 too...

[manossg]

Very sweet setup, I would love a similar one for my Vampire SA!

[NovaCoder]

Originally Posted by Valken

Beautiful. I would look at PC insides in the future but that is very cool. How fast is it compared to a REAL Amiga?

It's like a 40 MHz 020 A1200 but might improve in the future

[NovaCoder]

Here are the completed pictures

Bit fiddly to get it to play nice with the internal SFX PS but got there in the end (and with only a few additional grey hairs!)

[Damion]

Missed the party, but nonetheless, this is so awesome! Nice work!

I originally bought a MiSTer because, while I ironically suck at games, I couldn't handle the obvious audio/video and controller input lag of the various commercial mini products (the TG-16 was in particular such a let down!).

The MiSTer is FLAWLESS in that regard, and suddenly I don't suck so bad at Bonk's and Sonic anymore...

Originally Posted by skan

I wonder if it works well with a good ol' 1942 too...

Should work great! Mine outputs to an 15 kHz PVM, looks utterly fantastic. Been meaning to try one of the 31 kHz+ CRTs like Nova, but haven't got around to it yet.

[DarrenHD]

Great setup! Looks nice! And a Super game Enjoy!

[NovaCoder]

Originally Posted by Damion

Missed the party, but nonetheless, this is so awesome! Nice work!

I originally bought a MiSTer because, while I ironically suck at games, I couldn't handle the obvious audio/video and controller input lag of the various commercial mini products (the TG-16 was in particular such a let down!).

The MiSTer is FLAWLESS in that regard, and suddenly I don't suck so bad at Bonk's and Sonic anymore...

Thanks

Yes I've noticed that I'm no longer sh*t at Genesis games

[NovaCoder]

Originally Posted by DarrenHD

Great setup! Looks nice! And a Super game Enjoy!

Thanks

I've just ordered a CheckMate Mini which is basically the same case just smaller, not sure which one I'll go with (maybe both )