Considering buying a Indivision AGA MK3 A1200

[Daishi]

I have to get under the hood in my A1200 soon to replace my 20+ years broken PCMCIA port (it works but one side of plastic broke off) and I though it might me a perfect time to upgrade my MK2 to the MK3 but other than the keyboard input is there any other reason to get the MK3.

Thanks

[Jope]

VSync is probably the most important mk3 feature to me

[Damion]

VSync is indeed huge, it also switches between screenmodes quite a bit more quickly.

[Leon Besson]

Have owned MK1, MK2, MK2 CR and MK 3 versions.

For purists. mK1, have successfully used the MK2 and CR variant without issues and still do. MK3 is a nice to have in my opinion but it’s still a pain in the Ass to sort out the right resolutions. The keyboard get out of issue is a nice to have but it’s only a temp thing as you still need to setup the resolution using the MK3 tool to keep it at what you got. Does benefit from VGA and HDMI connectors (Only 1 can be used at a time though). Managed to get a RATTE switcher setup with a MK 3 using a VGA connector and cable with a Voodoo 4.

Each to their own.

[Akiko]

I have the MKII and OSSC, maybe they weren't properly configured but I found both to be dog slow when switching resolutions in demos which sometimes ruined the enjoyment, upgraded my A1200 and CD32 to the MKIII and switching became much faster right out of the box, so for that alone I'm very pleased with my upgrade.

It also has V-Sync as mentioned, graffiti support, audio over HDMI, and it's supposedly easier to configure with the new live config mode, but with my own monitor I haven't needed to touch that yet.

[Leon Besson]

Mk III seems to be an expensive buy these days

[GearCross]

I got an Mk3 for my A1200 but, like Leon said, it was pain in the ass to sort out the right resolutions and timings (it's still not flawless), and I can't get vsync to work properly, but these issues might just be my monitor as I've read somewhere that some monitors don't play nice with it...

I can't compare with the Mk2 as I never had any Indivision before this one, but as far as picture quality, it's amazing, and switching between interlaced and non interlaced modes, it's basically instant, watching demos is a treat.

[Damion]

I agree, the MK1 was absolutely more "plug and play". The MK3 can be time consuming to set up in some cases (and while I've managed a perfect auto+vsync mode for PAL, I'm still struggling to achieve the same for NTSC -- not that it matters much, since my Amigas have always been using PAL screenmodes 99% of the time).

However, if you require an analog output for CRTs, the MK3 (to my eyes) is superior to the MK1, and also the PIV and other Amiga scandoublers (it's nearly religious paired with a good CRT).

[Dale423]

I recently got a Mk3 and I am kind of lost on the setup honestly.

[cv643d]

Me too, however it works fine as it is so I am not really sure what I am missing out by not tuning it. Did not even know it had Vsync TBH.

I run the HighGFX drivers so I can run WB 1024x768, that makes the image full screen with no black borders!

[Leon Besson]

Originally Posted by cv643d

Me too, however it works fine as it is so I am not really sure what I am missing out by not tuning it. Did not even know it had Vsync TBH.

I run the HighGFX drivers so I can run WB 1024x768, that makes the image full screen with no black borders!

It does depend on what Monitor/TV you are using, as I believe the MK3 can do auto detection on a lot of modern LCD/LED screen which also do there own auto adjustment.

The MK3 tool (Like the MK2 tool) is there to setup bespoke or change common resolutions for things like playing Games or demos where a certain screen size is used. It also programs the cores of the Indivision to keep those settings.

[Daishi]

Thanks for the info. Switching screen speed seems like a good reason for the upgrade.