Which 1200 accelerator should i get?

[Binary]

So i got my first 1200 and wanna buy an accelerator for it. Any tips which i should choose? Is it worth it buying a vampire? How's the compabilty like? Or should i go with an Terriblefire or even a tsunami?

Give me your pros and cons

Regards

[cloverskull]

Depends what you want! For max WHDLoad and compatibility with most traditional Amiga games, my recommendation would be something with an 030, like a Terriblefire or Blizzard 1230 (if you can find one).

I hesitate to recommend much else unless you specifically want something blazing fast. For most A1200 users, an 030 accelerator is the sweet spot.

[Binary]

Ye im leaning towards tf1230 or a tsunami. The tsunami has Fpu but does that really matter? Will mostly playing games and Making music.

Will probably try out pistorm32 when that turn up and that Will probably be faster than the vampire anyway

[crazyc]

Originally Posted by cloverskull

Depends what you want! For max WHDLoad and compatibility with most traditional Amiga games, my recommendation would be something with an 030, like a Terriblefire or Blizzard 1230 (if you can find one).

I hesitate to recommend much else unless you specifically want something blazing fast. For most A1200 users, an 030 accelerator is the sweet spot.

I would agree with the above. I would not be too fussed about an FPU on a 68030 card as if you are doing things that really require one then you will probably be looking at a 68060 card anyway. its a bit like fitting a fancy spoiler and uprated brakes to a car you are just going to use around town to do the shopping.

I do have a soft sport for the Blizzard 1230 MKIV (and still have one on the shelf)

[vroom6sri]

I've had an ACA 1230/56 for about 10 years and I'm extremely happy with it. I've heard lots of people describe it as the "sweet spot" and I'd have to agree with that. I can't remember exactly what I paid for it but it was/is great value for money. I get decent speed increases in the 3d games and haven't really noticed any compatibility issues.

That said I am now interested in something faster if the price is right and if the accelerator in question feels to still be an authentic Amiga experience.

[Binary]

Originally Posted by crazyc

I would agree with the above. I would not be too fussed about an FPU on a 68030 card as if you are doing things that really require one then you will probably be looking at a 68060 card anyway. its a bit like fitting a fancy spoiler and uprated brakes to a car you are just going to use around town to do the shopping.

I do have a soft sport for the Blizzard 1230 MKIV (and still have one on the shelf)

Thanks for the input, i maybe will be doing somethings requiring a fpu after reading about it so i went with the tsunami, also it has a expansion port for future upgrades

Originally Posted by vroom6sri

I've had an ACA 1230/56 for about 10 years and I'm extremely happy with it. I've heard lots of people describe it as the "sweet spot" and I'd have to agree with that. I can't remember exactly what I paid for it but it was/is great value for money. I get decent speed increases in the 3d games and haven't really noticed any compatibility issues.

That said I am now interested in something faster if the price is right and if the accelerator in question feels to still be an authentic Amiga experience.

ye was thinking about the aca but they are quite expensive. might get one anyway though since i have a aca 500 plus for my a500. Went with the tsunami for now though

[grond]

Originally Posted by Binary

ye was thinking about the aca but they are quite expensive. might get one anyway though since i have a aca 500 plus for my a500. Went with the tsunami for now though

If you are going for the mid-range (030-based accelerators which indeed can be the compatibility sweetspot for your usecase), I would just forget about the FPU. You'll hardly need it, if ever. I also don't think that a few MIPS more or less matter in that range. If you want speed, there are options that are faster by factors of ten and more. So why shell out quite a chunk of money for e.g. a 50 or 56 MHz 030 that doesn't really give you a lot more than e.g. a 40 MHz 030?

[Tigerskunk]

Why even an accelerator?

Most whdLoad stuff will work anyway.
Get a few MBs of fast RAM for that and a faster Workbench, and you are good to go I'd say.

[Damion]

I picked up an ACA 1234 just to try, and ended up *really* liking the card. It's noticeably quicker than the Blizzard 1230/IV, and the onboard CF interface is excellent (for that extra bit of performance, try an industrial CF card from the likes of Swissbit or Delkin). For now, the old Blizzard sits in its box.

I've encountered a few demos that require an FPU, though most of them would be better served on an '060 anyway (zero loss here really).

IMO the Tsunami is also an excellent card, I would have no reservations about recommending one.

Addendum: looks like you got the Tsunami, congratulations and enjoy

[Binary]

Originally Posted by Tigerskunk

Why even an accelerator?

Most whdLoad stuff will work anyway.
Get a few MBs of fast RAM for that and a faster Workbench, and you are good to go I'd say.

i've been running out of memory while using Classic workbench and igame

and also:

[Tigerskunk]

Originally Posted by Binary

i've been running out of memory while using Classic workbench and igame

and also:

That's what the few MBs of fastRAM (maybe plus using fblit) I mentioned could fix, I guess...
Other than that, you cannot expand Chip RAM anyway.

(But yeah on power, got a Vampire1200 in my 1200 here, so I should shut up on minimalism probably... haha)

[d4rk3lf]

Depends if you want to play regular Amiga games, or Quake 2, rendering in Lightwave.. etc...

...or, if you want to help James Cameron finish rendering Avatar 2.

[Daedalus]

To be fair, there are plenty of games that benefit from an accelerator, even just a fast '020 or '030. Fast RAM alone might be enough for some people, but that doesn't mean an accelerator isn't without its uses.

[grond]

Originally Posted by Binary

i've been running out of memory while using Classic workbench and igame

and also:

If you want power, get a Vampire. A 50 MHz 030 is perhaps something like 10 MIPS, a 56 MHz 030 is 11 MIPS. Wow, a whole 1 MIPS more for what, a 100€ extra?

A Vampire is 150 MIPS.

[Binary]

Originally Posted by Tigerskunk

That's what the few MBs of fastRAM (maybe plus using fblit) I mentioned could fix, I guess...
Other than that, you cannot expand Chip RAM anyway.

(But yeah on power, got a Vampire1200 in my 1200 here, so I should shut up on minimalism probably... haha)

im running out of fastmem, have 4mb xpansion

[Binary]

Originally Posted by grond

If you want power, get a Vampire. A 50 MHz 030 is perhaps something like 10 MIPS, a 56 MHz 030 is 11 MIPS. Wow, a whole 1 MIPS more for what, a 100€ extra?

A Vampire is 150 MIPS.

the tsunami i bought does 42 mhz

[grond]

Originally Posted by Binary

the tsunami i bought does 42 mhz

I don't know the tsunami, but 40ish MHz 030 certainly doesn't sound wrong. I used to love my Blizzard 1230 back in the day but given the choice between two 030 accelerators, I would choose the cheaper one provided it has a good IDE interface. I wouldn't care much for a few MHz more.

[nikosidis]

I'm using Blizzard IV with my A1200. Always loved that card. Never any problems.

Cool there are so many alternatives now.

The Tsunami card looks sweet.

030 is a nice CPU for Amiga. Very compatible with the older 68k series.

[vroom6sri]

Originally Posted by grond

If you want power, get a Vampire. A 50 MHz 030 is perhaps something like 10 MIPS, a 56 MHz 030 is 11 MIPS. Wow, a whole 1 MIPS more for what, a 100€ extra?

A Vampire is 150 MIPS.

12 (well 12.23) Mips from my ACA1230/56 but I see the point you're making. It's a lot like the BHP in high performance cars to some extent - you end up paying comparatively big sums of cash for those extra BHPs/Mips/Mhz. If you've got the money then great but I suppose you've got to weigh up what you want to spend Vs how much extra oomph you need (or want).

[Leon Besson]

Just throwing in my 2 cents here. I tend to favour the classic accelerators such as the Phase 5 Blizzard 1230. Why? 1).. Tried and tested 2).. You can add a SCSI add-on and up to 256MB fast RAM 3).. No timing fixes needed to 1D4 or 2B revision boards like the ACA cards need to function. 4).. Unlike the newer stuff coming out. It’s tried and tested. So you don’t have to play around being a Beta tester and uploading new Firmware fixes (Unless it’s what you like doing).