How expensive is real hardware ?

[chip]

Hi guys

Sometimes i think to buy the real thing, but i am always stopped by economic reasons

Anyway, just to make some computations, how much expensive is the real hardware ?

I mean, a lot of things must be considered :

1) the used machine (A500 or A1200)
2) the cost for recapping and general maintainance
3) the cost for accessories like cables and so on
4) the cost for a TV (which i need since i want to use an old CRT)
5) others things i am not able to find now ?

We could make (in euro) a general price which include all of the above to have a machine "ready to run" ?

Thanks, chip

[dreadnought]

Prices in Poland:
-working Amiga 500+512kb RAM ("tested", with pics etc) goes for about ~90E (+/-20E)
-PSU: ~20E
-mouse, or adapter: ~20E
-CRT TV: 0-20E
-Gotek: 30E
-no need to recap

Sometimes you can get Amiga with mouse/PSU already, so it's cheaper. So, overall it's about 140-180E.

[Foebane]

Originally Posted by chip

Hi guys

Sometimes i think to buy the real thing, but i am always stopped by economic reasons

Anyway, just to make some computations, how much expensive is the real hardware ?

Prohibitive, and it's going to get worse as time goes on. Old hardware seems to decrease in value for a while (like consoles from two or three generations ago) and then increases in value again, from what I see, as they become rarer because of wear and tear, failure, etc.

Regional factors also apply, as equipment may not be available in a buyer's country and electrical requirements may differ, requiring the use of step-up or step-down transformers and plug adapters, etc.

Shipping, as well, would cost a lot, especially considering the distance between buyer and seller and the physical size of the item.

These costs will quickly add up, and it seems only dedicated hardware collectors have such resources.

[NovaCoder]

Yep when I got my first A1200 about a decade ago it was a boxed new old stock from amigakit at a reasonable price.

These days the only A1200's are on eBay for a ridiculous amount and like you say you then have to factor in the cost of recapping and the essential upgrades... can get very expensive.

That's why I decided to just go the FPGA route and got a MiSTer.

[chip]

That's a point i am interested in .... i don't see Amiga systems on Amigakit

Is that possible ?

[dreadnought]

I wouldn't say prices for A500 are that terrible. Not sure why everyone expects them to be on the level of flea market finds from 15 years ago. Obviously, the old stuff gets older and breaks down, they are not being made anymore, retro computing got more popular, etc. It's normal in any hobby dealing with vintage stuff. Of course, I'm not talking about some crazy BuyItNow prices, but then everybody should know to avoid these.

The good thing about buying them is that if you eventually decide to sell a retro machine, it won't be with a loss.

[chip]

I am making personal research here in Italy and i can confirm, A500 is surely less expensive than A1200

[SquawkBox]

Price is important but also you should ask yourself, will you be using it on a regular basis. Also, modern display won't be available unless you use some kind of device e.q. flickerfixer between your machine and the monitor. Or you could be using one of these old 15''4:3 LCD TV's with multiple inputs.
Obviously, while less sturdy, an A1200 is interesting because of the ability to "install" games or if you're into AGA specific titles, a naked A500 would resemble a toaster in that perspective .

[chip]

I don't know, i use emulation on a regular basis

So i guess it would be the same with real hardware

Anyway i must be honest with myself

All of this is not so attractive to me

There are too many components to be considered

Main problem is that only one system isn't enough

I guess 2 or 3 machines are needed to cover all the demos and games around

It's not like WinUAE, where you can choose chipset and kickstart with a click

Then there are the accessories, the cables, the floppies, the TV ..... and the space for all of this

So, you can understand why i always return to the more practical emulator

[chip]

Anyway guys, since we are talking of this, which is the perfect combination to run pretty anything ?

One A500 + one A1200 is enough ?

[Foebane]

Chip, I thought you were 100% happy with emulation - what planted the seeds of doubt in your mind? Did the purists get to you?

[roondar]

Originally Posted by chip

Anyway guys, since we are talking of this, which is the perfect combination to run pretty anything ?

One A500 + one A1200 is enough ?

I have several Amiga's. And in all honesty the only one I actually regularly end up using the last year or so is the A1200. Coupled with a bit of RAM and WHDLoad it can do almost everything.

Now I love me my physical Amiga's, but be sure to think it through. Emulation is a lot easier and almost as good

[chip]

Hi Foebane

Well, i am surely happy with emulation, i use it since 2002 !

But thinking to how it can be a demo / game which runs on original hardware, looking at it on a big CRT, well, it has some kind of attraction to me

The possibility to transfer from the files i own to physical floppy to use on a real Amiga is something i would like to explore

Summarizing, i don't want replace emulation, but i would like to add something

But the economic aspect and the difficult to gather all the material .....

It's not that you can go to a shop and buy what you need indeed

[Nobby_UK]

Originally Posted by chip

Anyway guys, since we are talking of this, which is the perfect combination to run pretty anything ?

One A500 + one A1200 is enough ?

Well, I have 2 A500's and a A500+
But they are usually stored, only coming out for Amiga Day


But my A600, A1200 and CD32 are out and ready for action

[SquawkBox]

A1200 is too much hassle, especially to meet the requirements for WHDLoad considering you're on a budget. As dreadnought suggested, A500 with Gotek and 1 MB chip for starters, and you should be good to go.

[UberFreak]

As I see it, Ebay is a last resort.
I didn't have an Amiga growing up (was a C64 guy), but when I decided I want one, I managed to find several within a few months.

What I did is scan all possible local sale ads, forums, and even random Google searches for my region.
Prices in such websites should be much lower than Ebay.
For example, I found an A1200 for sale in a Cars forum (of all places!) with 030 and an 1084, all for under 100 Euros.
It was a classic case of a seller not knowing or caring to find out the market value of the item, he just wanted it gone from his house but felt bad dumping it.

I also tracked down and called most of the people I knew over the years that I remembered had an Amiga.
This yielded a surprising amount of computers and accessories!

[scuzz]

In Nov 1993 I walked into a computer store in Bournemouth and shelled out over £500 for a Desktop Dynamite pack. I then bought a Vidi Amiga for £100. RAM expansion for £100. Monitor for £300. Accelerator for £350 and then a bigger hardrive which also cost me £350. And it never ended. Thing is what was I doing today..?? I was mucking around on that very Amiga 1200 with her Microvitec and external SCSI and Blizzard 1230IV. She has never stopped working for me. I never gave up with the Amiga.... She is a treasure and life wouldn't be the same.


So it really is about what you really want for your money. If you want something badly you will get it no matter what the cost. I spent like £2000 in a single day to be able to do what you are suggesting and I didn't blink an eye.


Since then I have purchased over 125 Amigas and I am the very proud owner of 31 Amiga 1200s. One is mint in box never been used since I bought it new and she has a 1230IV and SCSI KIT just sitting there waiting for the day my current A1200 gives up. Doesn't look like its going to happen anytime soon.


Look after your kit and it will last a lifetime. So what you got to lose. But you gotta want it.. seriously want it. And know what you are going to do with it when you get it. I am lucky . I live in Amiga heaven. It was always the plan..... Just as an aside nothing of mine has been recapped.


Point is I guess is you have to start somewhere. But you gotta really want it. I have travelled the four coners of this land to pick up kit and it always made me happy. I have never confused gaming with computing. I use modern kit to play modern games, mostly online. The Amiga on the other hand is a 'COMPUTER'. And a very good one at that. She provides the freedom, total freedom to do just what I want without the restrictive controls of modern internet based glorified mobile phones. Computing should be your goal and you should have an interest in all that that means. But if you just wanna play games... do yourself a big favour and get an emulator. You really are wasting your money and a first rate computer.

[chip]

To answer your post, for me Amiga is just fun

I see demos and look at games, nothing more than this

So, sure, i can have the fun with the emulator too

I only wanted to make an idea of what would i need to have the "real" experience

[dreadnought]

Originally Posted by scuzz

Since then I have purchased over 125 Amigas and I am the very proud owner of 31 Amiga 1200s.

Hoarding: another reason why the prices are high

[stevelord]

It doesn't need to be that expensive. Here in the UK a 1Mb Amiga 500 in good ocndition can be had off fleabay for £50-£80 with cables, power, joysticks etc.
AFAICT 500s aren't affected by the cheap capacitor problem (500+ onwards is different). You might want to replace the power supply but that shouldn't need to happen straight away (unlike a C64).

You should have an A520 with your Amiga so any composite connection will be up and running, and you can get an RGB Scart to HDMI converter for <£25. A Gotek will make your life easier at under 40 Euro from Amigastore.eu. So in total <£150 will get you a USB-powered Amiga 500 and everything you need to get started.

If you want to go to KS 3.1 you can go all out with an 030/50, maybe a ZZ9000 board too with the right adaptor but I wouldn't bother on a 500. It's fine enough for blasts on Turrican and Giana sisters. For everything else there's WinUAE.