A1200D Project - Mechanical Compat. Advice

[rikbliz]

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[lesta_smsc]

Looking at your shopping list - you must have quite a bit of extra cash! I imagine this would cost in the region of £300-500?

[rikbliz]

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[Mr B]

I cant help but think you should wait and see if Jens has something coming that will provide s-ATA for the A1200. But that, on the other hand, can turn in to a looooong waiting game.

Thought on your hardware list. The 2xCF adapter, is it a RAID device, or will it connect 2 4gB drives to the IDE? Either way, your going to have to decide what way you want to "circumvent" the 2gB+ issues.

Seams like a cool build, good luck.

[rikbliz]

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[Mr B]

File system limitations cap you well before the hardware does. With FFS, the Amiga default file system, your limited to 2gB. This is true regardless of how you hook it to the Amiga. Both IDEFix, and FastATA does lift the limits of the hardware, but you'd still have to tinker with the filesystem, or run a heap of 2gB partitions. I think. Pretty sure. Someone else should probably confirm this tho.
There are good guides around here, and quite a few fountains of knowledge is around, so getting it all to work isn't THAT hard. But for me, it's still a bit much. I've got a 4gB CF i'm preparing as system / games drive right now, and it's split in to two 2gB partitions, simply coz i find the task of setting up SFS or PFS. Ideally i would have a much smaller systems partition, and a single quite large partition for games and other fun.

When it comes to selecting one over the other, for the ATA interfaces. I'd go with the cheap option, simply due to not really seeing the main advantage of the second as a real advantage. Speed. It's faster. Quite a bit. But even without the interface upgrades, loading to the desktop takes only seconds, and launching softwares, games or otherways, is more about CPU, then disc access from what i see with my usage, and i think my ACA1230/56 is faster then your Blizzard 1230MKIV. (No disrespect intended.) Big stuff does launch faster from the ramdrive, but not that much really. The lack of noticeable searchtime from the CF is a lot more of an advantage then the higher bandwidth.
But all in all, that depends on what you intend to DO with the system once it's up and running. If speed turns out to be an issue, find a fast SCSI-II drive, and you should get performance right in the middle of the two ATA interfaces. And to me, that would suggest go with the cheap one, as your getting the fast SCSI-II either way.
But then again, your build is pretty far out there compared to mine, so for all bells and whistles, get the fast one. (That would be FastATA MKIV, but you knew this)

[rikbliz]

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[Mr B]

Originally Posted by rikbliz

I'm a UNIX sysadmin by day (Amiga UBER-NOOB by night though!) so think I will try to use SFS in order to use 4GB partitions on my CF drives.

I'd recommend a smaller system partition, regardless of filesystem, but there is more about that in pretty much every "how to" on the topic.

Originally Posted by rikbliz

I'll need to track down some howtos/docs on file systems - think I saw a stickied post on EAB the other day actually.

There is bound to be some there, and there is some good threads here.

Originally Posted by rikbliz

Yes, I think your ACA1230/56 is faster, but only by 6MHz!

I think it's more about the memory, and wait-states / access times actually. Jens did explain a lot of what he did to these new accelerators to make em go faster, but basically, since he doesn't have to make it work with exchangeable memory, he could push it a bit further. However, it's getting of-topic. Sorry.

[NovaCoder]

1) Indivision AGA 1200 Mk2 (via DVI hole in rear/side of case) - HDMI is much cleaner (goes in the RF hole) like this [ Show youtube player ]
2) SCSI Kit for Blizzard 1230 MkIV (via slot opening on rear of case)
3) EasyADF PCMCIA Compact Flash Transfer Kit
4) EasyNET PCMCIA Network Card
5) Kickstart 3.1 ROMs
6) 33MHz 68882 PGA FPU (at 50MHz - I hope!) - you should be able to find a 40Mhz or even 50Mhz one.
7) 2x 128MB 72-pin RAM SIMM for Blizzard 1230 MkIV - you don't really need this much memory, 64MB is enough.


If you are going SCSI you don't need the IDEFix-Express Controller or internal CDROM, you could mount your HD and CDROM in an external unit (faster than IDE with less CPU load).

You don't really need a CDROM drive with a 1200 anyway, you can normally just rip any data you need off an Amiga CDROM using WinUAE and then transfer it using a CF card.

Don't bother with the Subway either as an 030 is not really up to the task.

[rikbliz]

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[NovaCoder]

No it won't give you a better signal, it's just a neater mod (as you can see in the video) than using the included DVI output. It also allows you to mount your SCSI out in that empty spot (near the floppy) which is probably the best place for it.

[rikbliz]

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[hooverphonique]

I agree with novacoder.. Focus on either scsi or ide, not both..

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by rikbliz

Its all digital so I suppose DVI or HDMI connection won't make any difference.

Now that isn't true. DVI isn't all digital, which is why the Indivision was equipped with it and not HDMI in the first place. Going with HDMI means you lose the VGA option, and as long as your fine with it, go for it, it makes for a neater mod.

[N-Ed]

1. You forgot the HxC Floppy Emulator, no more buggy floppies + you get a emulated floppy sound if you'd like(wife hates that sound btw ).
2. PICO-psu?
3. I just installed Kippers CF-IDE adapter, this lets me change CF:s without opening my 1200.
4. Next mod will be Kippers HDMI-outout.
Coming mod:
5. I'm thinking of hacking an joystick/mouse autoswitcher into my Amiga. And will mount a USB input that will be connected to a MicroMys inside the miggy. And I'll hook up the normal joystick input to the switch. But as I don't know the size of the switch, this might have to be done in a none desktop 1200(might do a Rackmount version 1200 if I can get hold of a 1200 for a small sum some day

[rikbliz]

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[N-Ed]

HxC is really sweet!

Yeah PICO psu will be in my next machine, now I'm using a 500 brick.

Amigakit is looking into building more switches, will be ordering 2 when they're in stock.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by rikbliz

Sorry, was thinking of DVI-D there oops. What are the implications of 'losing the VGA option'? Does this mean some games won't run over HDMI?

To the Amiga, it makes no difference. To your screens... Right now, given that the software to configure the Indivision isn't released, and development possibly is suspended pending the resolution of family issues with the developer it's pretty much luck of the draw if your screen will work over digital signals. I got 1 TV, and 5 monitors here. Only two of the monitors work, and both of those are VGA only. Everything else either doesn't see a signal at all, or claim the signal to be out of range.
To top it of, nobody really knows when the configuration tool will be released. It's promised to arrive someday, everyone wants it sooner rather then later, but by now it's already later, and Jens explained not that long ago that anyone who bought the hardware, cant use it, and is waiting for the software, could get their money back. Ofcourse everyone said no. Money back means returning the Indivision MKII, and nobody wants that. So, we wait. (Not trying to slam Jens, he's been honest, and is working to try and find a solution. But rikbliz needs the full story to make a informed buy.)

Bottom line. Don't get a Indivision MKII, hook it up in your miggy over one of Kipper2k's HDMI mods, without having tested that the darn thing actually works for you, on at least some screen you got access to.
The easy way to test it, is using the DVI it comes with, and either use it, or a DVI to HDMI adaptor, and see if it works anywhere for you. First after that i'd cut a slot in the Amiga to fit the HDMI mod from Kipper2k. Also, don't throw away the original DVI part, i suspect it may be the best option to get a visual when one starts playing around with the config tool once it's here.

Originally Posted by rikbliz

After the system is on its legs, HxC is something I will probably look at (plus an external amiga floppy drive for my old discs/posterity!)

I never understood the fuzz about this one. With the storage space in todays Amiga systems, why are we emulating floppies? I've stuck one of these in a keyboard, since it doesn't have any internal storage that made sense but i feel like i'm missing the point with the Amiga. Anyway, if you decide to get one, make sure you get a rev C or later. (Earlier models were incapable of writing to Amiga floppies. Not sure if they wrote to other formats, but Amiga is a no go)

Good luck.

[N-Ed]

I've mostly used my HxC to install WB a bunch of times and to play games that hasn't been WHD:ified. And on top of that it a cool gizmo for the miggy, and I can't pass on stuff like that
I actually bought the HxC for my 500, but ended up dremeling it into my 1200 since that is the machine that sees daily usage!

[Mr B]

Ah. The Gizmo argument. Yeah, i fall for that one every now and then to. You got to have it, but cant really say why. Cool.