Amiga 1200 RAM questions

[everblue]

I own an A1200 which is used mostly for playing WHDLoad games from a CF using the IDE adapter. Unfortunately, with just 2MB RAM most games do not work, so I need to get more RAM. I know that considering that it is brand new, I can get a 'cheap' ACA accelerator - while I don't mind the price I am afraid that with my luck I will have to get my motherboard timing fixed (I have zero soldering skills and sending it to Amigakit to get it fixed and back would cost a lot in shipping).

The alternatives I see are getting a classic accelerator (which are too expensive), or a RAM upgrade.

- If I get a 4MB or 8MB upgrade will I have problems accessing a CF inserted in a PCMCIA adapter whenever I want to add a few games to the internal CF?

- How much RAM is needed for WHDLoad games to work without issues?

Thanks!

 

[Sardine]

4mb is enough to run whdload, only larger games like monkey island 2 will give the odd slight pause. try get a cheap blizzard 1220/4

this is the most compatible as if you get the correct version its 4mb ram with a 28mhz 68020 cpu on it giving you same speed as 68030/25. and they go for about a 1/3 off an aca setup.
http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/blizzard1220



next best option is an Apollo, blizzard or equivalent 68030 with 8mb+ram (don't cause issues with Pcmcia slot) and more compatible than ACA, I don't think I have ever heard of a timing fix requirement for these accelerators.

once you get up to a 68040 game compatibility starts to drop sharply.

 

[fitzsteve]

Be careful some Apollo/Viper 030's that have max 8mb Ram do cause conflicts with PCMCIA as they address Ram in the 24bit space, those that can accept above 8mb use the 32bit space are are PCMCIA friendly.

Being very careful to avoid price driving here, if you can get the other options cheaper than the ACA they can indeed represent great value, however it all depends on market forces, supply/demand, etc.

As has been said 4mb Ram is sufficient for WHDload, I did notice quite a few multi disk Games flash the screen (loading) with 4mb so 8mb+ is recommended IMHO.

Remember most 8mb Ram boards that block the PCMCIA can be jumpered off to 4mb when you want to use PCMCIA, you can even fit a little toggle switch (of course you have to power down to change) but it's a perfect solution, should be (again depending on market forces) the cheapest option and still offers a perfectly fine WHDload experience.

I've got a couple of ACA's here (1220 & 1232), none of my A1200 boards show timing issues, none have had (to my knowledge) any fixes.

One of my previous 1D1 boards did have timing issues with my old ACA1230 but they're both long gone, maybe the 1220/32's are more tolerant?

 

[everblue]

Thanks a lot for your replies. My motherboard is a 1A with new capacitors. Looking at prices for RAM upgrades on Ebay, I would really lean towards buying a new ACA... pity I have no way to make sure it will work before purchasing one.

 

[Sardine]

agree with steve, best value for money as long as the seller is not trying his luck inflating the price is the Blizzard 1220/4.

that's why I said "8mb+ram" as the cheaper 68030 as steve said that are "UPTO" 8mb can cause conflicts with PCmcia. but like steve said to be sure get one with 16mb or more and your safe and can run doom aswell (not very fast though).

 

[fitzsteve]

Thanks a lot for your replies. My motherboard is a 1A with new capacitors. Looking at prices for RAM upgrades on Ebay, I would really lean towards buying a new ACA... pity I have no way to make sure it will work before purchasing one.

Surely with distance selling regulations, if it doesn't work you should be able to send it back. Do check with Amigakit first but I'm sure if you buy something that doesn't work as intended you're entitled to a refund if you return it (in the same condition received), normally return postage is at your expense.

 

[AndyLandy]

It's all to do with addressing. The EC020 in the A1200 has a 24-bit address bus, which means it can only address up to 8MB of FastRAM, and anything over and above 4MB will* conflict with the PCMCIA port.

Any accelerator built around an EC020 CPU will have this same limitation, and some full-core '020 and even some '030 accelerators still have this limitation. Although the CPU may support full 32-bit addressing, the card logic has to take advantage of it.

By and large, if an accelerator has an upper limit of 8MB, it'll use the 24-bit address range and will clash with the PCMCIA port. Most have jumpers so you can limit them to 4MB however.

If the card supports 16MB+, it has to be using 32-bit addressing and won't conflict with the PCMCIA port at all.

*The actual manifestation of PCMCIA conflicts may not be immediately obvious. It can vary between Kickstart 3.0 to 3.1 and the PCMCIA cards you're using. Many folks have no problems using PCMCIA cards with 8MB FastRAM, but as ever with Amiga hardware (and life in general), your mileage may vary!

 

[Nick1977]

*The actual manifestation of PCMCIA conflicts may not be immediately obvious. It can vary between Kickstart 3.0 to 3.1 and the PCMCIA cards you're using. Many folks have no problems using PCMCIA cards with 8MB FastRAM, but as ever with Amiga hardware (and life in general), your mileage may vary!

Andy, is it possible for the A1200 to manifest the conflict by not recognizing the PCMCIA card at all?or it will show a sign like yellow/red screens or guru messages?
i ask solely because my a1200 does not recognize the pcmcia card (already tested working in another A1200), and want to find if the amiga port is faulty, or the 1220/4 creates the conflict (ok i can remove the accelerator but i wanted an opinion first).

 

[AndyLandy]

Andy, is it possible for the A1200 to manifest the conflict by not recognizing the PCMCIA card at all?or it will show a sign like yellow/red screens or guru messages?
i ask solely because my a1200 does not recognize the pcmcia card (already tested working in another A1200), and want to find if the amiga port is faulty, or the 1220/4 creates the conflict (ok i can remove the accelerator but i wanted an opinion first).

1220/4? If you've only got 4MB of FastRAM, it's definitely not a 24-bit address conflict.

 

[Nick1977]

ok you are right. I read your post more carefully and i got it.