Amiga newbie, accelerator assistance required

  • Thread starter Thread starter 4am
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 29
  • Views Views 5804
4am

4am

New member
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Posts
24
Country
England
Region
Sarf East
New member here (hello), posted the following in my 'introduction' thread and advised to re-post here. Thanks in advance for any advice...

What would you enlightened folk suggest I look for as a first expansion to my unexpanded (bar a PCMCIA card which I use to shuffle content back and forth plus a 4GB (IIRC) hard drive that I installed a year or so ago) A1200?

At this stage all I'm looking to do is play the WHDownload library and tinker with some basic programming. I've been told to look at an accelerator but would appreciate some advice as to which board would be most suitable for my (fairly basic) needs. Thanks!
 
Welcome aboard!

Amibay has just the thread youre looking for. It's a sticky post (remains at the top of the page) in the Amioracle section. Its pre-typed and full of good info about choosing A1200 fast mem cards and accellerators!

https://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?t=16681

Cheers,
Matt
 
BlindGerMan said:
Yes, this is a great threat answering a lot of questions!
Click to expand...

:lol: I don't think it was meant in a harmful way (ok i know it was only a typo:))

I would go for an aca1230 or better still an aca1231 (I think vesalia may still have a few left)
 
matt020 said:
Amibay has just the thread youre looking for.
Click to expand...
Thanks Matt, I did have a look at that the other day before posting here.

Only thing was that Andy states a FastRAM card is a good starting point ... but I've read lots of people saying they would advise jumping straight in with an accelerator (as per Snoozy's post above).

Just wondering what those who had experienced the same conundrum would do in retrospect.

Snoozy said:
I would go for an aca1230 or better still an aca1231
Click to expand...
Could only find a '31 on the site (www.vesalia.de, right?) Snoozy... Whilst I don't mind forking out a few sheets, EUR179 is a little bit on the steep side.
 
If you just want to play WHDLoad Games 4/8mb Trapdoor Ram is all you need. If you want to take things further such as emaulation (Master System/Nes/Spectrum/MacOS/etc) or 3D Games like Doom/etc you will want at least an 030 and the 50mhz Blizzard is a good starting point. Quite a bit more grunt but still very compatible.

I wouldn't suggest an ACA card for someone new to the scene as they can be problematic with some A1200's (Timing issues) plus to get the most out of them you need to configue ACATune. Although it wasn't intended I think they're better suited to advanced users as you can get all sorts out of them (such as booting with custom roms)

The Blizzard 1230MkIV is 100% plug & play, this is the next step above trapdoor Ram that I would suggest.

You could always get the Ram upgrade first and if you find you're left wanting upgrade later, there is always demand for Ram boards so you could easily sell it on :)

All the best & good luck with your project.

Steve.
 
Last edited:
4am said:
Exactly what I was looking for. thanks Fitz...
Click to expand...

You're welcome, I also corrected some typo's ;)

Do let us know how you get on with the project.

Steve.
 
4am said:
matt020 said:
Amibay has just the thread youre looking for.
Click to expand...
Thanks Matt, I did have a look at that the other day before posting here.

Only thing was that Andy states a FastRAM card is a good starting point ... but I've read lots of people saying they would advise jumping straight in with an accelerator (as per Snoozy's post above).

Just wondering what those who had experienced the same conundrum would do in retrospect.
Click to expand...

The best compromise for price/performance is one of the 'budget' '030 cards. You can get up to 40MHz with the 4/8MB RAM limit for very respectable prices if you're prepared to wait.

If you've a bit more cash to spare, get an '030 that supports 32-bit addressing and stick a 16MB or 32MB SIMM on there (You'll almost certainly never need more than that!) -- Doesn't matter what make or model you get, they all do the job (but be wary of GVP cards that take weird SIMMs). The Blizzard 1230 IV is a really nice card, but if you're not going to add the SCSI kit and obscene amounts of RAM, it's probably not worth the overhead.

'040s and '060s are almost certainly overkill if you're wanting to just WHDLoad, and they're not as compatible as the '030 cards with games. I'd only consider this if you're really serious about doing high-performance software development or want to watch complex demos.

Don't forget that these cards tend to hold their value, so if you decide later on that you'd like to go '060, you'll almost certainly be able to re-sell an '030 card for a fair price.

:thumbsup:
 
Do your Amiga a big favor and find a Blizzard MKIV 030/50MHz with 16 or 32MB Fast RAM and you're done with your A1200. :D
 
fitzsteve said:
If you just want to play WHDLoad Games 4/8mb Trapdoor Ram is all you need. If you want to take things further such as emaulation (Master System/Nes/Spectrum/MacOS/etc) or 3D Games like Doom/etc you will want at least an 030 and the 50mhz Blizzard is a good starting point. Quite a bit more grunt but still very compatible.

I wouldn't suggest an ACA card for someone new to the scene as they can be problematic with some A1200's (Timing issues) plus to get the most out of them you need to configue ACATune. Although it wasn't intended I think they're better suited to advanced users as you can get all sorts out of them (such as booting with custom roms)

The Blizzard 1230MkIV is 100% plug & play, this is the next step above trapdoor Ram that I would suggest.

You could always get the Ram upgrade first and if you find you're left wanting upgrade later, there is always demand for Ram boards so you could easily sell it on :)

All the best & good luck with your project.

Steve.
Click to expand...

The ACA1231 is a touch faster than the blizzard 1230 IV (according to jens) ie mips.

The ACA1231 has 100% compatability for whdload and has no timing issues that i was aware (i thought this was confined to the aca1230) If you have ks 3.1 it is 100% plug and play. Even booting with custom roms will only take 2 minutes of editing your s:start-up sequence.

And of course the aca1231 will be brand new (if you can source an aca1230 second hand you will find better value for money than the blizzard 1230 IV)
 
Lots of info to digest... thanks to everyone for the words of wisdom. I'm sure I'll be back shortly with more questions.

fitzsteve said:
You could always get the Ram upgrade first and if you find you're left wanting upgrade later...
Click to expand...
I like this idea.
 
Last edited:
I think fitzsteve suggested that.

If you do opt for a ram upgrade rather than a 68030 accelerator, be aware that you will not be able to run the more up-to-date Amiga Operating System that many ppl are using - OS 3.9

The ram upgrades are ok but for an extra 30 - 40% more money you can move within the mainstream of amiga computing which is optimal for whdload and even allows internet access through the 1200.

(Many people who buy the ram upgrades seem to sell them in a few months and switch over to an accelerator)

I've got a few a1200's but the main one i use has the aca1230 for which i never had any timing issues (My blizzard 1220 ram upgrade system sees much less use as its less capable)
 
Apologies Snoozy/fitzsteve, post duly edited.

Thanks for that. Now this is a real newbie question, but how may I check what version of AOS I'm running?

Also slightly concerned about the PCMCIA issue - I understand these cards conflict with RAM upgrades larger than 4GB? - as that's how I'm transferring files from PC

More food for thought :)
 
4am said:
Apologies Snoozy/fitzsteve, post duly edited.

Thanks for that. Now this is a real newbie question, but how may I check what version of AOS I'm running?

Also slightly concerned about the PCMCIA issue - I understand these cards conflict with RAM upgrades larger than 4GB? - as that's how I'm transferring files from PC

More food for thought :)
Click to expand...

4mb!

Yes, i think if you use kick 3.0 roms and 8mb ram there is a better chance of pcmcia compatability. Using 3.1 roms means 4mb ram and pcmcia compatability or 8mb ram and no pcmcia (this is how i have found it with my systems)

If your a1200 is stock then you may be on OS 3.0 (it will tell you on your purple wb insert disk prompt screen, or on wb itself if you have a hd/cf installed)

you can check what roms you are using by looking at the 2 kickstart chips on your motherboard
 
Last edited:
Megs/gigs, small difference :D

ROM check - isn't there some kind of sysinfo software I can use to save opening up the computer?

And re: Fast RAM... assuming I have an 8mb option, can I not switch between 4mb and 8mb by opening the trap door and flicking jumper switches to enable PCMCIA use in a worst-case scenario? Or is it not quite as simple as that?

Thanks again for your help.
 
I expect you probably have 3.0 roms if your a1200 is stock, in which case you may be ok to use upto 8mb ram card without affecting pcmcia.

Maybe you can use software to check what roms your using - well it normally says on purple wb insert disk prompt (but you won't get this if you have hd/cf installed)

You should post what your current a1200 system is, hd/cf, including motherboard revision, eg 1D4, 2B etc.

Anyway you need to be ready and happy to open up your 1200 when you buy ram card or accelerator because fitting it through the trap-door is just too fiddly normally. Opening the 1200 up is easy and only takes 2-3 minutes.You will see the roms as 2 chips exposed under the metal shielding. Knowing what roms and motherboard revision you have will help you decide what ram card or accelerator is best suited to your 1200.

Yes you may be able to flip a toggle switch for some ram cards if necessary for between 4mb and 8mb if you need to but this may also be controlled by jumpers and require opening up the 1200.
 
Snoozy said:
You should post what your current a1200 system is, hd/cf, including motherboard revision, eg 1D4, 2B etc.
Click to expand...

Don't know what MB version I have Snoozy, I will have to check. Is there somewhere specific on the MB this is stated?

I did however install one of those AmigaKit IDE hard drives when I first picked up my 1200 so don't get the notification upon boot-up.

No problem with delving under the bonnet so to speak, just no experience of working with Amigas bar that I've mentioned above. Ta again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

StrontiumDog
Assistance required - SIMM's
Replies
9
Views
2K
StrontiumDog
StrontiumDog
Back
Top Bottom