I've a top A4000 with CV and CS 060 but I would still say an A1200 with 030 is my favourite Amiga. It is after all the one I used daily for almost a decade and had the most fun with and taught myself all the fundamentals of computing on.
What's your favourite Amiga
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While I've come to love all my other machines since acquiring them, there is to me only one Amiga... the 1000. I've owned one since 1985 and will always regard it as the true Amiga. Commodore made some nice machines to follow it up but none of them were as radical and ahead of their time. If Jay Miner had found capital from another source without having to go to Atari or Commodore the Amiga 1000 and those machines that certainly could have followed would have changed what we know as the history of the home computer and the tech landscape would be much different today.
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Totaly agree with you!
For info, your kickstart switcher will be sent this morniing!
You've hit the nail on the head there!
My favourite is the A3000 with its 'industrial' looks.
I didn't think about the A3000... certainly because I have never got it. And I'd really like to have one. The computer is very beautiful. A perfect AMIGA look.
And what a good idea to include a flicker fixer!
jack-3d
kLik me
Amiga 4000T. The rare Commodore model looks better then Escom version, but still it the best Amiga ever made ;o)
Hmm... Favourite is probably the Amiga 500 frankenmachine, in the art case, with NMB keyboard, 68030 + 8MB 32bit fast on CSA MMR, IDE68k for CF duties, 3.1/2.05 on kickstart switch. It's lovely.
Close run thing is the GBA1000, or the unexpanded 1000 it sits with. Beautiful bit of design.
The 1200 is simplest with ACA1230/56, and works very well 100% of the time... The 3k I like a lot because of the Piccolo SD64... The 4K is sadly unreliable and deserves some TLC. CDTV is in a box.
I prefer OCS/ECS machines to AGA, as AGA was a disappointment compared to how much OCS shifted things on in 1985: AGA should have been so, so, so much more and I can't forgive it for that
!
Close run thing is the GBA1000, or the unexpanded 1000 it sits with. Beautiful bit of design.
The 1200 is simplest with ACA1230/56, and works very well 100% of the time... The 3k I like a lot because of the Piccolo SD64... The 4K is sadly unreliable and deserves some TLC. CDTV is in a box.
I prefer OCS/ECS machines to AGA, as AGA was a disappointment compared to how much OCS shifted things on in 1985: AGA should have been so, so, so much more and I can't forgive it for that
!
Bastich
Active member
For me its got to be my A4000D as I can still remember buying her and having many late nights programming (my hobby turned into a career). I love all of my Amiga thou. The A500+ because I fixed her up after the battery destroyed sockets, chips and tracks. Great fun fixing the none SMD models as they are so simple. I never liked the A600 when it came out as it was a disastrous move and didn't add anything useful (at the time). Now however I find I like the size and how much cool new hardware you can fit inside her
edd_jedi
Active member
Probably the A1200 because it's what I had when I was a kid, and with hindsight it was such an amazing machine capable of so much more than its shoddy owners ever did with it. At its price point and power it could literally have killed off the Windows PC with the right people behind it. Escom re-releasing it in 1995 with exactly the same spec as the 1992 model was completely unforgivable.
I am also very fond of the A4000, as I have one now. It's a great looking desktop computer with expandability trumped only by the A4000T.
I am also very fond of the A4000, as I have one now. It's a great looking desktop computer with expandability trumped only by the A4000T.
My favourite is the CDTV also. I had an Amiga 1200 as my first Amiga but always saw the magazine advert for the CDTV at a reduced price and thought I should have got a CDTV instead. I think its the best looking Amiga every made.
I also like the look of the Amiga 500. I think it looks better than the 1200.
If they made a black Amiga 1200 that would have been awesome - I know Amiga technologies released black PSU's and Mice - maybe they planned one??
I also like the look of the Amiga 500. I think it looks better than the 1200.
If they made a black Amiga 1200 that would have been awesome - I know Amiga technologies released black PSU's and Mice - maybe they planned one??
The CDTV (complete setup) is the most beautiful Amiga for me.
With the upcoming Vampire 500 it will become more usable then in the past
Gotta have to be a little different and say the Amiga 500+ !
I've spent so many years playing and messing around on mine to not have it my favorite.
I've spent so many years playing and messing around on mine to not have it my favorite.
Good observation, she is a real office looking computer.
For me the 3000D was the best computer ever built by Commodore. I have owned every single Amiga (except the 600) and the 3000D got it just right for me.
Here are my thoughts on the 3k:
1. Build quality and feel were top shelf. The keyboard, pregnant mouse, on/off switch all felt expensive.
2. Zorro 3 and expandability. I enjoyed using the Amiga expansion bus with all the available cards without to much fuss. Now I'm going to try a Sonnet 7200 on my 3000Di board. I never was talented/patient enough to get my 1200 running perfectly, you guys really impress me with what you have done with your 1200s and 600s. They are a work of art having a classic wedge with all those features hidden under the hood. For me i was always taking it apart and scratching my head what my latest add on didn't work.
3. Reliability for the 3k is second to the 2000. The 2000 is a tank capable of getting hit with a baseball bat and laughing back at you and I'm not joking, a friend of mine accidentally knocked his loaded 2k off the desk and nothing broke. I have never seen a more durable model than the 2k. The 3k is still very reliable, bought a 3k in 91 and it still works perfect today. Replace the battery with a coin and get a set of gals and she will run forever.
I have fond memories of all the models for different reasons, but the 3k clicks all the boxes as my favorite. My 3k was used as an office machine for some years and answered the phone via a phonepak for many years, it ran well over a year without a single reboot. I did love the 1000 keyboard tray and wish every computer had one, really a clean look. I also like having the Amiga check mark logo on the box, high class...
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A2000. Why?
Well, even though it is one of the uglier.... industrial PC styled miggies, it is built like a tank - remove the nicad battery and they run forever.
Also, it is easy to work on (unlike the bloody A3000) with a spacious interior (again, unlike the bloody A3000), has a 5.25" bay (unlike the bloody A3000) and has heaps of zorro slots.
It can be upgraded to an 060 (Tekmagic cards are brilliant) with 128MB+ fast ram, 2MB Chip Ram, KS 3.1, RTG graphics card, 16 bit sound card, fast ethernet, USB 2.0 etc etc.
About the only cons to the A2000 are the fact it only has z2 slots.... but the only thing this affects is RTG cards at high res/colour, and the lack of AGA, but I prefer ECS + RTG to AGA myself.
Oh, and the looks.... but nowadays that industrial look has a trendy "retro" vibe.
Out of interest, of the big box miggies I have 5 x A4000s (no towers though
), 2 x A3000s..... and 11 x A2000s (all fully restored and upgraded), so I guess it becomes obvious which model I am most affectionate towards.
Well, even though it is one of the uglier.... industrial PC styled miggies, it is built like a tank - remove the nicad battery and they run forever.
Also, it is easy to work on (unlike the bloody A3000) with a spacious interior (again, unlike the bloody A3000), has a 5.25" bay (unlike the bloody A3000) and has heaps of zorro slots.
It can be upgraded to an 060 (Tekmagic cards are brilliant) with 128MB+ fast ram, 2MB Chip Ram, KS 3.1, RTG graphics card, 16 bit sound card, fast ethernet, USB 2.0 etc etc.
About the only cons to the A2000 are the fact it only has z2 slots.... but the only thing this affects is RTG cards at high res/colour, and the lack of AGA, but I prefer ECS + RTG to AGA myself.
Oh, and the looks.... but nowadays that industrial look has a trendy "retro" vibe.
Out of interest, of the big box miggies I have 5 x A4000s (no towers though
), 2 x A3000s..... and 11 x A2000s (all fully restored and upgraded), so I guess it becomes obvious which model I am most affectionate towards. ...unlike the bloody A3000.
Yes, quite. The A3000 is a menace to work on. I've received a few battle wounds over the years from working on mine.
That said, I don't care. I still love it. It's sleek and beautiful. :roll:
I suspect that my love for the A3000 stems from how I got mine. It was bought dead and all bashed up, but I've cleaned it up and had it all repaired and it represents a labour of love.
The A2000 also has the holy grail of accelerators. The DKB Wildfire. That's the stuff that dreams are made of! Get a DKB Inferno as well and you can forget about needing Z3 slots forever! A2000 with 100Mbit Ethernet and PCI slots? I know I would! :woot:
@Andy
Funny, I think the 3k is one of the easier systems to work on really. I don't understand why it is constantly thought as a pain to work on. I never get wounds and can have it totally dismantled in a few minutes. Funny I think it is just as easy as the 2000 and easier than my 4000.
Having right tools and flipping it on its side to insert cards and voila.The 3000T/4000T were more of a project for me to dismantle. One other bonus of the 3k is that I never needed more zorro cards than 4, thanks to the great offerings of zorro cards. The X-Surf 100 offers really fast USB which offers Audio and Keyboard/Mouse options. The Mediator Di allows you to keep the case and add a Radeon with DVI out and now PPC on PCI. The Cyberstorm offers local fast memory and a 30 meg/sec scsi controller. Granted it was fun adding tons of cards in the 2000 and 3000/4000 towers but all I needed was to use the combo offering.
Interesting story Andy. I always wanted a 3000D it took me some time to buy one, and it is one of those rare occasions where you meet your hero and they meet your expectations. It has been incredibly reliable and fast, in my mind it was so well built and a real beauty. Something that apple and others pride themselves in and Commodore did it right with the 3k. As an aside I also enjoy listening to the engineers of the 3k ( like Haney) talk about the 3k and what they were doing at the time. It was a pivotal moment in time and sadly Commodore chose poorly. Having a DSP chip and AAA in a 3k chasis would have been another barrier breaker...
Cheers Andy,
Matt3k
Funny, I think the 3k is one of the easier systems to work on really. I don't understand why it is constantly thought as a pain to work on. I never get wounds and can have it totally dismantled in a few minutes. Funny I think it is just as easy as the 2000 and easier than my 4000.
Having right tools and flipping it on its side to insert cards and voila.The 3000T/4000T were more of a project for me to dismantle. One other bonus of the 3k is that I never needed more zorro cards than 4, thanks to the great offerings of zorro cards. The X-Surf 100 offers really fast USB which offers Audio and Keyboard/Mouse options. The Mediator Di allows you to keep the case and add a Radeon with DVI out and now PPC on PCI. The Cyberstorm offers local fast memory and a 30 meg/sec scsi controller. Granted it was fun adding tons of cards in the 2000 and 3000/4000 towers but all I needed was to use the combo offering.
Interesting story Andy. I always wanted a 3000D it took me some time to buy one, and it is one of those rare occasions where you meet your hero and they meet your expectations. It has been incredibly reliable and fast, in my mind it was so well built and a real beauty. Something that apple and others pride themselves in and Commodore did it right with the 3k. As an aside I also enjoy listening to the engineers of the 3k ( like Haney) talk about the 3k and what they were doing at the time. It was a pivotal moment in time and sadly Commodore chose poorly. Having a DSP chip and AAA in a 3k chasis would have been another barrier breaker...
Cheers Andy,
Matt3k
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Hmm. Thinking more about this, I guess the A3k isn't that much harder to get inside than an A2k. The problem comes on both machines when you have to remove the drive sled and PSU assembly. That's always a bloody menace. Thing is, I didn't have to do that often on my A2k, but the 3k is always have problems with the SIMM adapter and I have to re-fit the dang thing regularly.
The 2k still wins in the accessibility realm though, for two reasons:
1. You don't have to remove a Zorro riser board.
2. The CPU fast slot isn't hidden underneath the drive sleds!
Granted, it's not much, but credit where credit's due!
