#Help
10 messages in this thread
Hi Everybody,
I'm a Mac user (Boo Hiss) but I'm about to get a Amiga for use in
video production to operate my video editor.
What I need to know is – "What are the essential differences between the 3
lower Amiga models 500, 600, 1200?
I don't really need anything more than the 500 to run the editor, but I want to
know what options open up if I go bigger. The small size of the 600 is of great
interest on my crowded bench but even if I find a 600HD, what can the 1200HD do
better? Will any of them run on a cable connected HD so I don't have to hear
that HD whistle all day?
None of the books or magazines I've looked at can tell me anything about the
differences except the prices and in my curent abode, (Munich, Germany) there
isn't ONE Amiga dealer in a jungle of clanking, steam driven PC pirates!
Thanks, Allen.
AW >> "What are the essential differences between the 3 lower Amiga models
500, 600, 1200?<<
—
The A500 was released in 1987, and shipped with AmigaDOS 1.3, using a 256K
OS ROM (KickStart), and two 880K disks of OS-related software (Workbench).
The AmigaOS, can be upgraded to at least 2.1, which uses a 512K Kickstart
ROM, and 6 disks of Workbench software.
The A500 had a 7-Mhz 68000 CPU, with 512K of graphic memory, and a belly
slot for adding a clock chip, and 512K of system memory.
The 86-pin side connector (Expansion slot), allows for several differ
kinds of expansion, but is limited to a single card (two at the most). The
expansion boards can be combo boards allowing 8-megs of system memory,
hard drive controllers, and even alternate 32-bit CPU cards, etc.
The graphics are limited to a palette of 4096 colors, with upto 64 colors
in lowres (320×200/400), and 16 colors in hires (640×200/400). Using the
special "HAM" mose al 4096 colors can be used on a lowres screen. The
graphics chips have been updated in some A500s to allow upto 1024K of
graphic memory.
Some of the more common upgrades for the A500 are 'sandwich' boards, which
insert between certain chips, and their sockets. You could find such
boards for adding upto 2048K of graphics memory, adding a NTSC-VGA video
mode convertor, and IDE HD interfaces, and RAM boards.
The A500 has the Amiga's standard serial, parallel, Video, stereo output,
and mouse/joystick input ports. It also has a monochrome RF modulator.
—
The A600 was an oddity, that was designed as a low-end, entry level Amiga
to attract the Commodore 64/128 crowd.
It has the same basic features of the A500, however, it uses SMT for all
but the KickStart ROM. This prevents many of the sandwich board
expansions. Also, the 86-pin Expansion slot is missing, as well as the
keypad.
However, it already has 1024K of graphics memory, and can be upgraded to a
total of 2048K of graphics memory+clock through its belly slot. It has a
built-in IDE HD interface, and ships with AmigaDos 2.1.
The A600 has a PCMCIA v2.0 slot, which can be used for adding upto 4-megs
of system memory. The PCMCIA RAM cards can also be used as a RAM-disk, and
it can support I/O PCMCIA cards *if* the proper drivers are made avalible.
—
The A1200 is the latest of the low-end series.
It has a 32-bit 14-Mhz 68ec020. The 68ec020 is fully 32-bit, but 24-bit
address space (16-meg limit), and has no MMU support. It does support a
68881 or 68882 FPU.
The A1200, ships with 2048K of 32-bit graphics memory, has a palette of
16,777,216 colors, with upto 256 colors in any resolution. Its newer
HAM-8 mode allows as many colors as pixels on the screen (a 640×400 screen
could have upto 256,000 colors). Its AGA graphic chips can generate PAL.
NTSC, VGA, and custom graphic/video signals.
The AmigaDOS is version 3.0, using two 256K ROMs, and 6 disks of Workbench
software.
The A1200 also has the PCMCIA slot, and IDE HD interface. The belly slot
allows for upto 8-megs of system memory, FPU, SCSI controllers, and also
allows higher speed CPU boards with more memory expansion and MMU support.
It also has a color composite connector, a RF modulator. The Video port
appears to be missing a signal (leading to incompatiblities with some
genlocks.)
The A1200 is at least twice the speed of the A500, and once system memory
is added, becomes five times as fast. It also has better graphics, than
both the A500 & A600, and supports more monitor types.
Ron. – ("I'm not stupid, I'm not expendable, and I'm not going!"
– quote made by any low level RPG player.)
Hi, Allen.
Just adding my two cents to Ronald's reply:
The Amiga 1200 has the AGA chipset, which will allow you to view graphics
in more colors and resolutions than the older 500 and 600 models. (It
also has a faster CPU). If you'd like to run the latest software on the
Amiga with the newest versions of the OS, I'd stick with the 1200.
Steve
Thanks Ron & Steve,
Thanks muchly for the detailed info. Seems like the 1200 is
the only logical option, and it's made easier by the fact that, over here at
least, it's the only one of them still on sale. Also the prices have dropped so
much that new ones are some DM100 under what the second hand prices are!
What pgms are available to run CServe on the Amiga?
How can I get around the terrible HD whistle made by almost all 1200's I've
heard? I for one couldn't stand it.
Thanks, Allen.
AutoPilot, over in the AmigaVendor libraries, is the best program to use
when connecting to CompuServe.
AW >>What pgms are available to run CServe on the Amiga?<<
The one I use is called AutoPilot. It can run on a default A1200, but
really needs a HD to use its file catalog feature.
When I first got my A1200, I ran AutoPilot on it using multiple floppy
drives, since then I've gotten a HD. With the offline catalogs of the
Amiga areas, my AutoPilot HD space has grown to over 5-megs.
—
AW >>How can I get around the terrible HD whistle made by almost all
1200's I've heard?<<
I never quite got use to it, but I like to like to music while I use the
computer, so I can't hear the HD, due to the headphones.
Ron. – ("I'm not stupid, I'm not expendable, and I'm not going!"
– quote made by any low level RPG player.)
Hi Allen,
I dont live far away from you. I live in Aying (between Munich
and Rosenheim). In Munich there are several Amiga Dealer, but I always
buy the hardware and software by a mail-order company called AmigaOber-
land. If you have further questions or you want to see an Amiga1200 in
action feel free to contact me.
-Franz
flying from Aying(Germany)
with Amiga 1200`030 & Autopilot
Hi Frank,
WHO in Munich sells Amiga? All the normal places like Conrad and the
store on Schillerstr do not sell Amiga any more.
I have looked thru the Yellow Pages and could find NO Amiga seller.
Allen.
Hi Allen,
Try Computer Corner, Albert-Rosshaupter-Str. 108, 81369 Muenchen,
Phone 089/7141034.
But if you like to buy an Amiga I would recommend the mailorder company
AmigaOberland, because they are not expensive and deliver per UPS in
two days the stuff.
Hope that you will have success.
-Franz
flying from Aying(Germany)
with Amiga 1200`030 & Autopilot
Thanks Buddy, I'll visit Computer Cnr and keep looking in the Kurtz & Fundzig
Allen-with a Mac'030 at (25MHz)