#Amiga Holiday Pricing!!
15 messages in this thread
Hi folks. I've been monitoring the Forum for a few months now, as I have
contemplated purchasing an Amiga, but found the A2000 & A3000 prices a bit
too high, especially vis a vis the 386 IBMs dropping like rocks. Now,
however, this might change.
I dropped into a local Amiga dealer today, and found out that Commodore is
running a "special holdiay sale" on Amigas, dropping prices to the
"reasonable" levels: A2000= $999, A2000HD= $1299, and, most amazing of all,
an A3000 16 mHz for $1849. That A3000 looks awfully attractive, and it
might just finally pull me into getting an Amiga. Of course, the store
didn't have any A3000s in stock.
Are these prices really going to end on Dec. 31, or will C= wake up, and
perhaps keep them permanently? Does anyone know if the other A3000 models
are also being offered at a similar savings ($1150 off MSRP is nothing to
sneeze at, but having a 25mHz might be worth it..)? Also, the A3000
advertized comes with a 40 Meg hard drive and one 3 1/2" floppy. Can a
second floppy or HD (or both) be added to the A3000? And…. what about WB
2.0? It probably is shipped with the "beta test" version, requiring an
expensive ROM installation to 2.04, right? So many questions…
Thanks a lot for your answers…. I hope to be joining the fold soon!!
<still puttering along on the
CoCo-3>
—-Dave
I'm not sure when the special prices will end. What I'd love to see is for
Commodore to drop prices even FURTHER after Christmas! An A2000HD for
$999.
A2000 for $799. Those prices are reasonable.
Yes you can add up to 3 floppy drives to the 3000, and something like 7
other hard drives (or is it 7 devices x 8 units = 56 drives? I can never
remember.) As for WB 2.0, you should be able to get it free when you buy
the machine. Ask the dealer.
Hope I helped.
Darin, SPC Technical Support
Darin: Thanks for the info, and I agree with you that the prices really
need to come down further. I went to a dealer today, and he tried to
convince me NOT to consider the A3000 / 16. He said he wouldn't even take
it if I bought it for him, seeing as the A3000 / 25 is the real machine to
get. He sells the 25 for $1000 more. He claimed that if I wished to upgrade
the A3000 16 in the future by adding a 68040 accelerator, for example, it
would be "difficult" to do, and I wouldn't get full performance out of the
accelerator with the 16; that would only be possible with the 25. That in
addition to the fact that the 3000/16 is by nature, slower.
Is there any truth to what he's been telling me? I'm putting off getting
the A3000 until I can get some solid answers, as I'm not ready to spend
$2800 + tax on a 3000 / 25, or $3300 for a 3000/25 with 100megs.
Perhaps it has something to do with the RAM used in the 16? Isn't that
replaceable with faster RAM? Somehow I think I'm getting the bait & switch,
and I don't like that at all. Thanks again… Dave
Dave,
From what I understand, a 68040 accelerator will work in either the 16 or
25 MHz versions. As for memory, I'm not sure what spped the chips are in
the machines, so I can't really make an educated guess at your question.
Yes, the RAM in the A3000 is replaceable with faster memory (all RAM is
socketed), so maybe he's just pulling your leg. (If I'm wrong, someone
please speak up.)
Darin, SPC Technical Support
– via Whap!
Oh, one more thing: The dealer said the A3000 / 16 was such a bad choice,
he didn't know why Commodore even came out with it. He said he'd rather
sell me an A2000 or A2000HD, or even one of the A2500s (again we're talking
nearly 3 grand for those) than the A3000 16. What gives?
Dave,
I think your dealer is correct(partly). The 3000/16 is not such a great
deal. The special price will probably sell of the obviously old inventory
they have. The fact that it contains a 40meg HD tells it contains a drive
that is no longer made. It is a Quantum 40 Prodrive, a fine drive but
replaced by a faster, smaller, lower power 50meg drive. The real question
is does the machine do what you want and need? If it is fast enough then
OK. There are 040 cards that run at full speed on the 3000/16 but ram
access on the motherboard would be slower. I suspect that Commodore will
not be making any more 3000/16 machines.
….Mark
Mark: Thanks for the info! I read today in a computer buyer's guide which
rated the A3000/25 tied for best buy in a computer over $3000, that the
A3000/16 will be discontinued. I'm glad that at least the dealer was not
just trying to sell me a more expensive computer. The expandability issue
is a major one for me, as I will probably slowly wish to expand my uses for
the A3000, beyond the ususal wordproc, telecom, and financial tasks I use
my CoCo-3 for. IMHO, if I'm gonna spend two grand (or more!) on a computer,
it had better be the best computer out there. Versitile, user-friendly,
able to handle serious graphics and sound, and expandable even several
years down the road. The A3000's 32-bit system is a natural. So I think
I'll wait and see if C= decides to bring the prices on the A3000/25 down to
earth after Christmas. Thanks again!
—Dave
Dave,
If expansion (especially accelleration) is important then the 3000/25
would be a better choice than the 3000/16. The "16" is not defective in
any way and is physically the same as far as slots and ram capacity. It is
no longer a good choice for production in light of changes in the market in
the last year or so.
….Mark 74335,1677
It sounds like your dealer isn't a really friendly person. I'd actually
rather have the A3000-16 than an A2000HD. It faster, is actually more
expandable (unless you want a Video Toaster), and is just nicer to work
with. I have an A3000-16/50 here at my desk (I'm Whap!ping with it right
now), and I love it. Maybe your dealer has had some bad experiences with
the A3000-16. I personally think that it should become Commodore's new
low-end machine (and that they should drop the price a little bit).
Darin, SPC Technical Support
– via Whap!
While I agree I'd rather have a 3000/16 over a 2000HD, I'd not _buy_
either. If I were buying today I'd look at nothing less than a 3000/25.
-sja
I was wondering when the 'Dealer' factor would be mentioned. It seems to
*me* that Dave's dealer should be trying to educate him rather than just
saying "You want this machine, not that one", etc. Dave sounds plenty
intelligent enough to make up his own mind, if the dealer will provide a
good fair comparison between the machines, rather than dictating which is
best. IMHO.
–jp–seattle–
> It faster, is actually more expandable (unless you want a Video Toaster)
Huh? How is a 3000/16 more expandable and faster than a 3000/25? You can
NOT even upgrade a 3000/16 to 25 Mhz. And the Toaster isn't the only thing
you can't add… what about internal genlocks?
– Whapp!ng from the North Coast Michael
I was comparing the A3000 series to the A2000 series.
Darin, SPC Technical Support
– via Whap!
Darin: It's not that he's not friendly, it was more that a) He was in a
rush, as I went into the store near closing time, and b) He tried to
explain what everyone here on the Forum mentioned about the A3000/16 using
over-simplified terms, as if I knew little or nothing about computers. If
he had given me the straight poop, and not tried to avoid using "big"
words, I would have understood what he was saying. I disagree with his "I'd
rather sell you the A2000 than the 3000/16" logic, and it really did make
him sound like he wanted me to buy a more expensive machine, as every one
he mentioned was in the $2800 range. BTW, I just read in a computer buyer's
guide that rated the A3000/25 a "best buy over $3000", that the A3000/16
will be discontinued as of January.
I've decided to wait for the A3000/25 to go on sale. If that much money is
being spent, I want to be able to use and expand the computer for many
years, without being bottlenecked or being at a disadvantage then because I
saved a few bucks now. Thanks for your help! BTW, what is "Whap!"?
—Dave
I think I would rather wait for the A3000/25 price to drop, too.
Meanwhile, I'll get an A2000 (hopefully!). Whap! is a program for the Amiga
which allows you to access Compuserve, download your messages and files,
read them off-line, and upload your replies and any other files you might
want to. Cuts your CI$ bill in half. Check out ATI's forum in AMIGAVENDOR.
Darin, SPC Technical Support
– via Whap!