CompuServe Thread

You mentioned the IBM Bridgeboard. If you buy the A500, you can not use it. Although there is a product called the subsystem which gives you two Amiga 2000 slots, the problem is that the Bridgeboard comes with a built in 5.25" drive which would be closed in if used. It would be very technical to remove the drive, … On the level of inherent capability, the 500 and 2000 are virtually identical. I have the 500 with the A501 extra memory and clock/calender. I have not yet encountered something I can't do. The main difference between the two computers is expandability. My best recommendation is check around for prices, and unless you expect your nephew will need expansion beyond a 3 megs, you might want the 2000. Hard drives are especially expensive on the 500. Hope this was helpful. — Ethan

Larry: I had a 1000 when the Amiga first came out and upgraded to the 2000 about a year later (shortly after it came out.) No personal experience with the 500. I would say, however, that even if IBM compatibility is not an issue, one could still make an argument for the 2000 over the 500. It really comes down to expandability. If your nephew is most likely to use his machine in its "off-the-shelf" configuration, the 500 is something like half the price of the 2000 (have not checked recently…) If, however, your nephew is likely to want to add a hard drive, extra memory, or any of the myriad expansion hardware items out there, the 2000 would be the better choice. Mounting extra boards, drives etc internally saves lots of desk space AND $$$. In fact, the added cost of an external hard drive and controller, plus a couple of memory or other boards, when compared to those same items for the 2000, almost makes up the difference in price between the two machines–well, it makes up a big chunk of the difference anyway. I am by no means a serious Amiga hacker, and I use my computer mostly for fun, but I wouldn't trade my 2000 for 500 under any circumstance. But don't take my word for it. See if you can get a 500 user out their to give you some feedback! John Steidl

Lawrence, I'd recommend an Amiga 500 computer. It has plenty of power, for all of the kinds of software he's likely to use in an educational environment, and is every bit an Amiga as far as expansion and brute processing power. Have him take a look at a dual-stiffy, 1MB, system with the 1084S Stereo Color Monitor, a Star NX-1000 Rainbow Color Printer and software like ProWrite-2 and MindWalker/Joystick. Total system w/software&printer should set him back about $1800 or so. Off he goes…. -John

Larry, If at all possible, get him an Amiga 2000. That machine will be able to expand as his needs grow. The 500 costs less, but is much more difficult and expensive to expand. The bridgeboard can be bought when and if he needs it, but slides right into the 2000. If he wanted one on a 500, he would have to buy an expensive box (and do some electronics hacking) to get it going. The 2000 is the way to go, especially for someone starting college. He's bound to want to add to it as he goes through school. Betty

I guess it depends on who's willing to spend the money on the machine! 🙂 If it's going to be an Amiga, it sounds like he get an Amiga 500. You said he likes games, and it may turn out that's all he would use it for. In that case, buying a 2000 would mean spending more money than he has to. On the other hand, if he's really serious about the system, and he'd be doing more with it than running games and an occasional "serious" application, (ie, he's going to want to do serious software development), he'd be better off with a 2000, since it has the expansion capabilities. Steve