I would totally buy a newbuilt C64.
"This all reminds me when i took the windows vista sticker thingy off my old laptop, and on my washing machine as a joke. A few days later said washing machine stopped working. I still think this cannot be a coincidence."
appiah4 wrote on 2021-04-12, 09:32:HDD Upgrades were pretty common in Europe, even.
I guess you're from western Europe - in my country Amigas with HDD were extremely rare.
Amigas were popular, because they were cheap - but with the HDD, they wouldn't be cheap.
I recall it being a major reason to make fun of them, see eg. the comment I found in some disk magazine in 1994, when Commodore went bankrupt:
"Poor Amiga users... what are they going to do now? They are sure to hang themselves on the directory trees of their hard drives..." 😁
In 2003, I voted in favour of joining the European Union. However, due to recent developments - especially the restrictions on cash usage - I'm hereby withdrawing my support. DOWN WITH THE EU!
Errius wrote on 2021-04-12, 13:57:I would totally buy a newbuilt C64.
The arm based reproduction by Retro Games LTD isn't half bad. Some people consider the fact that it doesn't use all the discrete chips of the original C64 production a mark against it. It's just running an older version of VICE on an SoC really. But it has the full sized case, a working PETSCII keyboard with all the original graphic characters printed on the keys, HDMI and USB, and the emulator is apparently super accurate. So much so that I've even seen famous C64 bugs/easter eggs reproduced on it.
Been doing some retro coding on it in 6502 assembly and I've been having a blast.
More on topic, Retro Games LTD has been hinting at an Amiga 500 reproduction. Likely an emulator running on an ARM SoC again, in a full sized case with a working keyboard optimistically. Could just be a "mini" version like they started with the C64 though. Don't really have any details yet, just teasing.
Win95/DOS 7.1 - P233 MMX (@2.5 x 100 FSB), Diamond Viper V330 AGP, SB16 CT2800
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Grzyb wrote on 2021-04-12, 14:32:appiah4 wrote on 2021-04-12, 09:32:HDD Upgrades were pretty common in Europe, even.
I guess you're from western Europe - in my country Amigas with HDD were extremely rare.
No, I live on the fringes of Europe but the HDDs featured in magazines, some of my rich friends had it and everyone sort of knew that they were out there, available for sale, and useful.
Turbo cards, on the other hand, were mythical unicorns pretty much no one even talked about because they were mostly, well, useless for gaming purposes. They were never available for sale anywhere and exhorbitantly priced.
That kind of changed with A1200 though. For a while A1200 accelerators were doing the rounds, albeit expensively, but that thing had a very, very short life in my region.
Errius wrote on 2021-04-12, 13:57:I would totally buy a newbuilt C64.
Google, Ulltimate 64. It's an awesome FPGA C64 motherboard. You can also get new cases and (very soon) new keycaps and mechanical keyboard. As for the original post, the Amiga is not in the same class of machine as early PCs it was a super computer compared to those things. And yes the guys that made the C64 mini and full size C64 emulators are doing an Amiga 500 as their next project... But.. FPGA Amiga motherboards already exist. I do like my Vintage PCs but the Amiga scene was and still is where all the cool kids are.
Errius wrote on 2021-04-12, 13:57:I would totally buy a newbuilt C64.
The Mega65 could be nice.
Getting a brand new C64 or Amiga in this day and age is as simple as buying a MiSTer.
An FPGA isn't original hardware and interfaces, although it does clone the core functionality pretty well. That's kind of like building a Fiero/Miata/Civic to have the same speed/acceleration/handling as a Lamborghini Countach and then saying it is the same.
FPGA's are still a good option though.. since keeping the original hardware working is getting more difficult with parts rarity and cost. Plus it is way easier to interface modern computers with the I/O options of a FPGA in terms of transferring files and stuff. It is also way faster to setup. With my MiSTer I just map a drive share to my file server, whereas with my Amiga I had to use a Ariadne II network card in a non-conflicting Zorro slot, setup the driver, setup the TCP stack, setup a FTP server, then setup a program to access the FTP share - all to transfer files pretty slowly over 10Mbps, haha. (or manual transfer via generating floppies, CD-ROMs, or WinUAE from CF/SD card)
On my A2000 I have the following setup for transfering files:
I run a SCSI2SD drive which I have setup a machine to access in WinUAE, and an 4GB HDD on myt SCSI chain. So I have to perform 3 copies, the data to the SD card, then the SD card to the 4gb HD, then the 4GB HD to another 16GB SD card which I have broken up into multiple drives. If only I could get WinUAE to recognize the SCSI2SD card properly and build an emulated machine I'd only need to do 1 copy.
Another option would be the Deneb Zorro USB or the X-surf with USB add-on. However those are stupid expensive and don't work all that great. I'm going to put a Pistorm in my A2000 next, so file transfers or disk images can be done via the Raspberry Pi a little easier using WinSCP or Putty.
On my A500 I have an ACA500Plus which has an AUX CF card port that can automount FAT32 cards as IDE drives. It's as simple as 1-2-3 really. ACA500Plus is an amazing accelerator..
Yea with certain accelerators or expansion cards it can be easy.. Well the modern ones. Keeping the machine original makes it exponentially more difficult.
Having fun with Resound 2 OPL3 ISA Sound Card on Amiga 2000. PC-Task 80486 PC emulator software is running Windows 95 (very slowly) and plays Canyon.mid via GoldenGate II Bridgeboard. 😁
I prefer ACORN risc stuff myself.
I mean AMIGA stuff is sooo common......
There's a glitch in the matrix.
A founding member of the 286 appreciation society.
Apparently 32-bit is dead and nobody likes P4s.
Of course, as always, I'm open to correction...😉
Can the Amiga use an ET4000 SVGA?
I'm asking, because it was supported on the Atari ST platform.
I did read about it in an old ST magazine way back in the 90s.
The idea was to use Super VGA resolutions, 1024x768 pels and up on TOS.
Programs that complied with the programming guides (Cubase?) ran fine there.
There was a kit, too, that included a big 20" monochrome CRT monitor, if memory serves..
Edit: I think it was about the Mega ST or Mega STE, not sure.
Caluser2000 wrote on 2021-04-18, 16:31:I prefer ACORN risc stuff myself.
I mean AMIGA stuff is sooo common......
Uhm, well.. Back then, the Acorn Archimedes and the Sharp X68000 were both considered to be technically superior to the Amiga platform, I believe.
"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel
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Jo22 wrote on 2021-04-18, 19:00:Can the Amiga use an ET4000 SVGA?
Yes:
http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/domino
And yes, it does look like an awful kludge, it had to be more expensive than ISA ET4000 card, it couldn't be faster than ISA ET4000 card...
NO BARGAIN, especially considering that it was released in 1992, when the PC got VLB.
In 2003, I voted in favour of joining the European Union. However, due to recent developments - especially the restrictions on cash usage - I'm hereby withdrawing my support. DOWN WITH THE EU!
Grzyb wrote on 2021-04-19, 00:04:Yes: http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/domino […]
Jo22 wrote on 2021-04-18, 19:00:Can the Amiga use an ET4000 SVGA?
Yes:
http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/dominoAnd yes, it does look like an awful kludge, it had to be more expensive than ISA ET4000 card, it couldn't be faster than ISA ET4000 card...
That's cool, glad to see. 😎 If it only was a semi-standard on both platforms at the time. 🙁
Normal Super VGA in 800x600 16c was doable with most 256KB VGAs and plain VGA monitors.
Sure, it required adjustments on the simple, non-multisync VGA monitors during 640x480<->800x600 switches,
but it was doable.
Grzyb wrote on 2021-04-19, 00:04:NO BARGAIN, especially considering that it was released in 1992, when the PC got VLB.
Yes, I thought the same. I guess on non-PC platform ISA was still considered being the PC's standard.
A replacement, aftermarket EISA backplane for the A1500/A2000 would have had been a wise decision here.
Maybe it would have had helped bot EISA and the Amiga.
"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel
//My video channel//
Jo22 wrote on 2021-04-18, 19:00:Uhm, well.. Back then, the Acorn Archimedes and the Sharp X68000 were both considered to be technically superior to the Amiga platform, I believe.
The Archimedes processor is vastly superior to the old m68k - but it would obviously be, as it was developed years and years after. On the other hand, the Acorn has a relatively basic framebuffer video subsystem (albeit with very flexible colour/display modes enabling 31KHz on most models without additional hardware) and sound - it really is for a different market (education and low-end business) than the Amiga.
The X68000 on the other hand is an absolute beast. Take the hardware of a then-current high-end arcade machine, plus the expansion of a PC (whether DOS or PC-98) and mix the two of them together. It has some absolutely amazing technical specs for a 1980's home computer (65535 on-screen colours in 31KHz in all standard configurations, sprite, background and general framebuffer video RAM). It's far and away technically superior to the Amiga except perhaps with the single voice PCM; though the high-end YM2151 more than makes up for it, IMO.
My collection database and technical wiki:
https://www.target-earth.net
megatron-uk wrote on 2021-04-19, 11:08:Jo22 wrote on 2021-04-18, 19:00:Uhm, well.. Back then, the Acorn Archimedes and the Sharp X68000 were both considered to be technically superior to the Amiga platform, I believe.
The Archimedes processor is vastly superior to the old m68k - but it would obviously be, as it was developed years and years after. On the other hand, the Acorn has a relatively basic framebuffer video subsystem (albeit with very flexible colour/display modes enabling 31KHz on most models without additional hardware) and sound - it really is for a different market (education and low-end business) than the Amiga.
The X68000 on the other hand is an absolute beast. Take the hardware of a then-current high-end arcade machine, plus the expansion of a PC (whether DOS or PC-98) and mix the two of them together. It has some absolutely amazing technical specs for a 1980's home computer (65535 on-screen colours in 31KHz in all standard configurations, sprite, background and general framebuffer video RAM). It's far and away technically superior to the Amiga except perhaps with the single voice PCM; though the high-end YM2151 more than makes up for it, IMO.
Thank you for the explanation. 😎
I remember the old Axlcorns from the magazines, but sadly never had the chance to own one.
I heard they also utilized PC emulator cards, akin to the Amigas.
http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/30257/ … sc-PC-486-Card/
Interestingly, the Risc PCs didn't require a separate VGA card in order to run programs in proper resolutions.
The model linked claims to support accelerated Super VGA with the stock hardware.
The manual can be read here:
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/168011 … card-user-guide
Btw, there's a recent Amiga project mentioned at hackaday.com that looks promising:
https://hackaday.com/2021/04/19/pistorm-bring … e-to-the-amiga/
"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel
//My video channel//
Jo22 wrote on 2021-04-19, 13:00:Thank you for the explanation. 😎 I remember the old Axlcorns from the magazines, but sadly never had the chance to own one. I he […]
Thank you for the explanation. 😎
I remember the old Axlcorns from the magazines, but sadly never had the chance to own one.
I heard they also utilized PC emulator cards, akin to the Amigas.
http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/30257/ … sc-PC-486-Card/Interestingly, the Risc PCs didn't require a separate VGA card in order to run programs in proper resolutions.
The model linked claims to support accelerated Super VGA with the stock hardware.
The manual can be read here:
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/168011 … card-user-guideBtw, there's a recent Amiga project mentioned at hackaday.com that looks promising:
https://hackaday.com/2021/04/19/pistorm-bring … e-to-the-amiga/
Yep, I have a selection of various Acorn hardware:
- Archimedes A3020
- A7000
- Risc PC 600
All of them can do a standard 640x480 31KHz output without any additional hardware. The A7000 and Risc PC can go even higher and/or do other 31KHz modes in 256 or higher colours. With an added VRAM module the Risc PC can do more colours at higher resolutions - though all are limited to a certain extent by the frequency of the VIDC controller (the Acorn 'video' controller, though it's little more than a framebuffer).
They were used extensively in UK schools in the late 80's and early 90's - having taken over from the de-facto use of the BBC Model B in the early 80's. The 3020 (as well as a BBC Master) in my collection was actually saved by my mum (now a retired teacher) from the school I went to in the 80's, when the entire lot of BBC's and Archimedes were literally being thrown in the bin after being replaced with PC's in the late 1990's.
My collection database and technical wiki:
https://www.target-earth.net
