Very Computer

I've always been confused by the number of different
Amiga's around.

Can someone possibly enlighten me by giving me any
info on the 'good points/bad points' of the Amiga
machines out there?

Cheers

Stu

Quote:>Can someone possibly enlighten me by giving me any
>info on the 'good points/bad points' of the Amiga
>machines out there?

Ok, here goes:

There are basically two categories of Amiga's: AGA (Advanced Graphic
Architecture) and non-AGA.
Of the non-AGA, only two are still being made, the A600 (low-end) and the
A2000 (lot's of expandabilty). I'm not totally sure it's still being produced,
but I think so.

The machines with AGA chips are the A1200 and A4000.

So we have the following breakdown:

A1000: The first Amiga! No longer in production. Specs nearly identical
       (especially on later models) to the A500, except it has a detachable
       keyboard and a place to put it under the computer!

A500:  The basic Amiga of the late 80s, introduced in '87. 68000 processor
       running at 7.14 (?) Mhz. Custom Chips Paula, Denise and Agnes (sp?).
       Workbench 1.2 or 1.3 installed. You can upgrade to newer revisions
       but you have to replace the ROMs / add some hardware.
       Even though it was meant to be low-end and had no slots like the A2000,
       there were (and still are) many expansion devices, ranging from faster
       processors to CD-ROMs.
       Discontinued, but you can get them real cheap used, and most games will
       work just fine on them.

A2000: "Bigger" version of the A500. Detachable keyboard, internal expansion
       slots (Zorro-II), loud fan, more expensive.

A3000: Introduced in '90 (If I remember correctly). First attempt at improving
       the basic hardware of the Amiga. 68030 processor (16 or 25 MHz),
       Workbench 2.04 (now 2.1 I assume), built-in SCSI, Zorro-III slots,
       built in de-interlacer, slightly improved custom chips ("ECS": biggest
       difference: more video modes, 2MB chip RAM).
       Now discontinued, but you can pick them up real cheap at some mail-order
       places - at least in the US. Most software will run ok. Some (luckily
       very few) pieces of software don't like version 2.x of the operating
       system; some, especially games, don't like the 68030.
       Also comes in a tower version.

A600:  New low-end Amiga, introduced '92 I think. Basically replaces A500. Has
       nearly the same hardware, but comes with version 2.x of the OS.
       I'm not sure how difficult it is to connect A500 expansion devices to
       the A600; if it's possible at all, actually. Anyone?

A1200: New low-end Amiga with AGA chips, introduced in '92. Better graphics
       capability than older Amigas. 14Mhz 68020 processor (2-5 times faster
       than A600). Workbench 3.0. Again, even though it wasn't designed to be
       incredibly expandable, most peripherals currently released are aimed
       towards the A1200. Most notably, there are some really nice processor/
       memory cards available.
       A number of older games will not work, most productivity software and
       newer games will though. The number of AGA specific games is still
       small - unfortunately.
       Comes with an optional hard drive. Capacities vary.
       (My tip: if you're thinking of getting an A600 and plan to do anything
       else besides play games, get a 1200 instead.)

A4000: The new flagship, introduced in '92. AGA chips, 25 Mhz 68040 (A4000/040)
       or 68EC030 processor (A4000/030). 4 Zorro-III slots, 120 Meg hard drive,
       processor on a daughter board and thus theoretically upgradable (no
       upgrades are out yet). Workbench 3.0. No built-in hardware de-
       interlacer, but well-behaved software (which doesn't use sprites
       grumble grumble mumble... How *do* I get OCS/ECS sprites to show up on
       mode promoted screens? I don't think it's a bandwidth problem...)
       is de-interlaced through software. IDE controller; SCSI costs extra -
       you need a card.
       Software compatability comparable with the A1200.
       Will also be available as a tower version, with more slots.

CD32:  Introduced...now! Commodore's answer to Sega and Nintendo. Based on a
       1200 with CD-ROM. Does not come with a keyboard and stuff, so it's
       more a video game console than a "real" computer. But I hear it can be
       expanded to one. Lot's of new CD-ROM based games will be coming out
       for this thing, at least some of them should run on other AGA Amigas.

I don't have the energy to explain the differences between OS versions, but I
will say that 2.x is a vast improvement over 1.3. 3.x is again better, but not
by the same magnitude (it has a lot of nice new programming enhancements,
though).

   Marc Atkin            //
U of Massachusetts      //                " Goosnargh. "
   at Amherst       \\ //

You forgot to mention the A2500, which was basically an A2000 with a
68020 processor, and I believe 2MB of RAM and a hard drive.  Also the good
CDTV, of course, which is incredibly PATHETIC compared to CD32!  And you
also forgot to mention that the A600 and A1200 both have PCMCIA slots.

+----------------------------Ren & Stimpy--------------------------------+
| "Psst. Hey Guido. It's all so clear to me now. I'm the keeper of the   |
| cheese. And you're the lemon merchant. Get it? And he knows it. That's |
| why he's gonna kill us. So we gotta beat it. Yeah. Before he lets      |
| loose the marmosets on us! Don't worry, little missy! I'll save you!"  |

Quote:>You forgot to mention the A2500, which was basically an A2000 with a
>68020 processor, and I believe 2MB of RAM and a hard drive.  Also the good

Quote:>CDTV, of course, which is incredibly PATHETIC compared to CD32!  And you
>also forgot to mention that the A600 and A1200 both have PCMCIA slots.

Cheers, Stu...

The Amiga 500 and 1200 are entry level computers.  (As is the A600, but
that's another story)...they are a cheap way to have the power of an
Amiga.  They give you all the benefits of a larger machine...BUT
they are NOT easily expandable.  The A500 has the OLDER graphics
chipset, while the A1200 has the newer AGA advanced graphic chipset.

The Amiga 2000 is the next version up from an A500.  It is almost
EXACTLY the same, except that it has internal "slots" or easy
expansion (much like how an IBM has internal slots and a case).

The Amiga 3000 is a flop...don't buy it (as was the A1000).

The Amiga 4000 is the newest Amiga.  It has the new AGA chipset, a fast
CPU, and internal slots for easy expansion (unlike the A1200 which is
NOT as easily expandable).

There's varying price ranges...and basically an Amiga for ANY budget, IMHO.

Hope this helps.
-Doc

P.S. - I'm sure some A1000/3000 owner will flame me for shooting it down...
but face the facts, guys...

Quote:>You forgot to mention the A2500, which was basically an A2000 with a
>68020 processor, and I believe 2MB of RAM and a hard drive.  Also the good
>CDTV, of course, which is incredibly PATHETIC compared to CD32!  And you
>also forgot to mention that the A600 and A1200 both have PCMCIA slots.

Yes, glad you mentioned that...thanks.

-Doc

Hello !

DM> The Amiga 3000 is a flop...don't buy it (as was the A1000).
The  A-3000  is  nearly so future compatible as an A-4000.  Zorro III,
2MB  Chip,  200 Pin CPU Slot etc.  If someone can buy an A-3000 for an
interesting  price,  why not ?  Not everyone needs so many colors like
those from the AGA-Machines.

Bye, bye,
 Frank
--

I am sorry to be the first to dispute your claim, but when you consider having
2 MB of memory, at least a 52 meg Hd, a machine that has a 68030/25mhz
processor, built in de-interlacing for VGA and multi-sync monitors, ECS & 2.04
OS, all under the current street price of $1000.00. Its a great way to go!!

  ____    ____   ________  
  \ \ \  / /_/  / ____/_/        8 lines, uucp, 1.5 gigs, cdrom, online games
   \ \ \/ /_/   \_\____    
    \ \/ /_/     \__ \_\  VSBBS 14.4k (408) 625-6580  Visionsoft 408 899-2040
     \  /_/    ____/ /_/