Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!wuarchive!decwrl!bacchus.pa.dec.com!granite.pa.dec.com!mwm From: mwm@raven.pa.dec.com (Mike (Real Amigas have keyboard garages) Meyer) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Advice sought .. Message-ID: Date: 4 Sep 90 21:45:52 GMT References: <2505@uc.msc.umn.edu> Sender: news@wrl.dec.com (News) Organization: Missionaria Phonibalonica Lines: 52 In-Reply-To: jwabik@uc.msc.umn.edu's message of 4 Sep 90 16:56:19 GMT In article <2505@uc.msc.umn.edu> jwabik@uc.msc.umn.edu (Jeff Wabik) writes: I'd like to expand to at least 1MB of memory (maybe 2MB), and attach either an ST506 or SCSI hard disk. While I dont have any problems with spending money to get the hardware, I'd like to make sure that anything I buy would be upwardly portable to new Amiga systems (hopefully the ones that will run UNIX) as they become available. Help? What should I do? Is it worthwhile to bother with the 1000? Is anything upwardly compatible? Who manufactures good memory and SCSI boards? Why are they "good?" The answer is simple: buy an external expansion box. There are a couple on the market that provide two Zorro II slots, a power supply, and space for a hard disk. I *think* the expansion box will run about $200 or so. Don't have prices handy, and only paid attention because I was trying to sell mine. Buy a SCSI disk controller. I'm not sure you can buy an ST506 controller, even if you wanted one. At least not without getting a SCSI controller in the bargain. Such are built into the 3000, and provided as the standard on the high-end Amigas. If you buy one from CBM (about $300), you're pretty much guaranteed that it'll work in a 2000 running Unix. Cheap HD controllers run about $150. That's the kind I buy, but I don't particularly want to swamp my system down. Finally, memory boards are pretty cheap. The cheap 8meg boards run around $150 (empty), and then take standard DIPs or SIMMs. After that, the RAM is cheap. When you go to run Unix, you're going to need at least a 2000, plus SCSI disk controller & 32-bit accellerator w/MMU. With 32 bit memory, the 16 bit memory board becomes something to strip the memory off of and sell. The SCSI disk controller is something you can use again. Your 32-bit memory accelerator will run you $1500 or more. Plus $1500 or so for the base 2000, and the $500 to $1000 you've spent on ugrading the 1000 means you've spent between $3500 to $4000 for the Unix hardware. Street price on a 3000/25-50 is $3300 or so. If you're serious about going to Unix, sell the 1000 now (it's depreciating fast), and buy a 3000. You'll save money, and have a much nicer machine afterwards. Note that the 3000 comes stock with the SCSI controller & lots of memory sockets, so anything purchased for 1000/2000 expansion is probably wasted. If you're not serious about Unix, then you might want to avoid the large initial splurge until you see if you're actually going to use the Amiga.