Amiga 500

BigusSchmuck · 10/27/2015, 03:31 PM

Any Amiga 500 owners out there? I'm in the process of acquiring one. This guy gave me an awesome idea:

Just curious on what are some of the shortfalls in acquiring one? I know most of the games I will want to play require 1mb of ram, but I"m also curious if maxing out the ram on the system would be the best way to go? Thoughts please..

ClodBusted · 10/27/2015, 03:49 PM

I had one back in the mid 90s, along with two large boxes of totally legit (sure) copies of floppies.

Long story short, the Amiga 500 did not impressed me when compared to the Genesis, SNES or even to the 386 DOS / Win 3.11 computer I played at that time.

I think it would have made a larger impact on me in the late 80s.

The best way to try Amiga before buying the hardware is through Amiga Forever, the official Amiga emulator for PC. Did that too recently.

BigusSchmuck · 10/27/2015, 03:53 PM

Quote from: guest on 10/27/2015, 03:49 PMI had one back in the mid 90s, along with two large boxes of totally legit (sure) copies of floppies.

Long story short, the Amiga 500 did not impressed me when compared to the Genesis, SNES or even to the 386 DOS / Win 3.11 computer I played at that time.

I think it would have made a larger impact on me in the late 80s.

The best way to try Amiga before buying the hardware is through Amiga Forever, the official Amiga emulator for PC. Did that too recently.

I'm more interested in the Turrican games than anything. Oh yeah and the sequels to Shadow of the Beast. And maybe some PC ports or other obscure games.

elmer · 10/27/2015, 03:54 PM

Quote from: BigusSchmuck on 10/27/2015, 03:31 PMAny Amiga 500 owners out there? I'm in the process of acquiring one. This guy gave me an awesome idea:

I hope that you have fun with it!

I've still got my old Amiga 1200, but the poor thing gets very little (no) use these days.

BigusSchmuck · 10/27/2015, 03:55 PM

Quote from: elmer on 10/27/2015, 03:54 PM
Quote from: BigusSchmuck on 10/27/2015, 03:31 PMAny Amiga 500 owners out there? I'm in the process of acquiring one. This guy gave me an awesome idea:
I hope that you have fun with it!

I've still got my old Amiga 1200, but the poor thing gets very little (no) use these days.

Might hit you up if you are willing to sell it.

elmer · 10/27/2015, 04:26 PM

Quote from: BigusSchmuck on 10/27/2015, 03:55 PM
Quote from: elmer on 10/27/2015, 03:54 PMI've still got my old Amiga 1200, but the poor thing gets very little (no) use these days.
Might hit you up if you are willing to sell it.

Haha ... I really should see about doing that, I'm certainly not using it!

I've got a bunch of hardware for it, though, so if I do sell, you might want me to part-that-out on fleaBay or something.

Dicer · 10/27/2015, 06:03 PM

You'd probably be better off with an A600 or 1200 that way you can use a CF as a hard drive and whdload all your software that way...

ClodBusted · 10/27/2015, 06:04 PM

Don't forget to recap certain models that come with SMD caps. They are said to leak as bad as Duos.

And keep in mind most Amiga games where developed in PAL regions and thus optimized for PAL speed. So an NTSC region machine might not be a good idea.

BigusSchmuck · 10/27/2015, 06:07 PM

Quote from: Dicer on 10/27/2015, 06:03 PMYou'd probably be better off with an A600 or 1200 that way you can use a CF as a hard drive and whdload all your software that way...

A1200 is kind of what I was leaning towards, but A500 seemed to be a better choice for classic games and of course the above video makes me want to tinker with it some more!

Quote from: guest on 10/27/2015, 06:04 PMAnd don't forget to recap certain models that come with SMD caps. They are said to leak as bad as Duos.

Damn caps again, well I be sure to do that as well.

Tis the price to pay to play Turrican proper and stuff.

wildfruit · 10/27/2015, 06:09 PM

I have an Amiga 500 in a cupboard that I believe is beyond repair. Flashes green screen on boot.
Edit: Actually I think it is a 500+

SuperDeadite · 10/27/2015, 07:18 PM

amiHa

geise · 10/27/2015, 08:16 PM

Quote from: wildfruit on 10/27/2015, 06:09 PMIFlashes green screen on boot.

Sorry to hear that. LOL are you sure it's not an Atari ST?

ccovell · 10/27/2015, 08:28 PM

You might want to follow this guy's advice for adding RAM/CF HD to the A500:

BigusSchmuck · 10/27/2015, 09:01 PM

Quote from: ccovell on 10/27/2015, 08:28 PMYou might want to follow this guy's advice for adding RAM/CF HD to the A500:

Yeah I saw that video too (the linky is on my original post). I'm still on the fence whether an Amiga 500 or 1200 is in my sights.. Amiga 1200 more ram + bad ass graphics chip, but not compatible with all Amiga 500 games with out some monkeying around. I do like that dude's sony pvm though, but that's going to be a quest in itself.

SuperPlay · 11/08/2015, 05:18 PM

If you are looking at the 500 plus model be aware of the common battery leaking issue:

BlueBMW · 11/09/2015, 11:43 AM

Amiha lol.

Get some of that Agony! Best owl shooter on the system

_Paul · 11/09/2015, 12:27 PM

For the most classic experience, you want an A500 with 1Mb RAM and a second floppy drive.

As much as I love the Amiga for the good times I had with AMOS and DPAINT, don't expect anything great of many of the games, especially if you are used to console quality. Most Amiga stuff is slow/jerky in comparison although you will find some very nice artwork.

Caseh · 11/10/2015, 09:39 AM

A 1200 should be fine, if I remember rightly (its been a while!) there's no faffing about with older games, you just need the right kickstart disks.

Failing that a 500+ or 600, the stock 500 only had 1/2mb, the + and 600 had 1MB and the 1200 had 2MB. It doesn't seem like much but games like Settlers are infinitely better on the 1200 (well, with 2MB).

wilykat · 11/11/2015, 09:38 PM

A500 can be upgraded beyond 1MB but it's rare hardware. I have a Supra-RAM side car that attaches to the left side and is expandable internally from 1MB to 8MB

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Amiga 500