Having just got back into the Amiga scene with my newly arrived A500, I'm looking around for ideas on CF cards, etc. The ACA500+ caught my eye, but there are none to be found. I've also been interested in the TerribleFire accelerator. Also looking at the Turbo Card HC533.
Can anyone give me a brief rundown (or link to one) of what the best option is for me? I just want to add CF functionality first off. Acceleration can come later if need be. I'd also like to know what cards are less rare, because most of the ones I find as being "a good one" aren't available anywhere.
Thanks!
ACA and Wicher 500i accelerators are perpetually out of stock. You can still grab an HC508CR here until they sell out:
https://www.amedia-computer.com/en/accu ... -card.html
It has a boot menu which is very, very nice for disabling features that might me incompatible with the programs you want to run.
TerribleFire is a great little accelerator, but is not as compatible as the three mentioned above and is more of a hobbyist project.
I don't know of any modern comparison/shoot outs for accelerators.
I can just say that I recommend accelerators that are easily disabled for compatibility, can map at least one kickstart ROM so you can switch between 1.3 for compatibility and a modern ROM, and has a CF Card interface. So long as you have those things you are pretty much set.
https://www.amedia-computer.com/en/accu ... -card.html
It has a boot menu which is very, very nice for disabling features that might me incompatible with the programs you want to run.
TerribleFire is a great little accelerator, but is not as compatible as the three mentioned above and is more of a hobbyist project.
I don't know of any modern comparison/shoot outs for accelerators.
I can just say that I recommend accelerators that are easily disabled for compatibility, can map at least one kickstart ROM so you can switch between 1.3 for compatibility and a modern ROM, and has a CF Card interface. So long as you have those things you are pretty much set.
Awesome, that was helpful, thanks! I would definitely like to keep some backward compatibility functionality because I'm going to be doing some programming and want to make sure it runs on stock equipment as well as accelerated.
That HC508CR looks pretty good, and I haven't even come across that one yet. Might just grab one of those. Anyone else have experience with that one? So many options out there!
That HC508CR looks pretty good, and I haven't even come across that one yet. Might just grab one of those. Anyone else have experience with that one? So many options out there!
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intric8
- Seattle, WA, USA
Hi piper_flatline! Welcome.
In terms of getting a compact flash card into your A500, if it were me I'd probably look at MKL's combo A500 IDE Adapter + 8MB RAM setup over on Amibay.
I don't use his IDE board currently, but I do use one of his 8MB RAM boards which fit perfectly below the 68000 CPU and it is top-shelf quality. Very professional build. And in my opinion 8MB RAM + an IDE adapter for €80 is a great deal (each board costs €40 stand-alone) assuming using both fits in the A500 case.
He's a very nice guy and I've emailed him before with questions and he's responded relatively quickly. Are you on Amibay? That's one way to go, if a bit antiquated. But I would ask him any and all questions you might have before taking the plunge.
Note:
I am not an expert here (EzdineG I would label as such) but I think for this to work on the A500 you need Kickstart 2.0 or higher, which support the IDE interface. If you're running KS 1.3 (and want to stay there) you're better off with a SCSI hard drive like the GVP HD8+ series, which gives you most of the same thing. In theory, if you're not wanting a mechanical drive, I think you can put the fantastic SCSI2SD card in one of those, and get the extra RAM the GVP provides, too. I've seen this mod on other boards talked about before.
In terms of getting a compact flash card into your A500, if it were me I'd probably look at MKL's combo A500 IDE Adapter + 8MB RAM setup over on Amibay.
I don't use his IDE board currently, but I do use one of his 8MB RAM boards which fit perfectly below the 68000 CPU and it is top-shelf quality. Very professional build. And in my opinion 8MB RAM + an IDE adapter for €80 is a great deal (each board costs €40 stand-alone) assuming using both fits in the A500 case.
He's a very nice guy and I've emailed him before with questions and he's responded relatively quickly. Are you on Amibay? That's one way to go, if a bit antiquated. But I would ask him any and all questions you might have before taking the plunge.
Note:
I am not an expert here (EzdineG I would label as such) but I think for this to work on the A500 you need Kickstart 2.0 or higher, which support the IDE interface. If you're running KS 1.3 (and want to stay there) you're better off with a SCSI hard drive like the GVP HD8+ series, which gives you most of the same thing. In theory, if you're not wanting a mechanical drive, I think you can put the fantastic SCSI2SD card in one of those, and get the extra RAM the GVP provides, too. I've seen this mod on other boards talked about before.
Super cool, thanks intric8. 
I am on Amibay but I sort of avoid any of those threads that have a whole bunch of pages, since I assume whatever is in there has long since been sold. I'll definitely check out that MKL setup, though.
I've got 1.3 in there now as it's what it came with, but I would like something that allows me to switch between ROM sets without too much trouble. If not that then I might just go ahead and get a later version ROM since most of the newer cards seem to require it.
Still have a bunch of research to do. Catching up on 30 years of add-ons and improvements isn't easy, haha!
I am on Amibay but I sort of avoid any of those threads that have a whole bunch of pages, since I assume whatever is in there has long since been sold. I'll definitely check out that MKL setup, though.I've got 1.3 in there now as it's what it came with, but I would like something that allows me to switch between ROM sets without too much trouble. If not that then I might just go ahead and get a later version ROM since most of the newer cards seem to require it.
Still have a bunch of research to do. Catching up on 30 years of add-ons and improvements isn't easy, haha!
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Shot97
- Detroit, MI, USA
emmm, GVP HD-8, (homer drool) XD - I do have a handy guide for that beautiful device, should you want that classic WB1.3. It's not as difficult as some people would lead you to believe to use actual mechanical drives, and quite large and fast ones that I dare claim will last you longer, good old SCSII, can't kill 'em! Single best purchase I ever made for my 500, a GVP drive, with 8mb RAM and a SCSII drive, which was upgraded to a newer 4gb drive, running flawlessly for a couple years now. The drive before that, which was dated from 1994 and around 500mb, finally failed a couple years ago, necessitating the upgrade. I know everyone is pointing people to flash solutions, but for any that want it to remain real, not too difficult. The GVP drive itself could also be altered to use flash if desired. Some of them even have accelerators built in as well.
With my GVP setup, I'm able to default into 1.3 ROM and WB 1.3, where I spend most of time in. I also can easily, via software ROM switchers, remap other roms, such as 2.0, 3.1, and a whole bunch of others to partition a section of the GVP memory to act as those roms, and with a separate DH1: partition, I am able to boot straight to WB 2.04 when wanted.
With my GVP setup, I'm able to default into 1.3 ROM and WB 1.3, where I spend most of time in. I also can easily, via software ROM switchers, remap other roms, such as 2.0, 3.1, and a whole bunch of others to partition a section of the GVP memory to act as those roms, and with a separate DH1: partition, I am able to boot straight to WB 2.04 when wanted.
Ok, interesting, thanks for the input. I do definitely like the idea of going old-school with it, and I try to do the same thing with my synths. There are a few HD+8s on eBay right now so they don't look too difficult to find. If I decide to go this route then hopefully I can find one in the States for better shipping rates/times. Thanks again for your thoughts!Shot97 wrote:Single best purchase I ever made for my 500, a GVP drive, with 8mb RAM and a SCSII drive, which was upgraded to a newer 4gb drive, running flawlessly for a couple years now.
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obitus1990
- USA
I have the ACA500+. It is a very nice, external solution. It offers the ability to boot off one CF card and transfer files onto that boot card from another card that is in FAT format. It makes it much more similar to using an a1200, in that regard. If the stock 68000 (which can be overclocked via the boot menu) isn't fast enough, you can add an 030 accelerator to the card. It has built in kickstarts, the ability to install the oS directly to the CF from a flash rom on the card, and, it you can add clockport expansions and a network via the XSURF-500 module. IT will come back in stock in the near future...keep your eye out, as I believe Jens @ icomp is getting ready to do another run after the new year. It's got a few bugs, but, overall it's a great piece of hardware.
I have the HC533, which is an internal solution, inside another A500. It is a solid card. Very well made, and, I have not had a stitch of problems running it. My only complaint with it is that there's no way to slow it down to 7 mHz, in case there is incompatibility with some games or such when using WHDLoad or floppies/adf files.
I have the Wicher 500i inside another 500. It's an utter piece of crap, IMO. I had to try 30 different SIMMS in order to find ONE that it liked....glad I never throw old hardware away. Also, it does not include the CPU (just as it doesn't include the RAM), so, the cost of buying one is even higher than the other cards. Yes, it has SPI ports for expansion, but, I have found its performance to be lackluster. I've had the HD get corrupted at least 5 times when using it, and had to restore from a backup. This product, IMO, has a long way to go.
There are a few other options in the pipeline, including an 040 and 060 accelerator for the 500, from a company in POLAND. It might be sometime next year, but, they have already demonstrated a working 040 card, that I also think has some added features like RTG included.
I have the HC533, which is an internal solution, inside another A500. It is a solid card. Very well made, and, I have not had a stitch of problems running it. My only complaint with it is that there's no way to slow it down to 7 mHz, in case there is incompatibility with some games or such when using WHDLoad or floppies/adf files.
I have the Wicher 500i inside another 500. It's an utter piece of crap, IMO. I had to try 30 different SIMMS in order to find ONE that it liked....glad I never throw old hardware away. Also, it does not include the CPU (just as it doesn't include the RAM), so, the cost of buying one is even higher than the other cards. Yes, it has SPI ports for expansion, but, I have found its performance to be lackluster. I've had the HD get corrupted at least 5 times when using it, and had to restore from a backup. This product, IMO, has a long way to go.
There are a few other options in the pipeline, including an 040 and 060 accelerator for the 500, from a company in POLAND. It might be sometime next year, but, they have already demonstrated a working 040 card, that I also think has some added features like RTG included.
Awesome, thank you obitus1990. Sounds like you've got a ton of experience with different solutions. The HC533 did concern me with its lack of switchability to 7mhz, so yeah I think I'll skip that one for now.
Still thinking of the GVP mentioned above but concerned (a bit) about its robustness if I take it out to a gig or something. I'm planning to incorporate my Amiga into my music making, and the nature of some of my music might mean a little bit rougher treatment of the gear than usual, haha.
I'll look for those other ones you mentioned, if they will be releasing new versions soon.
Thanks again!
Sounds like you've got a ton of experience with different solutions. The HC533 did concern me with its lack of switchability to 7mhz, so yeah I think I'll skip that one for now.Still thinking of the GVP mentioned above but concerned (a bit) about its robustness if I take it out to a gig or something. I'm planning to incorporate my Amiga into my music making, and the nature of some of my music might mean a little bit rougher treatment of the gear than usual, haha.
I'll look for those other ones you mentioned, if they will be releasing new versions soon.
Thanks again!
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Shot97
- Detroit, MI, USA
Well, as someone who has made a full 40+ minute, 13 track album of 100% Amiga recorded music (and currently working on a followup), I can speak from experience with my GVP 4gb hard drive setup. Footprint is smaller than an actual music keyboard, and is attached snuggly.