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Antonia 4MB vs Ultimate 1MB vs APE Warp+ OS 32-in-1 in a 600XL


dkerfoot

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I am consolidating to a 600XL as my primary games machine. It is already upgraded to 64k and I'll be installing a UAV Rev D for graphics. I have a SDrive Nuxx as my primary image source.

I am considering adding an Antonia 4MB, Ultimate 1MB, or APE Warp+ OS 32-in-1. Primary motivation is faster game loads. I have an APE Warp+ OS 32-in-1 in my 1200XL and like it but really only ever use the Warp+ OS. Still, I am leaning towards another since I am familiar with it and it is a little cheaper than the other two. I also like that it is all pre-loaded so I don't have to hunt down OS's and learn to flash them.

Additional memory of the first two is nice, but not really a driving factor. I'm not really into demos plus I do have a RAM 320XL if needed.

What would give me the fastest game loads? Any compelling advantages (based on the above) that I may not have considered? Is it possible to just get a ROM chip with a faster loading OS? Warp+ or equivalent on a ROM chip would pretty much be all I need.

Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

 

 

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My experience has been that, for fast game loading, there simply isn't any need for any of the things you mentioned. They are all waaaaaaay overkill for simple games loading. SIO2SD. Done. A cart based loader, perhaps MyIDE-II if you need something that has more to choose from in the same menu. Other than that, you simply don't need more.

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IMO, (No, not IMHO),

 

It's hard to beat the Ultimate 1M and SIDE2 combo. You get a FAST PBI hard drive, Multiple OS and BASIC choices (selectable via a BIOS Setup menu), Bluetooth capability (if you have the SIO dongle), Integrated High Speed SIO with any DOS. Real Time Clock, Internal SpartaDOS-X, 1M of RAM, Configurable amount and type of RAM. It even supports CompyShop ANTIC video in banked RAM.

 

Press the L key on the boot screen, and you have the SIDE Loader. All your .ATR games or whatever can be stored on the FAT32 partition and selected with a menu, or even by joystick.

 

You can pull your CF drive from your Atari and put it in a Windows machine and drag-n-drop files to/from it.

 

That's very convenient.

 

 

This (and the Incognito [for the original 800]) is/are one of the most important upgrades you can install to bring your Atari into the 21st century and allow you so much flexibility with the system that was un heard of back in the day.

 

(Well, we had the MARS-8 20 years ago, but that's an entirely different story) :)

 

Yes, as you can tell, I a big fan of the U1M & Incognito. I have both.

 

Antonia is nice, the 816 and lots of Linear RAM open up new worlds of 16 bit possibilities. You can't install both Antonia and U1M,though because they both take over the function of the MMU.

 

From personal experience, I would stay completely AWAY from the 32-in-1. It is very sensitive to Phi2 timing, and cause problems in 1200XLs and other machines with upgrades. The Multi-OS functionality is included in U1M, Incognito, and Antonia.

 

U1M and Incognito are flashable from the SDX prompt. Simply type UFLASH and you will have the opportunity to read or write any of the ROM files in the system. You can change any ROM in the system via software. No more pulling EPROMs, erasing, burning, etc.

 

Read everything you can here, use the search tool to find info about all this stuff.

 

2017 is a great time to own an Atari! There are so many great products out there, I'm sure you won't be disappointed no matter what you decide upon.

 

Edit: I forgot to mention that the SIDE2/U1M is MANY,MANY,MANY times faster than any SDRIVE / SIO type solution.

Edited by Kyle22
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A differing opinion...

 

The Ultimate is a great product, if it works correctly in your machine. :-o The most common issue that I've seen (NTSC) is video interference, especially if you have a PBI device hanging off the back of the computer. If you are a techie, then most issues can be overcome. Side2 is OK (alone) if loading XEX. If you do get a Ultimate 1MB + Side2, it will definitely do more.

 

MyIDE-II is an excellent product in my experience. The author (Mr-Atari) is always updating, although it is a mature product and works great. Features hard drives, XEX, ATR, Cassettes (beta) and blue tooth (beta). Works best with MyDos, but will work with SDX. There was an issue with the original firmware in Antonia. You would want to make sure that IF you would get an Antonia that it has the current updated firmware.

 

Antonia is also a great product if you need more ram (you indicate you don't). It gives you 8 different OS that are easily re-flashable via SIO. I've experienced no video issues with Antonia in three different machines.

 

Summary: there are pros and cons to all the choices, and if you want to avoid the most hassles, then pixelmischief offers good advice.

 

-Larry

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Thanks for the replies. Nice to have three such wildly different opinions.

Since I have SDrive Nuxx, I don't see any advantage to getting a SIO2SD. I do understand it can load more than 4 disks, but I've never needed to do that.

The Ultimate 1MB/Side2 combo is tempting, but I am reluctant to shell out $150. The SDrive gives me the convenience of dragging and dropping files to a SD card. With the Warp OS running, it does load games very quickly compared to standard OS. I'd love to see a side-by-side comparison of load speeds.

Warp+ 32-in-1 has been rock solid on my 1200XL. The only other upgrades I've done on it are Clear Pic 2002. If I were to add it to my 600XL, the only other upgrades would be memory to 64k and UAV Rev D. Total cost is $54 for the Warp.

Thinking right now I will wait to get the UAV and see how it goes while continuing to research.

Still, I'd love to hear other opinions!

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