Should I Get an Amiga 500?

[TPA5]

The past couple years I have found myself interested in Amiga computers, and I've been debating getting one. I'd be interested in using it for, of course, games and even doing some things like word-processing on it. I know I could use emulation, but I just prefer using real iron especially when it comes to classic PC's.

 

So I've been looking into Amiga's, and I am not quite sure which one I should be looking at. The 500 seems to have been the most popular, and many people on different forums recommend/run them. However the 1200 also seems to be talked about a lot, so I am not sure which way to go. I'd prefer not to end up spending many hundreds of dollars on it since (aren't we all) I am on a budget. Being up in Canada means I am generally screwed for price no matter what I do since our dollar is piss-poor (a cautionary tale about an economy based primarily around a single commodity) and when packages cross that magical invisible line from the US to Canada it means shipping increases by 75%. Still, I'd love to get into the Amiga scene for not too many dollars.

 

Any recommendations?

[Tonyvdb]

The a500 is a bit underwhelming as to what you can do with it due to its limited space inside. The 1200 is not much better however there are alot more things you can add to it to make it a better machine. If AGA is important to you then the 1200 or the 4000 are your only options, the 4000 however will run you around $700 for a base model.

 

The 2000HD does quite well with a hard drive and some extra ram. It can be gotten for around $200-$300

[RobertB]

Being up in Canada...

Have you tried contacting the Toronto PET User Group to fulfill your equipment needs? http://tpug.ca

 

Truly,

Robert Bernardo

Fresno Commodore User Group

http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

[Tonyvdb]

There is also a guy here in Edmonton who often gets Amiga stuff in http://amigalounge.com/productlist.html

He had an A500 available just last week so maybe see if its still there.

[TPA5]

Thanks for the info guys! I will look into those resources.

[JamesD]

Hopefully majsta will release a Vampire upgrade for the 500 soon. That will give the 500 a faster CPU, lots of RAM and disk storage.

[carlsson]

A couple of years ago, by European standards, an Amiga 500 was dirt cheap while an Amiga 1200 cost serious money. Nowadays the 500 prices have increased significantly, so the difference is less. Also I understand that by North American standards (where Canada probably belongs), any Amiga is an uncommon sight so the supply of dirt cheap 500's may never really have existed.

[TPA5]

A couple of years ago, by European standards, an Amiga 500 was dirt cheap while an Amiga 1200 cost serious money. Nowadays the 500 prices have increased significantly, so the difference is less. Also I understand that by North American standards (where Canada probably belongs), any Amiga is an uncommon sight so the supply of dirt cheap 500's may never really have existed.

 

Canada only has about 36 million people, and in the era of these computers the population was in the low to mid 20-millions which already puts collectors at a disadvantage. There simply was not the same interest in a lot of Canada outside of the major city-centres for computers, so it makes it that much harder now in 2016 to find these kinds of things. Especially since I live in a more rural area of Canada, and even the nearest "big city" is still pretty small so there's very little to go around. To see vintage computer gear on the classifieds where I live is an extremely rare occurrence.

[Nebulon]

If you're just planning to play games on it, go for the Amiga 500.

 

However, if you're into running productivity apps, a 1200 or 4000 would be a better option.

[+OLD CS1]

Amiga penetration in the US, while maybe not on par with the other side of the pond, is surprisingly and satisfyingly high. It is not difficult to turn up an Amiga 500. An A500+, on the other hand, is not common.

 

Now, as time goes on I suspect it will become more and more difficult. The continued recession over here has left a lot of people relieving themselves of various items or just throwing them away to trim down what they own, store, or may need to transport.

[amiman99]

@TPA5 So.... Did you get the Amiga??

[TPA5]

@TPA5 So.... Did you get the Amiga??

 

Unfortunately I have not gotten one yet. I wasn't able to dig anything up, and in the meantime the tax-man came back to us because they calculated something incorrectly and decided we owe them more money. Pretty nifty that I get to pay for their mistake, but such is life. Anyway once we become more financially solvent I'll re-visit trying to hunt an A500 down.