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Getting back into things - best upgrade options for a 130XE?


AB Positive

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Been a while since I've been here but moved (twice) after a bad breakup and figured hey, let's unpack storage. And hey, there's that 130XE I got in a craigslist deal years ago with a sloopy sio2usb cable. Hooked it up to a 1702 I literally found on the side of the road and it all worked!

 

... the bug is back.

 

I know I should crack it open, do some cleaning and check all the caps (although right now it's running amazing) but what are the current recommendations regarding upgrades? My limited research showed the Ultimate 1MB to be pretty neat but what other fun expansions have people been doing?

 

-AB+

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From another just getting in the game last year, 130XE owner :

 

- AVG Cart

- SIO2SD

- Sophia DVI

 

and the Ultimate 1 MB still lays in it's box because I don't dare to solder again and mess up my Atari again

 

so in between I'm using

 

- Sys-Check V2.2 XE

 

for everything that requires more memory to run

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If you can find the 320xe ram expansion, it works great, adds a much more accessible cart slot, and replaces the onboard (and prone to fail) RAM.

Otherwise, Ultimate 1mb and Side 2 if you want to do everything otherwise an Sdrive-Max for .atr files and/or and Ultimate cart for .xex, and .bin files.

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I am kind of scared of the idea of desoldering chips from the motherboard. I just don't trust my own abilities in this area. If I were looking for a memory upgrade for a 130XE, I would definitely look toward an exterior solution like the SYS-Check XE.

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There are many options of course. I will not advise on what to choose, it depends on your approach on how to enjoy your Atari. Instead, I will say what I thought about it as a newbie myself:

 

Sooner or later, if one wants to run recent releases and demos, a memory expansion is needed. So, this expense is to be considered too.

Having this in mind, best option for me was Side2 with U1Mb installed. Pretty much it can run almost everything that exists out there... SDX with APT and FAT16 partitions on the CF is also something that you will love for sure if you will use your Atari for more than gaming...

Edited by dimfil
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Hi,

 

I can recommend the Sys-Check 2, - 512K RAM, 4 different OS slots, and very handy to have if anything goes wrong. I got the dual XL/XE version, and have used it to fix/repair a 130XE already (just trying to future proof my kit).

 

Other thing to get is either an sio2pc cable (not too difficult to make), or an Sdrive-max (not too difficult to make). Depends what other computer kit (if any) you have.

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