Which AtariST? Updated now got One!

[Ezram]

Hi there guys, I'm an avid collector gamer on 2600. But I now want to expand my horizons.

 

I can remember when the ST first came out always wanting one but never having the money.

 

So now i wish to get one but as i don't know huge amounts about the different models was looking for advice. Which model would it be best for me to go for.

 

All advice greatly received

E

Edited July 8, 2005 by Ezram

[Goochman]

Mega STe 4 or Falcon

 

IF you can find one of those cheap enough a Mega ST 4 should be fine for games and most other things.

[V.R]

If you are after an ST for games, then I'd stick with a run of the mill 1040stfm. This model provides you with floppy disk and t.v modulator in case you don't have a monitor.

 

Personally I'd go for the rarer 1040ste which is what Im currently using and I love it. This machine gives you the ability to easily upgrade the memory to 4 meg. It has a larger colour pallete and an added blitter chip for enhanced graphical capabilities.

 

Ideally a Mega STE would be even better, as it has a seperate keyboard and is much easier to live with than the standard design. Basically whatever you can pick up, you will find enjoyment in. I'd stay away from the Falcon at the moment, since you are obviously wanting something that has plenty of software and games, the

Falcon is not so good for this in my opinion.

[+DarkLord]

If you can find one, for a good price, I'd go for a STe/Mega STe. They will do most of the older games, and still offer some great features that the older STs don't. Easier to upgrade as well, newer versions of the TOS os, etc,...

 

IF you're going beyond games though - then I'd say the Falcon is the best, IMO.

There are some impressive upgrades for it, and it outperforms the standard ST/STe line by galactic proportions.

 

There are also some pretty good games/demos for the Falcon, and it will run *some* older ST titles, just not the majority (there are compatibility lists available). Falcons are pretty hard to find now, and can be expensive.

 

I guess it depends on what your focus is. Like one of the other posters mentioned, and I agree, you'll have fun with any of them. They're great machines... :-)

[ATARImarcus]

The cheapest way if you only want to play is the 1040 ST or STE.

[kevin242]

The cheapest way if you only want to play is the 1040 ST or STE.

872635[/snapback]

 

no offense to anyone here... but what the hell else would you do with one besides

gaming? I mean if you alredy have a pc/mac (obviously) then what would you buy

a ST to do? Maybe run some old music software? What else? It would be like

picking up an 800xl to write letters with Atariwriter ` I love the ST and it is

great for games and an interesting machine, so dont think I am putting it down.

Edited June 11, 2005 by kevin242

[+DarkLord]

The cheapest way if you only want to play is the 1040 ST or STE.

872635[/snapback]

 

no offense to anyone here... but what the hell else would you do with one besides

gaming? I mean if you alredy have a pc/mac (obviously) then what would you buy

a ST to do? Maybe run some old music software? What else? It would be like

picking up an 800xl to write letters with Atariwriter ` I love the ST and it is

great for games and an interesting machine, so dont think I am putting it down.

872653[/snapback]

 

I can think of a few specialty applications, although I'll readily admit that you've got a very good point there. Games would probably be the dominant reason for most ST users out there.

 

I have a Mega ST that I use to run The DarkForce! BBS. I actually enjoy tweaking the BBS software and using its scripting language. Like I said, very specialized.

 

See ya! :-)

[ijor]

no offense to anyone here... but what the hell else would you do with one besides

gaming?

 

Well, they are probably the minority. But there are some people that still use ST for non-gaming applications, and not just MIDI.

 

And yes, once in a while I still hear somebody uses it's 8-bit for applications too!

 

Don't ask me exactly why. I'm not one of those. I even use mostly Steem for ST developing instead of a real computer, and PC cross tools for 8-bit development.

 

But even when it is hard for most of us to understand, this doesn't mean that vintage computers can't be used for applications.

[dark willow]

Depends on waht your wanting to do:

 

For games:

1040STfm - simple, compatible, cheap.

 

For programming:

TT030 - Powerful, fast, lots of SCSI storage, desktop design.

 

For replacing a PC as day to day system:

TT030 CaTTamaran boosted and gfx card, or boosted Falcon.

 

Mostly games, with odd serious job:

MegaST 4 with a hard disk.

 

Falcon and TT both cost a lot more, and have very few games available. However they are both significantly more advanced, the TT having the edge on raw power and out and out speed, the Falcon having more flexible display resolutions and much better audio system. Both cost a lot more than an ST, and much more again if you want to get the most from them in terms of upgrades and commerical software packages.

 

Stock ST's go for around GBP20 to 30 on Ebay, a TT will go for around 130 to 190, and a Falcon for around 150 to 250. Mega ST's are harder to find, but expec tot pay around 50 or so.

 

Boosted Falcons and TT's are as easy to find as unicorns with prices to match.

[Gunstar]

The cheapest way if you only want to play is the 1040 ST or STE.

872635[/snapback]

 

no offense to anyone here... but what the hell else would you do with one besides

gaming? I mean if you alredy have a pc/mac (obviously) then what would you buy

a ST to do? Maybe run some old music software? What else? It would be like

picking up an 800xl to write letters with Atariwriter ` I love the ST and it is

great for games and an interesting machine, so dont think I am putting it down.

872653[/snapback]

I use mine for midi which it is still quite capable for, midi software for modern Macs or PC's hasn't changed that much over the years and the ST is a fraction of the cost to get mid setup compared to modern machines, plus it DOES still do word processing and databases, etc. quite well, and can be hooked up to modern deskjet printers, and I still use my ST for that too. It is a lot easier to me to put in a wordprocessing program on a floppy into my ST, turn it on, it loads in 15 seconds and I'm ready to go; type, press print, it's sent to my HP deskjet, done. With the PC (which I do not leave on 24/7 to save power and money) I have to wait for the system go through it's normal boot routine, wait for window to boot, then select the wordprocessor and wait for it to boot, then go, it takes about 5 times as long to just get started. To me all PC's and Window are ar "bloatware" that takes up far more memory and time to get the same end result. They are o.k. for profession use in the corprate world due to advanced feature that professionals would use and the LAN/network options, but for the individual at home, the old ST, Amiga and Mac's are really far more suitable for home applications in as much as ease of use. The whole world has been tricked into think that you have to have the latest PC and software to get the job done right, just so mega corp.'s like MS can keep making money buy selling the latest 6.3 software that supposedly makes 6.2 obsolete. BS. I also use my ST for art/CAD/modeling, especially with CAD design, most modern CAD programs are far, far too expensive and complicated for an individual to use for homebrew or hobby/fun, they are designed (modern cad/modeling) for professional teams where someone might be working on one part of a model, like a hand of a person, and another person is working on the legs or torso, etc. and then they put it all together and the modern applications are designed like this and it almost impossible for one person to use them, so I use the ST's Cyberstudio apps for all this which are much more user/individual friendly but also still have many advanced, modern features like control, texture-mapping, light-sourcing, animation, etc. and can still be used to develop for the ST line and the Atari Jaguar for games too. So, yes, a lot of us still use the older, more user-friendly ST's for many things beyond games for the value and ease of use instead of the monstrousity that is Windows. The fact is, the ONLY thing I use my PC for is surfing the internet, PERIOD. (That is besides using it to get software off the net and onto my Atari 8-bit and ST, which part of "surfing the net"). So you are DEAD WRONG if you think that ST's are only good for playing classic games anymore, they may not have all the latest bells and whistles of a P4 PC, but they are VERY capable machines. I don't even use my PC to play games, I have a Dreamcast and Playstation 2 to play modern games.

Edited June 18, 2005 by Gunstar

[+DarkLord]

no offense to anyone here... but what the hell else would you do with one besides

gaming?

 

Well, they are probably the minority. But there are some people that still use ST for non-gaming applications, and not just MIDI.

 

And yes, once in a while I still hear somebody uses it's 8-bit for applications too!

 

Don't ask me exactly why. I'm not one of those. I even use mostly Steem for ST developing instead of a real computer, and PC cross tools for 8-bit development.

 

But even when it is hard for most of us to understand, this doesn't mean that vintage computers can't be used for applications.

873540[/snapback]

 

Er, just for the record - I didn't say what was quoted above. :-)

 

I fully/truly believe that there is much, much, more than just gaming for Atari computers... :-)

 

See ya.

[ijor]

no offense to anyone here... but what the hell else would you do with one besides

gaming?

 

 

Er, just for the record - I didn't say what was quoted above. :-)

 

Oopss. Sorry, wrong quote editing.

[Gunstar]

no offense to anyone here... but what the hell else would you do with one besides

gaming?

 

Well, they are probably the minority. But there are some people that still use ST for non-gaming applications, and not just MIDI.

 

And yes, once in a while I still hear somebody uses it's 8-bit for applications too!

 

Don't ask me exactly why. I'm not one of those. I even use mostly Steem for ST developing instead of a real computer, and PC cross tools for 8-bit development.

 

But even when it is hard for most of us to understand, this doesn't mean that vintage computers can't be used for applications.

873540[/snapback]

 

Er, just for the record - I didn't say what was quoted above. :-)

 

I fully/truly believe that there is much, much, more than just gaming for Atari computers... :-)

 

See ya.

876556[/snapback]

It was Atarimarcus who said that, but I wonder how your name got mixed up with that quote?

[+DarkLord]

no offense to anyone here... but what the hell else would you do with one besides

gaming?

 

Well, they are probably the minority. But there are some people that still use ST for non-gaming applications, and not just MIDI.

 

And yes, once in a while I still hear somebody uses it's 8-bit for applications too!

 

Don't ask me exactly why. I'm not one of those. I even use mostly Steem for ST developing instead of a real computer, and PC cross tools for 8-bit development.

 

But even when it is hard for most of us to understand, this doesn't mean that vintage computers can't be used for applications.

873540[/snapback]

 

Er, just for the record - I didn't say what was quoted above. :-)

 

I fully/truly believe that there is much, much, more than just gaming for Atari computers... :-)

 

See ya.

876556[/snapback]

It was Atarimarcus who said that, but I wonder how your name got mixed up with that quote?

876559[/snapback]

 

Murphys Law? <grin> Seriously, no problem there guys. Anyone who really knows me though knows that I believe in Atari computers completely.

 

When I see someone say Atari can't do this, or can't do that, I'm really hearing that *they* can't do this or that. <smile> I'm constantly amazed at where end-users have taken these wonderful machines (and thankful!).

 

The Fuji Lives!

[Paolo]

And now let me tell you a story:

last week I had to use a civil engineering program on my office's PC. One of the outputs was a DXF file (you know, a 'standard' CAD output file).

Well, AUTOCAD2005 couldn't open it at all, ST-CAD, just a click.

I don't have the registered version, so I couldn't save it; but it was enough for checking.

Later, after a couple of AutoCAD 'recover and fix' thingies and a little hand editing of the DXF, we could use the file in AutoCAD.

 

I have my CT60Falcon at work and keep using it for these kind of things:

quick (and extremely powerful) word processing with Papyrus

quick and handy picture manipulation with Photoline

GREAT graphs with GEMGraph

I could keep going

[Ezram]

Finally I am now the proud owner of an Atari 520 ST I have grand prox and Sim city to play and am just experimenting. I've been interested to read others non gaming uses of the ST. I'm looking forward to discovering the ST

 

Its just so Dam exciting eh!

[Paolo]

good! congratulations!

 

Are you going to use RGB or composite video?

Do you have a monochrome monitor? Ya know, for the serious stuff

[Ezram]

Now your putting the pressure on