Basic A500 advice?

Hey guys, been a long time since I last posted! Just got a couple of things I'd like to run by the experts...

I'm about to pick up an A500 essentially for the price of postage, and while I'm more interested in 1200s I thought it was too good to turn down!

Would it be worth upgrading to ROM version 2.04 if I don't already have it installed? The chips are cheap enough so I figured, why the hell not :) Which versions of Workbench run best with that ROM version? What do you guys prefer using? There are no OS disks included so I have to go hunting on eBay for my own.

Thanks in advance!

It all defends what you want to use the A500 for. If it is for gaming then I highly recommend you stick with the kickstart 1.3 version that is probably already in the A500. This is the most compatible and all non AGA games should work.

If you upgrade the kickstart to a 2.04 rom you won't really be gaining much, and actually losing some compatibility with older games. You will be able to use the much improved Workbench 2 and 2.1 versions, and therefore workbench and productivity software will be nicer to use, but it isn't really worth it in my view.

Does this A500 have a trapdoor ram expansion fitted? All A500's really need this to run many games. Especially those released after 1988.

Do you also have an A1200? Or are you just thinking of trying to get one?

Thanks harrison,

I intend to use the A500 for MIDI sequencing applications, controlling outboard MIDI gear and also running software editors for old 80s synths - gaming is not a priority so I'm honestly not bothered about compatibility in that respect. I like the idea of being able to use the most up-to-date OS possible, just to make sure I'm getting the best out of it, but I suppose if it doesn't work out, it's not all that much trouble to pop the old chip back in!

I wonder... is there such a thing as a piggy-back socket so I can choose which Kickstart ROM gets loaded at power-on? That would be cool. :lol:

As far as I'm aware the trapdoor slot is empty, but I'm watching a few 512kb RAM packs on eBay and they seem to go for barely any money, one of those is on my list as I figure it's better to have the RAM in there just in case it's needed!

I've owned a couple of A1200s in the past, but I'm still in the market for one to make a project of. When I have the necessary time and spare pennies I really must re-visit that one day. :) But hey, a practically free A500... I bet there are few members here who could turn it down and restrain themselvse from wanting to tinker around with it!

If gaming isn't important than you should look into replacing the rom with a 3.1 kickstart rom. You will then be able to use Workbench 3.1 and even the latest Amiga OS 3.5 and 3.9 versions.

However in addition to the 3.1 rom I would highly recommend you try to track down an A500 HD and/or accelerator. The GVP A590 is the best you can get for the A500 which contains a SCSI HD, Fast ram, and a 68030 CPU. But these are rare so might still command quite high prices.

When looking for any Amiga hardware I would like to highly recommend our sister site http://www.amibay.com This site was setup by myself and a group of link minded people from the Amiga community just under a year ago and it is a buying and selling site for all retro fans to buy and sell their hardware and software. The site is completely free with no fees so you only pay for the items and postage.

If you want a MIDI interface you can always look here. Don't know what they're like but it's worth a try.

Thanks! That's exactly the kind of thing I was after! Bookmarked :D