Replace HD with CompactFlash memorycard

[Teho]

OS3.1 and lower amigas can't use more than 4GB anyway. Plus, I saw 8GB cards when searching the net for info on them. And in my experience, this card isn't slower than the HD I used previously. But that was a very old thing, newer HDs may be faster I don't know. But, I hear newer HDs run very hot in an Amiga's cramped casing. That won't be a problem with a flash card. Also, it uses much less power than a HD, so is good for a system where power is in short supply.

The real problem with CF cards I've learned is the fact that they have limited read/write cycles. So their lifespan is relatively short compared to a good HD, depending on how you use it. They wouldn't be good to run an OS off of for example, especially if the machine sees a lot of use. But for just throwing your games, demos, mods etc collection on, it would be great. And for a guy like me who doesn't use the real amiga that often any more, having one as a main HD will work just fine for a long while apparently.

[TiredOfLife]

@Submeg
What do you mean?
How can the Amiga not be your main machine?
I suppose in that totally bizarre and unlikely situation, 4gig would be fine.


@Teho
Some flash cards are guaranteed for life, so I don't think that would be a problem.
OS3.0 can use drives bigger than 4gig, if using the right software or hardware.
Had a hd in a case for years with no heat problems.

[Stephen Coates]

The amiga is currently not my main machine, and as a result, it is fine with 1.5GB. Although I havn't been able to put much stuff on it due to lack of a CDROM drive and the awkward location that it is in.

I'll probably put my 20GB laptop HD in it though sometime.

[Harrison]

Don't see the point as flash cards only go up to 4gig at the mo. HDs are cheaper, faster and have a bigger capacity.

You can find CF cards up to 16GB easily these days, and I know of 32GB ones used in pro cameras and I'm sure you can get 48GB ones too from specialist places. Maybe even larger ones are available now.

I agree that HDs are bigger capacity for less money, but faster? The point of using solid state storage instead of a moving mechanism is that it has no moving parts so no seek times, making the data reading and writing much faster overall.

[Harrison]

OS3.1 and lower amigas can't use more than 4GB anyway. Plus, I saw 8GB cards when searching the net for info on them. And in my experience, this card isn't slower than the HD I used previously. But that was a very old thing, newer HDs may be faster I don't know. But, I hear newer HDs run very hot in an Amiga's cramped casing. That won't be a problem with a flash card. Also, it uses much less power than a HD, so is good for a system where power is in short supply.

The real problem with CF cards I've learned is the fact that they have limited read/write cycles. So their lifespan is relatively short compared to a good HD, depending on how you use it.

I hadn't thought of that. This used to be very true with memory cards only being good for a couple thousand read/write operations, but I don't think it is the case these days. After all people are using SD and Sony MS cards for MP3 players all the time and deleting and copying different songs without any issues. Also many cards have very long guarantees. For Example Sony Memory Sticks are under guarantee for 5 years and lifetime guarantee against defects.

OS3.0 can use drives bigger than 4gig, if using the right software or hardware.
Had a hd in a case for years with no heat problems.

If you use a third party file system then yes, you can use a drive larger than 4GB.

I've run a 3.5" HD in one of my A1200's for many years without any heat related problems at all.

[Submeg]

Huh? I couldnt run the Amiga as my main comp....it just cant do what I need it to do, and yes with fiddling I could, but right now dont have time to fiddle

[Stephen Coates]

The amiga will do most of the stuff I want it to do, but just alot slower than the PC. Although some tasks won't be that slow. e.g. I can do word processing and drawing quite nicely on my A500+ (The 500+ is still my first choice of machine for the rare occasion that I would want to draw something on a computer).

And OS3.9 is a very nice OS compared to WinXP.

[Harrison]

The PPC Amiga's are more than fast enough to do anything currently possible on a computer, but they are held back by a lack of true software support. Yes you can get utilities and applications to do pretty much everything you want, but as Submeg mentioned, you do need to spend a lot more time with an Amiga these days "fiddling" to get the desired system setup to do everything required.

I would still be using an Amiga as my main OS if it had still been in development, and I bet most others here would be too. I just need so many applications and utilities which are further developed and better supported on the PC these days. And also as I am a gamer I need the PC for the best Emulation and Gaming support on any current computer system.

[TiredOfLife]

To be honest, it's the fiddling about I enjoy but I know what you both mean.
As you say there are plenty of apps but a lot more commercial apps on the PC which usually give you that bit of extra polish that can smooth things along.
Using a Blizzard 1260 at the moment.
Great for most things but there are times when I could do with the extra power of a PPC.
I'm hoping I won't have to wait much longer.

[Harrison]

I think all of us who still have Amigas still use them mainly because we enjoy fiddling around with them. That was always half the fun even back in the 80's and 90's, buying new hardware and hooking it up and then playing around to see what it could do. It's exactly the same for me with PCs, but they don't quite have that special charm of the Amiga.