Subject: REVIEW: Commodore Amiga 1200 computer
From: [email-masked] (Ian Kennedy)
Date: 29 Jan 1993 01:03:40 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	Commodore Amiga 1200 computer

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	The A1200 an excellent addition to the AGA Amiga line.  It provides
acceptable performance in a compact, inexpensive package while offering a
generous amount of expandability for a computer of its size and price.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		Commodore Business Machines
	Address:	1200 Wilson Drive
			West Chester, PA  19380
			USA

			(Non-USA readers should contact the branch of
			Commodore in their country.)

	Telephone:	(215) 431-9100

LIST PRICE

	$599.00 (US dollars)

	The total cost of the system reviewed was $1620 (US) including sales
tax.  This was under the "PowerUp" price and includes DeluxePaint IV AGA and
FinalCopy 1.3 AGA.  This software will be shipped to me in 6 to 8 weeks
after C= receives my warranty registration card.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	A1200 with 2 MB Chip RAM and no Fast RAM
	85MB Maxtor 2.5" IDE drive
	A1960 Monitor
	AmigaDOS 3.0

GENERAL FEATURES

	The primary advantages of the A1200 is its use of the AGA chipset
and a mostly 32-bit architecture.  A note of interest is that this machine is
based on the Motorola 68EC020, meaning it has a 24 bit address space just
like the 68000 based machines, so the maximum RAM you can install will be 9
MB.  For a machine of this size, that should be more than enough RAM.  All
other aspects of the machine are 32-bit, including the AGA custom chips and
the data bus.  A 32-bit trapdoor expansion and a PCMCIA slot are standard in
addition to the usual Amiga ports and a 2.5" IDE drive bay/controller.

EXPANSION

	The A1200 comes equipped with a PCMCIA slot.  This is a 16-bit
expansion slot that has become popular in laptop machines.  It offers some
interesting potential for expansion; but because it is a 16-bit device, it is
not well suited for general memory expansion.  It does offer exciting
potential for such things as modems, network adapters, SCSI/CD-ROM, and
assorted PC emulators.  With the release of AmigaDOS 3.1 and device
independent network support it would follow that already available Ethernet
adapters could be easily made to work with this Amiga.  [MODERATOR'S NOTE:
AmigaDOS 3.1 is not released yet, so any statements about it are not
guaranteed at this point.  - Dan]

	Underneath the A1200, you will find the 32-bit CPU trapdoor expansion
slot.  This was the primary reason I even considered the purchase of this
A1200.  This slot offers the potential to add 32-bit FAST ram, CPU
accelerator cards (without violating your warranty!), SCSI controllers, and a
whole host of really nifty stuff.  I would like to see a Zorro-III bus
expansion box that allows you to put your A1200 in a "pizza box" case
connected via the 32-bit expander, giving you some slots and an external
keyboard.  Currently, there is a memory board available for the A1200 that
accepts up to 8MB of 32-bit ram and has a math co-processor.

	On the back of the A1200, you will find all of the standard Amiga
ports as well as a really clean Composite video and RF modulator output.  I
wish the mouse and game controller ports were on the right side, though.

	Internally, there is room for a 2.5" IDE hard drive.  I installed a
85 MB drive here.  Performance tests indicated a throughput of about 500KB/s
on this disk.  I suspect with the addition of FAST RAM, this will improve,
since the disk buffers will be moved to FAST RAM.  The floppy drive is the
old 880K unit.  Apparently the new high-density drives physically were too
big.

LIKES, DISLIKES, LIMITATIONS

	Memory Expansion:

		One must be aware of some memory expansion constraints.
		Although you can put up to 8MB in the 32-bit trap door slot,
		this will drop to 4MB if you insert a card into the PCMCIA
		slot.  It seems these two slots share some address space.
		This is a minor nuisance.

	AGA custom chips:

		These new chips are really nifty! The displays they produce
		are clean and generally fast with the exception of 256-color
		hi-res displays.  Again, Fast RAM should help some here since
		the CPU will not have to fight the AGA chips for memory
		access, thus speeding up the whole machine.  Even so, the
		256-color modes are DOG SLOW and are inferior to some of the
		PC displays I use at work.  Compared to the ECS chips the
		new AGA chips really scream.  I'm now running a 16-color
		Workbench, something I would never have done on my A3000.

		While I enjoy the new video bandwidth and improved
		color/spatial resolution, I must say I have one really big
		complaint:  getting AGA displays centered on the screen.  It
		took me a few days to figure this out. It is not in the
		manuals.  I would like C= to provide a more transparent way
		of getting a MAX-overscan DBLNTSC screen centered on the
		display.

	AmigaDOS 3.0:

		Many of the additions seem to be hidden from the general
		user. The addition of CrossDOS is useful. The scroll bars
		are now 3D. The file requestor is not dog slow any more.  You
		can put a picture on your desktop.  Intuition now has
		intelligent palette sharing/allocation.  And according to the
		folks at C=, there are now API calls for double-buffering
		animation.

	Memory:

		For users like me, the 2MB memory that the machine ships with
		is not sufficient for my usual Amiga use.  I'm constantly
		running out of memory.  It should be fine for the typical
		gamer/letter writer though.

	Performance:

		My previous Amiga was an A3000, and the A1200 cannot compete
		with it in sheer processing/disk speed.  Benchmarks rate the
		A1200 with no FAST ram at about 25% the speed of an A3000.
		However, the A1200 crushes the ECS A3000 when it comes to
		video speed. If you want a low-end video titling genlock box,
		then the A1200 is the way to go. The A1200 begs for 32-bit
		Fast RAM, or better yet, an accelerator in the trap door.
		This machine with an 030 or 040 and Fast RAM would be
		awesome!  If you are a person trapped in the land of infidel
		PC users (like I am) but still want a low cost Amiga hacking
		solution with up to date graphics and modest expansion
		potential, then the A1200 is the machine for you.

	Overall, I really like the A1200 and do not regret the purchase at
all.  I will add FAST ram as soon as I can, and plan on adding an
accelerator later.  If the cost of an A4000 makes you ill, then look into a
A1200 system.

[email-masked]

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