| From: | Darin Ritchie |
| Date: | 31 May 2000 at 21:49:15 |
| Subject: | RE: Amiga 3000s - Don't you just Love them? |
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nick Lamburn [mailto:oruk_amigan@btinternet.com]
> Subject: [amigactive] Amiga 3000s - Don't you just Love them?
>
But for all my love of this finely tuned machine, I have a few (!) questions
about it:
>
> 1. What is the max. SCSI speed on its built in controller?
The built in SCSI controller is a SCSI 1 controller IIRC it transfers at
1MB/sec. I have an A3000 and if you want to use the built in controller
with a CD-Rom drive you need to upgrade to a revision 8 SCSI chip.
>
> 2. Can I plug my SVGA monitor straight into its port at the back for
> such monitors; ie: is it a high density 15pin connector or the older
> VGA 9pin one?
Yep, you can plug you SVGA monitor right into the 15 pin video connector.
>
> 3. It has a flicker fixer which is dead nice, does that also mean it's
> scan doubled to 31KHz or both 15 and 31KHz?
Yes, it is scan doubled to 31Khz on the 15 pin video connector.
>
> 4. Is flicker fixed output to the VGA/SVGA socket only or both Amiga
> RGB as well?
>
This I don't remember as I have always used the 15 pin svga connector.
> 5. Being a developer I now know quite a bit about the A3000s OS saga,
well
> I thought it was a bit of a mess myself but still. Anyway - when I
> buy an A3000, is it likely that it'll use SuperKickstart or a ROM?
Depends on the motherboard revision and if the previous owner has upgraded
it or not. My A3000 I bought in 1990 had Kickstart in ROM. There was an
early startup screen to select between 2.0 and 1.3.
>
> Are any A3000s supplied with a Kickstart chip older than v36.xx?
Don't know.
>
> Do most A3000s have Kickstart/Workbench v37.xx (37.175?) or do a fair
few have v36.xx?
>
> How many A3000s use a 'tower' for the ROMs? Are 'tower' ROM
> replacements more tricky than normal motherboard socketed ROMs?
A3000's with a revision 6 or 7 motherboard have a ROM tower, revision 8.9
and revision 9 mb's don't have a ROM tower. They aren't more tricky, but
for OS3.1 ROMS they require a special set of ROMs. When you order 3.1 ROMs
you need to specify whether or not your machine uses a ROM tower.
>
> 7. Am I more likely to get a Buster rev. 6 than rev. 7?
> What's the max.
> speed of Buster rev. 7?
Hard to say, depends on when the machine was produced. Hint: Upgrade to
Buster 11.
The max speed for a rev 7, I don't know for sure.
>
> 8. What time did Commodore start fitting high density
> floppies to these wonderful machines? 1991?
Unknown.
>
> 9. Are all A3000 mice that 'pregnant' style one, or are they
> the older clunky A1000 one. (These questions are getting stupid :)
Its more like the A500/A2000 mouse.
>
> 10. Are there any 68030 accelerators for the A3000? Or are they all
> 040/060+ since the A3000 is already 68030 based?
There are 030 accelerators for the A3000 (eg: 030/50)
>
> 11. Do all A3000 have a 16MHz 68881 FPU or 25MHz 68882 FPU?
If the A3000 is an 030/25 then the FPU is a 68882 25MHz.
If the A3000 is an 030/16 then the FPU is a 68881 16MHz.
>
> 12. What are most common? 16MHz/030/881 or 25MHz/030/882 A3000s?
The 25MHz/030/882 are the most common.
>
> 13. What is the average size Hard Disk you get with an A3000
> (meaning what did Commodore ship with the A3000 mostly)
Depending on when the machine was produced is could be either a 50M or a
100M hd. Earlier machines had a 50M drive.
>
> 14. Are all A4000 CPU cards A3000 compatible, say if it had
> KS 3.1 the A3K?
> I say this because physically they share the same CPU connector.
All A4000 CPU cards are compatible with the A3000. Though one should
perform the INT2 fix on the A3000's motherboard.
>
> 15. How much RAM did CBM ship A3000s with? I heard 1Mb Chip
> + 1Mb Fast.
>
A3000's came standard with 1M chip and 1M fast. Both in DIP style.
> And last, but by no means the least of these questions: How
> much is just the
> A3000 unit likely to cost me these days? And can you buy
> them s/h from
> refurbished centres and that, or is it the small ads? :)
>
It will vary widly, depending on the upgrades performed to it, what other
accesories are included, software included, etc.
Prices could range from $250 CAD and up.
Hope this helps some.
Cheers,
Darin.
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