|1-PC vs Amiga, the story continues By SparHawk No, don`t stop reading. You may have heard the arguments before but this article is not about which is the best, it`s about cold, hard cash. I`m not Anti-Pc. I`m not Pro-Amiga. I don`t care what computer is best. I suppose I`m a computer hobbyist. I don`t mind what is best. By plain figures the various PC`s would be the best (at least in speed terms). But the Amiga is friendlier. Even if Windows `95 is out. The main body of this article is the four configurations I`ve detailed. A typical PC configuration, two A1200 configs and an A4000 config. These are configurations on which you could do almost anything. Problems with the PC include the lack of a decent operating system (not Windows - a Program Launcher not a proper OS) and a lack of NEW technology. Most PC`s are based on old technology. The chips still have fallback modes and memory problems and everything is done by the processor. The PC is an old computer with add-ons to bring it up to date. A radical rethink is required in the PC World but the old problems of Compatibility deter any real advances. Problems with the Amiga are basically its lack of power. The OS is brilliant. The chips are excellent but base models require faster speeds, more upgradeability and more memory. These can all be accomplished via third-party extras, but at a cost. Another problem is the lack of software developers and a small market penetration. Escom don`t seem to be doing much and the Amiga may yet die. The best thing that could be done for the Amiga, anywhere, is to pump money into it. Advertise, subsidise developers to get software flowing, improve the machine. That`s it. The old answer is allways true. Get a computer for whatever you need it to do. Who knows, a portable word-processer/typewriter may be enough for your needs or a simple Psion handheld or other databank/organiser device. The problem with hobbyists is that they dabble in everything and want the computer to do everything. A Snes or Megadrive can handle games, sure, An ancient Amstrad is enough for word processing, true enough, but what about 3D, Programing, Music, Graphics and the rest? I have decided the best approach is either multi-platform or emulation. The Amiga is blessed in the latter department. Emplant. Here you can have an Amiga/PC/Mac combo with more promised. Emplant is not perfect. It has problems. But imagine, everything in one box. Who could want more? Setups. All prices are from adverts and are thus `street prices`. The PC Setup. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A 486DX/100 16 Mb Ram £1,499 560Nb HD (IDE) x4 CD-ROM 14" SVGA Monitor SoundBlaster Pro 28800 Modem £149 Total Cost is £1,648 A1200 Setup One. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (This does not include the price of an A1200. Most readers will have one anyway.) 68030/50Mhz and SCSI-2 board £269 A High Density Drive £79.95 28800 Modem £149 Microvitec 14" Monitor £289 Emplant Mac + PC £330 approx. 4mb Ram (giving 6Mb total) £129 Aiwa x2 CD £170 1.2gb HD £260 Total Cost £1,675 ex. Mac ROMS, PC BIOS. A1200 Setup Two. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As above but: 68060/50Mhz + Scsi £599 Emplant Deluxe model £490 8Mb (giving 10mb total) £269 HiQ Powerstation, instead of CD £330 Total £2,465 A4000 Setup. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A4000 060/50mhz 6mb RAM £2,469 1.2gb HD x2 CD £127 Emplant £330 Microvitec 14" monitor £289 28800 Modem £149 Total £3,364 Notes ~~~~~ PC This setup is typical of a multimedia PC. The RAM seems high, but PC`s gobble up RAM quickly so this is the equivalent of about 8mb on another, more efficient, machine. the 560MB HD could dissapear quickly with Windows `95 or whatever. The Monitor is a basic VGA type. 486s are dropping quickly as the Pentium takes ground. For about £275 more you`d have a P90. A1200 1 This is a nice setup. The 68030 only runs at 50mhz but the chip is better and would be the equivalent of the 486. The high density drive is necessary for emulation and file transfer. The monitor is better than the PC one and is very flexible, covering all the amigas modes. Emplant would work better with a dedicated graphics board but this is not really needed. 6mb Ram is adequate for an Amiga and 1.2gb HD is enough to have a MAC and PC partition as well. The Aiwa CD is not x4 but x2 but to be honest a quad speed CD is not needed. The Aiwa is nice, with an LCD display and audio CD buttons. The cost does not include the MAC Roms or the PC Bios/MS-DOS. The PC emulation is for a 586. A final note is that I'm not sure if the A1200 version of Emplant exists. I understand that Utilities Emplant were developing a '32-bit clean' version and one or two companies advertised it but is it available now? If not, then software, such as PC-Task and Shapeshifter can do as well, albeit with a slower PC emulation. The final, perhaps ultimate, upgrade could be a DIY 'Amiga-Into-PC-Box-With-Zorros' conversion! A1200 2 The same as the last one but faster and with more Ram. Emplant Deluxe gives serial, scsi and appletalk ports. The Powerstation is a scsi-box with drivebays and comes with speakers and CD. The 68060 is pretty much state of the art for Amigas and is probably comparable with a pentium. A4000 The main prices are based on adverts which may not be correct because prices hhve yet to be finalised. It is basically similar to the second A1200 Setup but in a Tower case with more expandability. In addition a Graphics Card, for about £300 would help emulation along with faster graphics, esp. in 256 colour modes. My choice would be the A4000, down to the A1200 2, A1200 1 and PC in that order. It`s not that I don`t like PC`s but an Amiga with Emplant could do a lot more once the emulation is finalised. The PC is probably faster than many of the configs (excepts perhaps the 060) but it is more limited in Screen modes, flexibility, capacity. These configs could be built up over time. The PC is cheaper than all of them but you get what you pay for. A basic 486 costs as little as £500 these days and unless Escom get a good, cheap amiga the PC`s will rule forever. Strangely enough Escom themselves did supply some of the cheapest PC's. End