I managed to find one of the Cartoon Classics Amiga sets you showed at a boot sale a few years back. Paid about 10 quid complete, probably one of my best finds. Loved the video.
Here in the uk we never got the amiga500 until around october 1987..to be honest i was not even aware of the 1000 at that point...i love the case design of the A500 and it all looks compact and complete...long live the amiga...i still own 3 of them.
The Amiga 500 was my frist computer,my cousin had the 1000 and always wondered why he needed the kickstart all thr time. Also dont know why or how but he got the 1mb expansion already
When i was a little boy back in the late 1980's, i always thought, the A500 was the first model of the Commodore Amiga computers 😺👍🕹️. But i was wrong 😹. Amiga 500 is still a retrospective winner 😺👍🕹️. On the plus side, i would like to say two legendary retrospective things: COMMODORE 64 FOREVER 😺👍🕹️! Press play on tape LOAD "*",8,1 AMIGA FOREVER 😺👍🕹️! Insert disk 💾 2 A big retrospective like 👍🕹️ from Vantaa, Finland 🇫🇮.
Well, the Amiga 500 was developed as a cost reduced version by lead engineer Jeff Porter. It was the first Amiga with the Fat Agnes. So quality wise the A1000 was superior but the A500 was much cheaper and a bit more expandable. And of course 2 years later RAM was also cheaper. Most who bought the A1000 did it with the RAM expansion. Mine also had it from the start. Sadly Commodore didn't really know what to do with the Amiga. Ex Apple engineers working for Commodore said that Apple Mgmt feared the Amiga.😥
@@RetroGamesRediscovered yup! Commodore made the worst decision ever, having acquired all the Amiga Incorporated for 24mils$ and a great team in Los Gats facilities, yet they squandered it all when they asked the people to move in West Chester (PA), closing the Los Gatos offices and losing all the great people there! Such a big fools they were in Commodore management, after Tramel left.
When I was 13 years old commodore released the A500 Batman pack at the reduced price of £399. Many happy memories of the machine and it's brilliant sound quality. IMO, the best platform game on the Amiga is a little known game called FLOOD.
Thanks for your comment and yes, Flood is such a great game! I remember the Batman pack coming out, I think that had a massive impact on the sales of the 500
You completely forgot about EHB mode. 64 color palette, 32 colors selectable and another 32 half brightness. Earliest Amiga 1000s did not support this mode.
Thanks for pointing that out! You’re absolutely right - the Extra Half-Brite (EHB) mode is a unique feature with its 64-colour palette, and it’s a significant part of the Amiga’s capabilities. I should have mentioned that the earliest Amiga 1000 models didn’t support this mode, which is an interesting difference between the systems. Really appreciate you highlighting it - it’s great to have knowledgeable viewers like you adding to the discussion! 😊
I went from a ZX Spectrum 128K Toastrack. To my Amiga A500 when I got it home from the Silica Shop down Tottenham Court Road. It was a quantum leap in the home computer market. I still use my A500 to day but my orginal one was sent back and I got an A 500+ as they did nit repair it. I have taken out the battery out.
Thanks for sharing! The A530 accelerator and SCSI drive expander must have taken your setup to the next level - that’s an amazing upgrade! Having that extra speed and storage on the Amiga must have been a game-changer. Sounds like a brilliant setup! 😎
The edge connector expansion that you mentioned for the A500 was also on the 1000. I just doubt any expansions existed for the 1000 due to its unpopularity.
You're right and I don't think many expansions did exist for the A1000, especially after the A500s release. Thanks for your comment, I'd really appreciate a subscribe if possible
After the A500 / A2000 release, Commodore itself made it clear that the A1000 was "the older that had to be forgotten". However, most of the A500 expansion can be used on the A1000, just on the other side (180°) as the connector is on the right instead on the left. My ACA500Plus and A590 work perfectly on my A1000!
@@RetroGamesRediscovered actually quiet the opposite, the A1000 had many more expansions for the side connector then A500. At least till at least 1988-89. Technically all A1000 expansions would work on A500, but since the slot is upside down and the expansions for A1000 are build into height, you would have to have the A500 not on the desk but up in the air. Also those expansions were pretty expensive, most of the time more expensive then A500, so no one really bought them before 90s and prices went down significantly.
The statement of the A1000 coming with 256 kb of RAM is wrong. The A1000 has 256 kb on the mainboard but Commodore shipped those with an extra memory expansion right out of the box. 2x 8 pcs of 4464 RAMs. Looks like they saw what Atari didn't, the 260ST coudln't do anything with it's 256k and TOS/GEM loaded from floppy. Later mainboard revisions of the A1000 had the full 512k on it, the first model had a 256k RAM module behind the front cover in the middle I have both here, A1000-The VERY first mobo with the ceramic chipset, and two A500s...and I was an old A500 user back in the day. ^.^
Thanks so much for the detailed info! You’re absolutely right about the A1000’s RAM - the 256 KB on the mainboard plus the memory expansion makes a big difference, especially compared to systems like the Atari 260ST. It’s always fascinating to see how Commodore approached things back then. Sounds like you have an amazing collection with both the A1000 (especially that early model with the ceramic chipset!) and the A500s. Really appreciate your insights - it’s always great to hear from someone with as much Amiga passion as me! 😊
I was able to buy a 500 when I was 14 it was 2nd hand but came with a load of software and I loved it the best purchase so far I think I ended up changing it when I was 17 I have a 1200 also at the mo it was what I wanted in the first place but I couldn’t find a used 1200 and there was no way I could afford a new one
Thanks for sharing your Amiga story! Getting a 500 at 14 with a load of software sounds like such a brilliant find, especially at that age! It’s great that you eventually got your hands on a 1200 too - it must feel fantastic to have the one you always wanted. Those early experiences with the Amiga are hard to beat! 😊
@@RetroGamesRediscovered there used to be lots of options for new and used stuff where i am, i used to ride around all the shops i knew (i first played a buds 500 over a wkend we played moonstone and other stuff and i thought i need to try and get one of these) i used to swap over to a better spec machine this is how i was able to upgrade a bit i have gone from specys but at that time i had a c64 the only one i owned, this was all 2nd hand stuff i used to just add some money for the next thing, it took months for me to save up enough, i only had paper round money 16 a week i think i had the higest paid round, i also added some birthday and xmas money in advance if i needed it i also sold a load of things i didnt really need, i wasnt lucky enough to have it paid for, but i was able to add to the kitty, i must have annoyed the guys down at the shop coz i was really worried that someone would buy it before i got the amount so i was always in there making sure it had not sold, i ended up having to sell the 500 when i was 17 and got a brand new pc i was able to spend pretty much whatever i wanted and i was also able to pay no vat because of the way i got it, i didnt have the space at home in my bedroom to them both so had to let the 500 go, i was to find a 1200 on ebay a few years ago and still have it.
@@RetroGamesRediscovered it took months for me to be able to save up for it, i only had 16 quid a week from my paper round i had some other stuff that i could sell i also got some money for early xmas and birthday so that helped a bit, i was always riding down the shop, i was nervous that someone else would buy it first, i prob annoyed them being down there all the time but i did manage to get there, i upgraded it to a pc when i was 17 but i didnt have to pay the vat, i had to get rid of the amiga because i didnt have enough room in my bedroom for both so had to let it go, a few years ago i was looking on ebay and a decent spec 1200 so i still have that now
@@RetroGamesRediscovered it took months for me to be able to save up for it, i only had 16 quid a week from my paper round i had some other stuff that i could sell i also got some money for early xmas and birthday so that helped a bit, i was always riding down the shop, i was nervous that someone else would buy it first, i prob annoyed them being down there all the time but i did manage to get there, i upgraded it to a pc when i was 17 but i didnt have to pay the vat, i had to get rid of the amiga because i didnt have enough room in my bedroom for both so had to let it go, a few years ago i was looking on ebay and a decent spec 1200 so i still have that now
it took months for me to be able to save up for it, i only had 16 quid a week from my paper round i had some other stuff that i could sell i also got some money for early xmas and birthday so that helped a bit, i was always riding down the shop, i was nervous that someone else would buy it first, i prob annoyed them being down there all the time but i did manage to get there, i upgraded it to a pc when i was 17 but i didnt have to pay the vat, i had to get rid of the amiga because i didnt have enough room in my bedroom for both so had to let it go, a few years ago i was looking on ebay and a decent spec 1200 so i still have that now
Thanks for your comment! Couldn’t agree more - the Amiga 500 has that classic design that’s hard not to love, but the Amiga 1000 really has a special place as a true pioneer. Both are fantastic in their own ways! Appreciate you sharing your thoughts! 😊
I didn't like the A500 because it looked just like the C128. The A1000 is beautiful. But if you're going to buy one, the A500 is a better choice. I own both.
A500 definitely. A1000 was a sort of missed concept, having a separate case from the keyboard but not being expandable, it didint make sense. So, separating it into 2 models, one with integrated keyboard and barely expandable, and 2nd having the case with expansion slots was the right move in 1987.
@@fradd182 It's possible that the idea of the design by Jay Miner, after they switched from console as a target to computer, was an all-in-one solution with minimal need for extension. And if so there were the front slot and the extension slot on the side. Also the separate keyboard is certainly more user friendly than e.g. Amiga 500/C64/Atari ST one. Beside that it looked more "professional" than a keyboard computer. 😉 Miner certainly wanted to differentiate compared to an e.g. C64. But I agree that internal extension slots would have been nice. A3000 showed how to do a that in a nice way. 😊
You didn't use an A1000, did you? The A500 is my favorite for: design, memory map (1mb or 2mb chip ram) and great expansions. I got many of the iterations (1987 A500 w Hitek keyboard, 1988 w Samsung keyboard, and all to 1991 last design, the A500+). However, when I use my A1000 it feels premium, as it is a premium machine made in Japan by Sanyo. It has limitations as the 512kb chip ram only, otherwise it's a daily driver.
At the very least, the A1000 case makes a great platform to place the monitor on. Anyone placing a monitor directly on top of an Amiga 500 should be charged with computer-abuse. ;-] Also a quick reminder to people to remove the battery from the A500 RAM expansion module if you haven't already.
I managed to find one of the Cartoon Classics Amiga sets you showed at a boot sale a few years back. Paid about 10 quid complete, probably one of my best finds. Loved the video.
Thank you for your comment, £10?! That's an absolute bargain, the price of the Amiga has flown up now.
Here in the uk we never got the amiga500 until around october 1987..to be honest i was not even aware of the 1000 at that point...i love the case design of the A500 and it all looks compact and complete...long live the amiga...i still own 3 of them.
Thanks for your comment. What Amigas do you own?
@@RetroGamesRediscovered i have 3 amiga500s...2 commodore64s as well..
The Amiga 500 was my frist computer,my cousin had the 1000 and always wondered why he needed the kickstart all thr time. Also dont know why or how but he got the 1mb expansion already
When i was a little boy back in the late 1980's,
i always thought, the A500 was the first model of the Commodore Amiga computers 😺👍🕹️.
But i was wrong 😹.
Amiga 500 is still a retrospective winner 😺👍🕹️.
On the plus side, i would like to say two legendary retrospective things:
COMMODORE 64 FOREVER 😺👍🕹️!
Press play on tape
LOAD "*",8,1
AMIGA FOREVER 😺👍🕹️!
Insert disk 💾 2
A big retrospective like 👍🕹️ from
Vantaa, Finland 🇫🇮.
Thank you for your comment and kind words and welcome joining me on my journey back into the retro age
Well, the Amiga 500 was developed as a cost reduced version by lead engineer Jeff Porter. It was the first Amiga with the Fat Agnes.
So quality wise the A1000 was superior but the A500 was much cheaper and a bit more expandable. And of course 2 years later RAM was also cheaper.
Most who bought the A1000 did it with the RAM expansion. Mine also had it from the start.
Sadly Commodore didn't really know what to do with the Amiga. Ex Apple engineers working for Commodore said that Apple Mgmt feared the Amiga.😥
Thank you for your comment and details. I often wonder what the world would be like if the original Commodore team were still in existence.
@@RetroGamesRediscovered yup! Commodore made the worst decision ever, having acquired all the Amiga Incorporated for 24mils$ and a great team in Los Gats facilities, yet they squandered it all when they asked the people to move in West Chester (PA), closing the Los Gatos offices and losing all the great people there! Such a big fools they were in Commodore management, after Tramel left.
plus OS on ROM, and not Floppy....which is the big thing...
@@AdaptiveSystems True. Booting with ROM was nice.
The reason it was missing in the A1000 was unfinished OS.
When I was 13 years old commodore released the A500 Batman pack at the reduced price of £399.
Many happy memories of the machine and it's brilliant sound quality.
IMO, the best platform game on the Amiga is a little known game called FLOOD.
Thanks for your comment and yes, Flood is such a great game! I remember the Batman pack coming out, I think that had a massive impact on the sales of the 500
You completely forgot about EHB mode. 64 color palette, 32 colors selectable and another 32 half brightness. Earliest Amiga 1000s did not support this mode.
Thanks for pointing that out! You’re absolutely right - the Extra Half-Brite (EHB) mode is a unique feature with its 64-colour palette, and it’s a significant part of the Amiga’s capabilities. I should have mentioned that the earliest Amiga 1000 models didn’t support this mode, which is an interesting difference between the systems. Really appreciate you highlighting it - it’s great to have knowledgeable viewers like you adding to the discussion! 😊
I went from a ZX Spectrum 128K Toastrack. To my Amiga A500 when I got it home from the Silica Shop down Tottenham Court Road. It was a quantum leap in the home computer market. I still use my A500 to day but my orginal one was sent back and I got an A 500+ as they did nit repair it. I have taken out the battery out.
i had one of these with the A530 accelerator and SCSI drive expander from GVP, and it was sweeeet!
Thanks for sharing! The A530 accelerator and SCSI drive expander must have taken your setup to the next level - that’s an amazing upgrade! Having that extra speed and storage on the Amiga must have been a game-changer. Sounds like a brilliant setup! 😎
both are winner
not really, just the A500, the A1000 was actually pretty much a fail that brought Commodore at the edge of bankruptcy.
The Amiga 1000 walked so the 500 could run.
That's a great way of putting it, thank you for your comment
great comment!
I rarely envy ppl who make great comments. I am really jealous now ❤
Now that's more like it 🎉
🤣 I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks for your comment
The edge connector expansion that you mentioned for the A500 was also on the 1000. I just doubt any expansions existed for the 1000 due to its unpopularity.
You're right and I don't think many expansions did exist for the A1000, especially after the A500s release. Thanks for your comment, I'd really appreciate a subscribe if possible
After the A500 / A2000 release, Commodore itself made it clear that the A1000 was "the older that had to be forgotten". However, most of the A500 expansion can be used on the A1000, just on the other side (180°) as the connector is on the right instead on the left. My ACA500Plus and A590 work perfectly on my A1000!
@@RetroGamesRediscovered actually quiet the opposite, the A1000 had many more expansions for the side connector then A500. At least till at least 1988-89. Technically all A1000 expansions would work on A500, but since the slot is upside down and the expansions for A1000 are build into height, you would have to have the A500 not on the desk but up in the air. Also those expansions were pretty expensive, most of the time more expensive then A500, so no one really bought them before 90s and prices went down significantly.
I never had an Amiga 1000, but a few Amigas 500 and an Amiga 2000
Thanks for your comment, do you still have your Amigas?
The statement of the A1000 coming with 256 kb of RAM is wrong. The A1000 has 256 kb on the mainboard but Commodore shipped those with an extra memory expansion right out of the box. 2x 8 pcs of 4464 RAMs. Looks like they saw what Atari didn't, the 260ST coudln't do anything with it's 256k and TOS/GEM loaded from floppy.
Later mainboard revisions of the A1000 had the full 512k on it, the first model had a 256k RAM module behind the front cover in the middle
I have both here, A1000-The VERY first mobo with the ceramic chipset, and two A500s...and I was an old A500 user back in the day. ^.^
Thanks so much for the detailed info! You’re absolutely right about the A1000’s RAM - the 256 KB on the mainboard plus the memory expansion makes a big difference, especially compared to systems like the Atari 260ST. It’s always fascinating to see how Commodore approached things back then. Sounds like you have an amazing collection with both the A1000 (especially that early model with the ceramic chipset!) and the A500s. Really appreciate your insights - it’s always great to hear from someone with as much Amiga passion as me! 😊
The Amiga 1000 shipped with 512KB. Yes, technically it shipped with the 256KB expansion. None of them shipped with only 256KB.
I was able to buy a 500 when I was 14 it was 2nd hand but came with a load of software and I loved it the best purchase so far I think I ended up changing it when I was 17 I have a 1200 also at the mo it was what I wanted in the first place but I couldn’t find a used 1200 and there was no way I could afford a new one
Thanks for sharing your Amiga story! Getting a 500 at 14 with a load of software sounds like such a brilliant find, especially at that age! It’s great that you eventually got your hands on a 1200 too - it must feel fantastic to have the one you always wanted. Those early experiences with the Amiga are hard to beat! 😊
@@RetroGamesRediscovered there used to be lots of options for new and used stuff where i am, i used to ride around all the shops i knew (i first played a buds 500 over a wkend we played moonstone and other stuff and i thought i need to try and get one of these) i used to swap over to a better spec machine this is how i was able to upgrade a bit i have gone from specys but at that time i had a c64 the only one i owned, this was all 2nd hand stuff i used to just add some money for the next thing, it took months for me to save up enough, i only had paper round money 16 a week i think i had the higest paid round, i also added some birthday and xmas money in advance if i needed it i also sold a load of things i didnt really need, i wasnt lucky enough to have it paid for, but i was able to add to the kitty, i must have annoyed the guys down at the shop coz i was really worried that someone would buy it before i got the amount so i was always in there making sure it had not sold, i ended up having to sell the 500 when i was 17 and got a brand new pc i was able to spend pretty much whatever i wanted and i was also able to pay no vat because of the way i got it, i didnt have the space at home in my bedroom to them both so had to let the 500 go, i was to find a 1200 on ebay a few years ago and still have it.
@@RetroGamesRediscovered it took months for me to be able to save up for it, i only had 16 quid a week from my paper round i had some other stuff that i could sell i also got some money for early xmas and birthday so that helped a bit, i was always riding down the shop, i was nervous that someone else would buy it first, i prob annoyed them being down there all the time but i did manage to get there, i upgraded it to a pc when i was 17 but i didnt have to pay the vat, i had to get rid of the amiga because i didnt have enough room in my bedroom for both so had to let it go, a few years ago i was looking on ebay and a decent spec 1200 so i still have that now
@@RetroGamesRediscovered it took months for me to be able to save up for it, i only had 16 quid a week from my paper round i had some other stuff that i could sell i also got some money for early xmas and birthday so that helped a bit, i was always riding down the shop, i was nervous that someone else would buy it first, i prob annoyed them being down there all the time but i did manage to get there, i upgraded it to a pc when i was 17 but i didnt have to pay the vat, i had to get rid of the amiga because i didnt have enough room in my bedroom for both so had to let it go, a few years ago i was looking on ebay and a decent spec 1200 so i still have that now
it took months for me to be able to save up for it, i only had 16 quid a week from my paper round i had some other stuff that i could sell i also got some money for early xmas and birthday so that helped a bit, i was always riding down the shop, i was nervous that someone else would buy it first, i prob annoyed them being down there all the time but i did manage to get there, i upgraded it to a pc when i was 17 but i didnt have to pay the vat, i had to get rid of the amiga because i didnt have enough room in my bedroom for both so had to let it go, a few years ago i was looking on ebay and a decent spec 1200 so i still have that now
I had a amiga1000, to this day, it's my password.
Oh…I’ve always thought the 500 was a downgrade version of the 1000! In a way it’s slightly the opposite?
Amiga 500 is a beautiful designed Amiga. Amiga 1000 is the greatest!
Thanks for your comment! Couldn’t agree more - the Amiga 500 has that classic design that’s hard not to love, but the Amiga 1000 really has a special place as a true pioneer. Both are fantastic in their own ways! Appreciate you sharing your thoughts! 😊
I didn't like the A500 because it looked just like the C128.
The A1000 is beautiful. But if you're going to buy one, the A500 is a better choice.
I own both.
A500 definitely. A1000 was a sort of missed concept, having a separate case from the keyboard but not being expandable, it didint make sense. So, separating it into 2 models, one with integrated keyboard and barely expandable, and 2nd having the case with expansion slots was the right move in 1987.
It was expandable. Just a bit less so.
@@TheGraemi Yeah, what i meant is there were no expansion slots, which should be the main purpose of the separate case. Thats it,
@@fradd182 It's possible that the idea of the design by Jay Miner, after they switched from console as a target to computer, was an all-in-one solution with minimal need for extension. And if so there were the front slot and the extension slot on the side. Also the separate keyboard is certainly more user friendly than e.g. Amiga 500/C64/Atari ST one. Beside that it looked more "professional" than a keyboard computer. 😉 Miner certainly wanted to differentiate compared to an e.g. C64.
But I agree that internal extension slots would have been nice. A3000 showed how to do a that in a nice way. 😊
You didn't use an A1000, did you? The A500 is my favorite for: design, memory map (1mb or 2mb chip ram) and great expansions. I got many of the iterations (1987 A500 w Hitek keyboard, 1988 w Samsung keyboard, and all to 1991 last design, the A500+). However, when I use my A1000 it feels premium, as it is a premium machine made in Japan by Sanyo. It has limitations as the 512kb chip ram only, otherwise it's a daily driver.
At the very least, the A1000 case makes a great platform to place the monitor on. Anyone placing a monitor directly on top of an Amiga 500 should be charged with computer-abuse. ;-] Also a quick reminder to people to remove the battery from the A500 RAM expansion module if you haven't already.