Task: Purchase an A600 GS for Emulation of Amiga Computers
Needed: A600 GS
Time: 15-30 minutes
Disclosure: Note that as an eBay Partner Network Affiliate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.
Introduction
Purchasing an Amiga computer can be an expensive endeavor given their demand. An Amiga 1200 can easily run $750 or more. Fortunately, there are several options for emulation. I have previously posted about the WinUAE emulator and the Amiga Game Selector for playing games and running software on your PC. These are great options and can be run on a Raspberry Pi as a dedicated machine. Alternatively, there several new standalone hardware solutions for the Amiga experience. I recently purchased the A600 GS from AmigaKit and have been quite happy with it. It comes in a compact unit with emulation provided by an Orange Pi computer. Features include a nice games menu, AmiBench desktop, up to 1GB of fast memory, dual 9-pin joystick ports, micro-HDMI video output, wireless internet, Bluetooth, several USB data ports, and a 3.5mm stereo audio jack.
I found setup to be easy and quick. I was up and running in about 5-10 minutes. Loading games is as easy as dropping ADFs on a thumb drive.
Instructions
The A600 GS can be purchased for around $185 from AmigaKit. Mine game with a joypad, a power cable, and a micro-HDMI cable which is nice because those are harder to find.
There is a nice instruction manual with easy instructions for setup and use that comes with the A600.
Comments
I have been very impressed with the A600. They developers did a nice job with the hardware and have clearly gone to a lot of work to make the user experience easy and fun. Loading and launching games on the systems is a breeze. My only criticism is the that cover on the back of the unit is a little flimsy. A metal plate would help give it a quality feel and protect the connectors.