Unboxing and Reviewing the A600GS: A New Amiga Classic 68k Computer from AmigaKit

[@RussGreeno]

Looks a nice enough box but why use the A600 name if it has no resemblance to one?

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

I thought that too, I did wonder why they didn't call it the A300GS

[@RETRONuts]

@@RetroGamesRediscovered Because the same reason a ARMIGA is called a ARMIGA so it feels like a AMIGA, they are playing with 30 years of nostalgia ... :)

[@cjh0751]

Because personal computers first used DB-25 connectors for their serial and parallel ports, when the PC serial port began to use 9-pin connectors, they were often labeled as DB-9 instead of DE-9 connectors, due to an ignorance of the fact that B represented a shell size.

[@Kobold666]

Finally I get to see that thing in action. Thank you. I didn't expect much from the device (and its creator) but I'm still underwhelmed.

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Thanks for your comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Yeah I was a little underwhelmed by it too to be honest. I was hoping for a lot more!

[@lawrencemanning]

"A New Amiga Classic 68k Computer". Erm, hardly.

[@jamesthompson6557]

Is this just emulation in a box, like a $30 Raspberry Pi?

[@wonderdog8895]

Yup, its an Orange Pi on a daughter board (for the 9pin joystick ports). Not sure who the target market is if I'm being honest.

[@mickm6309]

DOpus is a multipanel file management/directory tool, was really handy for copying files from one location to another. That Clown Picture I think came with one of the Amiga Paint programs and was often used on Public Domain disks. I know I have seen it 1000's of times.

[@geofftottenperthcoys9944]

DOpus is still around today for PC, I have it.

[@lawrence.porter]

You should have familiarised yourself with it before reviewing. I’m glad I saw this review before I bought one. It doesn’t look ready. I’ll wait for a new version.

[@lawrencemanning]

@@lawrence.porter build a Mister. Much more useful.

[@GreekRetroMan]

Another emulator with orange pi zero w I think 😂

[@JayDee-iy5be]

Nothing wrong with using emulation where needed. It's using a native ARM graphics library and they intend to make more components native.

[@xsm5525]

no one's allowed to make another true Amiga because the whole roms licence situation.

[@JasonOakley]

That's some Good Stuff right there!

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Hi Jason! Thanks for the kind words - I'm glad you enjoyed the video! If you haven't already, please consider subscribing to the channel for more awesome retro gaming content and updates. Your support means a lot!

[@JasonOakley]

@@RetroGamesRediscovered Good Stuff might also be what the "GS" stands for ;)

[@brianstuntman4368]

I'm interested, but after searching around I couldn't find much in-depth details for the hardware or Octamed 8.

[@proteque]

Waiting for mine. Hope it get dropped in my direction soon. Thanx for making this. Btw: db9 :)

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Thanks for your comment and watching the video. Yes, it's a really impressive little machine!

[@janwiersma1449]

nice !!! Deos the MiDI in/out in octamed 8 work via usb to midi really work?

[@amigadude]

Both DB9s have stopped working on mine already... and even when they were working up didn't work on port 1 😒

[@gavinburnett5641]

Interesting. I like the fact that it plays a sound sample of a floppy disk being inserted when you click on the disk icon. The bundled software looks decent - just to let you know - dopus is a file manager application. I wonder if you can install a web browser yet, as then it could be used as a PC, and not just a games machine.

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Hi Gavin! Thanks for watching and for your insightful comment! I love the floppy disk sound effect too - it adds to the nostalgic feel. Thanks for the info about dopus being a file manager, I hadn't heard of it before. As for a web browser, I do hope one is planned. If you haven't already, please subscribe to the channel for more retro gaming content and updates. Thanks again for your support!

[@-NiEr]

Can that floppy disk sound be deactivated. It will probably get annoying after a while. - Or can it be changed to a more "pleasant" sound?

[@-NiEr]

Does this use the same type of (ARM?) processor etc. as the A500 mini..?

[@JayDee-iy5be]

I think it's a similar ARM SoC and I know the graphics library is native ARM.

[@AnnatarTheMaia]

No details on the hardware, not even on the GS600 wiki; that reeks of emulation, rather than having real MC680x0 hardware, or even an FPGA implementation...

[@lawrencemanning]

@@AnnatarTheMaia yes indeed. Not able to dig up a board pic in 30 seconds of looking, as I was curious how the joystick posts were done. Otherwise this is not even slightly interesting unfortunately.

[@mvickers03]

You would think that if it’s emulated the specs would be much better

[@another3997]

I don't think AmigaKit have suggested it is anything other than an emulated Amiga.

[@AnnatarTheMaia]

@@another3997 I don't think AmigaKit has suggested anything at all!

[@Turrican]

What's the browser like?

[@V3ntilator]

If you already have A500 Mini with a DB-9 Adapter, is there any reason at all to get this?

[@bigd5090]

They have the Amistore inbound which could be a game changer to support ondgoing 68k development. Other than that I would say no but if they offer a functioning RS-232 serial port by utilising the internal serial header and make it fully Amiga compatible I'm in!

[@V3ntilator]

@@bigd5090 Thanks. I'm not that active with AMIGA, so i don't need the serial. I still own 4 real Amiga's and a CD32 with Promodule. Amibench in black looks nice.

[@SpeccyMan]

@@V3ntilator 4 real Amigas do not require an apostrophe. No simple plural EVER does!

[@V3ntilator]

@@SpeccyMan Why are you telling me about your personal problem when i have no clue who you are? I'm not a therapist.

[@another3997]

​@@V3ntilatorWhy are you asking about personal problems when he's telling you about grammatical errors? The apostrophe was used incorrectly. You have "4 Amigas". You use the apostrophe to signify belonging to something. Eg "my Amiga's hard drive".

[@BlufftonMicrocosmicExperiment]

I would like to see this thing opened, see what chips are there, and see if this is a mere Pi Orange 3 Mini or what ever. I'd hope this is Pi 5 Standards at the very very least. I purchased for OctaMED, will find out soon enough, but ya... strange that no one is tearing them down and posting specs...

[@jediknight2350]

there a youtube video of opening it up

[@GraphicalRanger]

Interesting device. How easy is it to use Amibench, like can we load up say an Amiga basic package? BTW thanks for the overview!

[@ZXDunny]

"DB9" :D

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Thank you!

[@scapeyblah4367]

Shame the ones people have ordered are still not delivered but guess i will just have to wait!!

[@r4z-0rs.ed-9e]

Get a Pi4 with Pimiga, its way more fun I guess...

[@dempseydiscus]

Nice review, but it seems this is not a very 'polished' product, maybe even a bit unfinished, you chose on-screen keyboard when no real keyboard was connected and on the next screen you can't type in the SSID of your wifi because theres no keyboard, on-screen or physical :-)) sorry, this device is definitely not for me and I must say, that for my purposes, an A500Mini does just as good, and if I wanted to do more, I'd probably just use WinUAE on my pc.

[@broadblues]

Press the fire button on gamepad to activate the onscreen keyboard 🙂

[@DragonNova]

Yep personally I'll stick with my mister

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Hi dempseydiscuss! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts. I understand your concerns about the on-screen keyboard and connectivity issues. I didn't know this at the time of recording the video, but after reading some of the comments, in order to activate the on-screen keyboard, you need to press the fire button on the gamepad. The A600GS does have some quirks, but it also offers a unique experience for those who enjoy classic computing. The A500 Mini and WinUAE are great alternatives for different needs. If you haven't already, please subscribe to the channel for more retro gaming content and updates. I appreciate your feedback and support!

[@SpeccyMan]

Ah. The perils of not RTFM!

[@another3997]

Do you often go around commenting on KZbin, telling everyone about how you don't need something and aren't interested in it? Seems like a pointless exercise... there must be millions of things reviewed on KZbin that you DON'T want. 😁

[@jediknight2350]

dopus4 is a file manager type thing

[@JCCyC]

Controller is SNES

[@nickscott9129]

With the budget FPGA MisTer clone around the corner for less cost then this it's worth anyone waiting instead, much better bang for buck.

[@darrenhunter2324]

Is this emulation or is it using an FPGA???

[@agvelli]

Please, share some benchmarks. Tnx

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Thanks for your comment, I will do in the next video. Please subscribe if you haven't already.

[@agvelli]

Done!👍

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Thank you!

[@davegrams1438]

Thank you for putting the video together. We'll done. Unfortunately, there is nothing in this unit that excites me. I have a 9pin adapter already for the mini, the mini comes with a mouse and a SOLID gamepad, not a 3.99 cheap snes pad. The mini looks the part, and this looks boring and yet cumbersome to use. If it were an only choice, it might be good...

[@PatrickOwens-xb2jn]

Could you use a drawing tablet also! A multi track music recording studio app would be amazing! PD software!

[@domramsey]

From what I understand, this is a VERY over priced emulator with a horrible interface and a slightly shoddy case. You'd be much, much better off just using a Pi 5 for this kind of emulation.

[@yogibear2k220]

Totally agree. Though personally I would rather use winuae. Far superior. And I hate that this hasn't got proper workbench, just some proprietary crap they chose to put on here.

[@another3997]

​@@yogibear2k220You can install and customise any version of the Amiga OS and/or GUI you want. Many modern 'Amiga' products use something other than the ridiculously simple and outdated standard Workbench from back in the day. There are a great many options out there.

[@yogibear2k220]

@@another3997 sorry but an Amiga Is not an Amiga without workbench. It's just another boring Linux machine.

[@Ihatebrexit]

@@yogibear2k220it has AmiBench which is basically workbench… It’s based on AROS + their own stuff. They’ve rewritten the data types libraries / system from scratch. These libraries “bang” the ARM metal. Plus you get a load of updated productivity software with it.

[@chryoko]

Looks like a cheap Android box using a very old ARM apu. Would have appreciated to see the inside.

[@broadblues]

Great video thanks for taking the time to make it. Some follow ups: To activate the main gui on screen keyboard when you enter the text gadgets, press the fire button. When you are in a game you can activate the game keyboard by press select on the gamepad. Wifi SSID scans when you enter the SSID text box with a drop down that auto completes the SSID or lets you choose with a mouse. When you got that mouse pointer freeze in AmiBench, press the 'start' button on the gamepad (or F12 if a real keyboard is attached) and you will bring up the "PAUSE MENU" this allows you to quit gracefully back to the main GUI. The "PAUSE MENU" also offers other functions like inert floppy choose between disk in multi folppy game etc. In the dock just a single click needed.

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Thanks for watching and for your detailed feedback! Thanks for the tips for activating the on-screen keyboard and handling the WiFi SSID scans. They'll be handy to know when I power it on next, although I've just bought a USB keyboard for it too. Your advice about the "PAUSE MENU" in AmiBench and single-clicking in the dock will be super helpful for everyone. I'll definitely try these out in my next video. If you haven't already, please subscribe to the channel for more retro gaming content and updates. Thanks again!

[@deemonk7860]

Wait so there is no on/off switch on it?😅

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

There is an on/off switch on the power cable, I just chose to unplug the cable in the video.

[@vertigoz]

The original box had the switch on the power supply, I guess they wanted to stay faithful xD

[@keyboard_g]

Like the Raspberry Pi.

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Yes, exactly like the Raspberry Pi

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

That's a very good point!

[@pnvgordinho]

I want a mini cd32.

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Yes that would be great, I think RetroGames Ltd have got something coming in Q4 of 2024 and it's rumoured to be a CD32. Fingers crossed it is! Thanks for your comment, I'd really appreciate a subscribe if you haven't already done so 👍🏻

[@mikegage3326]

Good Stuff?

[@PatrickOwens-xb2jn]

A good online play people over the internet chess game should be made called 'chess club'! That would be good!

[@Hasse.Andersson]

uhhh... really nothing new to see here are there? Same old stuff in a different theme... What would be more interesting (for me) would be information about how they pull it off, software or hardware emulation, is it running at stock speed, what graphics modes do you have to play with, does it emulate a soundcard and so on... nice video though, thumbs up on that!

[@RetroGamesRediscovered]

Hi Hass.Andersson! Thanks for watching and for your feedback. I understand your curiosity about the technical details. The A600GS uses a combination of hardware and software emulation. It runs at stock speed with various graphics modes and soundcard emulation. I'll dive deeper into these aspects in an upcoming video. If you haven't already, please subscribe to the channel for more in-depth content and updates. Thanks for the thumbs up and your support!

[@alkenstein]

It didn't seem like a great experience honestly, lots of unexpected things or not working!

[@another3997]

Could be a pre-production board? Also, when the reviewer of an Amiga related product doesn't know what Directory Opus is, and can't be bothered to figure out the onscreen keyboard or plug in a real keyboard, I wouldn't place too much faith in their review.

[@r4z-0rs.ed-9e]

to be honest...every Raspberry Pi with Pimiga from Chris has more features, more software, more fun. I dont get the point in buying extra non 68k hardware that looks like a console, without mouse, keyboard. There is plenty of amiberry, UAE and so on if you like having an emulator...😂 I prefer Pimiga to this, its a Pi4 with Amiberry plus plenty of software and you have a full linux computer additionally...😂

[@wimwiddershins]

Amiga themed keyboard required for authentic feels.

[@jauspicios]

That’s is not an Amiga

[@perihelion7445]

I'm assuming it runs AGA games so the name of it is ridiculous. Why not A1200GS or just straight out AmigaGS?

[@arcadeages3917]

What’s the point of this? We already have RaspBerry pi for a cheap solution

[@acen2000]

This will be some kind of Raspberry pi type board no doubt. It's too cheap to be fpga, so I'm guessing it's arm based emulation with a horrible custom frontend. Why doesn't it have a proper workbench? Awful. It's not worthy of being called an Amiga.

[@thebirdhandler5963]

Wow that really was slow moving between menus in Amibench, my 500 is faster

[@A600GS]

Your Amiga 500 does not run a Workbench in 1080p 32bit

[@ChrisFaulkner]

better off just using your emulator..