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Both cards are equally compatible - they will run games in WHDload and Scummvm.
The ACA1234 at 50MHz has considerably more power because of it's modern RAM design: Shorter first-access time and shortest-possible burst sequence, combined with a MapROM option that does not require activation of the MMU. I'm mentioning the MMU, because that always takes away some performance due to address translation time.
Further, the ACA1234 has the local CF card slot that easily beats the SCSI module of the B1230-IV - if you can even get that. Having a very fast mass-storage device is possibly the greatest performance boost in "everyday life", especially if you have a large WHDload library: Opening a drawer with lots of titles in it will be visibly faster.
The amount of memory almost does not matter - for most applications, you can even live with 8MBytes of fastmem, However, more memory never hurts, and the choice between small and large is hardly a choice of money any more. I just decided to use 128MByte because less memory wouldn't save enough money to make a much better price (going down to 64MByte saves less than 3,- EUR). There are indeed only very few applications that require this much memory - large ray tracing scenes and compiling large C projects comes to mind, but memory always helps when running lots of programs in multitasking.
There are some parts of the ACA1234 that you can't compare to the Blizzard, for example the method of installing a WB (takes seconds and does not requrie the WB isntall disks), speeding up the local IDE port or boot from a CF card in the PCMCIA slot (with CF adapter). So while it's faster in CPU and mass storage, it also comes with more convenience options that will let you use your A1200 even if your floppy drive is defective. Oh, did I mention that our AmiTCP package is part of the ACA1234? If you have a PCMCIA networking card, you can install/use AmiTCP with just a few clicks.
Jens
Thanks a lot for the reply!
That indeed sound like the ACA1234 is the clear choice for me! 
What I had in mind was the stock speeded ACA1234 at 25Mhz.. the 50Mhz version costs a bit much for me at the moment :(.
But from what I understand I can buy a speed upgrade if I feel that I "need" it?
Would the 25Mhz version also be able to handle Scummvm you think?
But from what I understand I can buy a speed upgrade if I feel that I "need" it?
You have free trial runs to see if you a) need it and b) if the CPU can actually handle that speed. Most do, but some 25MHz types may not be happy beyond 40MHz.
Would the 25Mhz version also be able to handle Scummvm you think?
The archive with the 030 version of Scummvm on Aminet says that you need a FAST 68030. 25MHz doesn't exactly qualify for that. Depending on your patience, you may get what you want at 40MHz, but since that is a very personal judgement, I suggest you'll just try it. I can't really think of a "worst case" scenario: You'll have your answer, and you can't break anything when trying.
Jens
Display MoreThanks a lot for the reply!
That indeed sound like the ACA1234 is the clear choice for me!
What I had in mind was the stock speeded ACA1234 at 25Mhz.. the 50Mhz version costs a bit much for me at the moment :(.
But from what I understand I can buy a speed upgrade if I feel that I "need" it?
Would the 25Mhz version also be able to handle Scummvm you think?
Sorry to say, but forget ScummVM on an 030 CPU, even if you disable music and sound it is much too slow. It won't even run smooth on a 040 CPU, finally you need a 060.
I don’t understand why anyone would want to use their original Amiga for emulation when that can be done much more efficiently with modern day hardware.
What’s the benefit of using your Amiga for this? The hardware is 30+ years old now.
I don’t understand why anyone would want to use their original Amiga for emulation when that can be done much more efficiently with modern day hardware.
What’s the benefit of using your Amiga for this? The hardware is 30+ years old now.
Maybe the same benefit like emulation of PC, NES, Macintosh and others? Or using any other program on Amiga - because near every task there you can do more efficiently with modern hardware. Simply joy, tradition, old world beauty... whatever nice you want.
Not even C64 can be emulated in a useful way on Amigas though 
Maybe the same benefit like emulation of PC, NES, Macintosh and others? Or using any other program on Amiga - because near every task there you can do more efficiently with modern hardware. Simply joy, tradition, old world beauty... whatever nice you want.
Emulation is processor intensive and there are no heat sinks or case fans on original hardware. Remember that your Amiga hardware is 30 years old and very hard to replace. Anything can be emulated on modern hardware. I just don’t see the point, but to each their own.
Maybe the same benefit like emulation of PC, NES, Macintosh and others? Or using any other program on Amiga - because near every task there you can do more efficiently with modern hardware. Simply joy, tradition, old world beauty... whatever nice you want.
Exactly :D. I just want to use the amiga more, and if I were to play those other adventure games on my 1084 I am sure they would look awesome.. compared to the PC CRT monitor which is a bit TOO sharp tbh.
Emulation is processor intensive and there are no heat sinks or case fans on original hardware. Remember that your Amiga hardware is 30 years old and very hard to replace. Anything can be emulated on modern hardware. I just don’t see the point, but to each their own.
You are absolutely right. From technical point of view. I absolutely agree with your statement about cooling of old CPUs.
But I also often use emulation - mainly DOSBox and ScummVM. I don't why, but I like it more on my 20 years old Micro A1-C, than on my fast dual-xeon workstation. Simply, it brings me more joy.
Briefly bouncing back to the OP's original query, I've sampled a a number of '030 cards including the Blizzard 1230 IV, and the ACA1234 is IMO the superior card. While it outperforms the Blizzard in benchmarks, you'll also notice that the machine feels a tad "zippier" in practice with the ACA installed. Booting from the same CF card happens faster on the ACA1234 vs the Blizzard + IDE-Fix Express. Like the Blizzard, stability is flawless in my experience.
I'm a fan of DMA SCSI, but it would be a challenge to mount the SCSI kit along with the necessary adapters for a CF card inside the original case.
Note that the more expensive MLC CF cards will perform a bit better, especially with regard to writes (I've used Swissbit and Delkin here with great results).
The Blizzard is still an awesome and reliable card, but for me the ACA remains permanently installed in my A1200. I only wish Jens would consider a "limited edition" 56 MHz version. 
I only wish Jens would consider a "limited edition" 56 MHz version.
Sorry, that's not going to happen for very basic practical reasons: The CPUs that were stable at 55.555MHz were selected from a large batch of 50MHz CPUs in a long and tedious process. The amount of CPUs that can't run at this pace for extended periods of timeis very low, and I have had lots of 50MHz CPUs sorted out ever since my very first ACA1230 accelerator has hit the market. I am not going to do this again, as it would make both the 50MHz version and a faster version significantly more expensive.
If you want more speed, the ACA1240 will provide that.
Jens
I guess simpler ram expansions alone isnt enough for the more cpu demanding whdload games?
The ACA1211 wil give you more speed, but by far not as much as the ACA1234@25MHz will give you. For Frontier, you'll need two things, CPU power and chipram access speed. The latter is capped at 7MB/s write speed, which is the chipset limit, but reached by all speeds of the ACA1234. If you feel that 25MHz doesn't give you smooth-enoughanimation, you can try overclocking your card, and if it works nicely, obtain a permanent license for the overclocking rate of your choice. So the 25MHz card is a good bet.
Jens
