Amiga 2000

"A2000 -The Hollywood Star"

Released in March 1987, the Commodore Amiga 2000 is a multi-featured business machine based on the MC68000 CPU. The A2000 features OCS hardware graphics, PCM stereo sound, multitasking, and a GUI. The model was discontinued in 1991, shortly after Commodore released the Amiga 3000. The A2000 is a very expandable computer and the first Amiga with a Zorro II bus. It was designed with an open architecture, a feature that led several organizations, such as NASA, to use the A2000 for various tasks.

• Initially, the A2000 was sold for $1,495 (around $3,800 in today’s money)
• Several artists and TV studios used the A2000 (due to its multimedia capabilities and the iconic Video Toaster card)

A2000 AT A GLANCE

• AmigaOS version 1.3 (alternatively 1.2/2.0)
• Fully compatible with the Amiga 1000
• 68000 CPU running at 7.16 MHz (NTSC) or 7.09 MHz (PAL)
• 1 MB of RAM (512 KB of "chip" RAM and 512 KB additional RAM)
• 256/ 512 KB Kickstart ROM
• OCS graphics (4,096 colors)
• 5 x Zorro II card slots and 4 x PC ISA slots (in the motherboard)
• PCM Stereo sound

Colors & Graphic Modes

• OCS graphics (12-bit palette / 4,096 colors)
• 32, 64 (EHB), or 4,096 (HAM) colors on-screen
• Graphics can be easily upgraded to ECS, or even to RTG via Zorro cards

Pal Modes

• 320×256, 640×256, 640×512 (interlaced), and up to 704×576 (overscan)

NTSC modes

• 320×200, 640×200, 640×400 (interlaced), and up to 704×484 (overscan)

Special Modes

• Extra HalfBrite (EHB) mode
• Hold-And-Modify (HAM) mode, which allows all 4,096 colors on the screen

Sound Capabilities

The A2000 offers the same sound capabilities as all other Amigas:

• 2 stereo channels (4 × 8-bit PCM)
• 28 kHz DMA sampling rate, and up to 57 kHz
• The hardware channels have independent volumes (65 levels)
• Software controllable low-pass audio filter
• The A2000 sound can be upgraded with expansion cards (check below)

I/O Ports

• 2 DE-9 ports for mouse and joystick
• Keyboard port (5-pin DIN)
• Centronics style parallel port (DB-25F)
• RS-232C compatible serial port
• Analog RGB video out (DB-23M) compatible with old Amigas
• Mono video (RCA)
• Audio out (2 × RCA)
• 2nd disk drive (3.5" drive or 5.25" for IBM PC compatibility)
• Internal hard disk (requires a SCSI controller)

Monitors

• Commodore monitors (1084, etc.)
• Other RGB monitors (Philips CM 8833, etc.)
• 15 kHz VGA monitors with RGB to VGA adapter (monitors such as BenQ) 
• TVs via SCART cable (RGB to SCART)
• Modern VGA/HDMI monitors via video upscaling hardware

Related Models: A2000

The Amiga 2000/HD

The original Amiga 2000 included a single 3.5-inch floppy drive but no hard disk. However, the Amiga 2000/HD was bundled with a hard drive.

• SCSI-based hard drive (Amiga 2090 HD controller)

The Amiga 2500/20

In 1988, Commodore released the enhanced Amiga 2500/20 with 2 MB of RAM and the 68020 CPU.

• 2 MB of 32-bit-wide memory
• 68020 running at 14.3 MHz, 68881 FPU, and a 68851 MMU

The Amiga 2500/30

In 1989, Commodore released the further enhanced Amiga 2500/30, which used the 680030 (A2630 card).

• 4 MB of 32-bit memory, and up to 64 MB
• 68030 running at 25 MHz with the 68882 FPU (A2630 card)

The Amiga A2500UX

The Amiga 2500 was an Amiga 2000 running Unix.

• The A2500UX was running Unix and offering a tape drive
• There was also a UNIX-based machine built  on the Amiga 2500/30

A2000 Upgrades

The Amiga 2000 is a very expandable Amiga as it offers five (5) Zorro II card slots and four (4) PC ISA slots in the motherboard.

• The CPU can directly be upgraded to a 68010
• Accelerators (68020/68030/68040)
• Hard disk and CD-ROM drives
• ZIP drive (Iomega Zip Drive)
• Internal Gotek drive (2nd drive)
• Graphic cards (Picasso, ZZ9000, etc.)
• Audio cards (Prisma Megamix, ZZ9000AX for the ZZ9000, etc,)
• Network cards
• A2088 bridgeboard (IBM XT), and other cards for up to 80486 PC emulation
• The iconic Video Toaster from NewTek

■ The Amiga 2000

BinaryValue.com (c)