Last Updated on January 8, 2021
Amiga-inspired Mini ITX case the Checkmate A1500 Mini looks set to enter production following a successful Kickstarter campaign that smashed the £50,000 target.
Intended for building an Amiga without any original parts, the Checkmate A1500 Mini campaign is by former Amiga hardware designer Stephen Jones.
The basic option is £159 and comes in black or white. It includes:
- A tray with attached rear panel
- Drive tray
- The front injection molded front panel with LED board
- A blank panel insert
- Power switch and lead
- LED cables
- Screw pack
- Plain brown packaging
- Downloadable PDF electronic copy of the manual
Alternatively, the £199 option is in black and white and adds a DVD tray for the LG GS04N slot loading drive, usually found in laptops. The case is Mini ITX form factor, so is suitable for a Raspberry Pi 4, UnAmiga, MiSTiX, or simply a suitable ITX PC motherboard.
This new case, is for building an Amiga without having any Amiga parts, this is why we have had two FPGA board adapters designed, see lower down, to create perfect recreations of an accelerated AGA based Amiga 1200, as well as a Mini ITX fitting kit for the Raspberry Pi4. Of course, you could just fit a Mini ITX PC instead.
The Checkmate A1500 Mini from iMica Ltd is a follow up to the Checkmate 1500 Plus, a desktop style case for Amiga 500, 600, and 1200 computers. Also the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign, the Checkmate 1500 Plus “turns” a standard Amiga home computer into a system reminiscent of an Amiga 3000, with all the necessary space for modern upgrades and expansions.
The video above is more of a proof-of-concept – here’s the main campaign video.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/checkmate1500mini/amiga-3000-inspired-mini-itx-computer-case?ref=section-homepage-view-more-recommendations-p1
Excited? with 263 confirmed backers you’re not alone. At the time of writing there is still time to back this awesome project, and we’ve only scratched the surface here, sohead to the Kickstarter to back it today.
Gaming since 1984, retro gaming since 2004. Contributes to Linux Format magazine, TechRadar.com, and other publications.
