IIgs Expansion Card Recommendations

Stinkerton18

Stinkerton18

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Aug 18, 2022
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Hey folks! I have recently acquired a IIgs. I've already ordered a 4MB RAM card to replace the stock/original one and am planning on getting a ReActiveMicroDrive for it.

I'm curious about what other expansion cards folks have or recommend. I'm using a BMOW Floppy emu, so I don't really need a Floppy controller card. What do you have in your IIgs?
 
Currently, mine has an AE GS-RAM Plus in the memory expansion slot, and an Apple II High Speed SCSI card in slot 7. All other slots are set to their default port settings, so not in use. For the most part, unless you're planning on using a parallel printer, either a disk ][ 5.25" drive or a G7287 FDHD drive, or plan to run CP/M software, there isn't much of a need for other cards. Maybe a sound card, like the AE Sonic Blaster, or an accelerator, would be cool...
 
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My IIgs has a 8MB DarkRAM from ByteBoosters, a Apple II High Speed SCSI card from @Garth Beagle (with a BlueSCSI attached of course), a LiteSound Apple IIgs Stereo Audio from @jcm-1, and a “GR8RAM” 8+ MB Slinky/RamFactor RAM from @Zane Kaminski

I use my IIgs though more like a glorified Apple II - run some GS/OS sometimes.

One of the nice things about the IIgs is that almost all the basics are there already.
 
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+1 on the 8 MB DarkRAM from ByteBoosters I have in my IIGS. :)

Another item I want to get soon:

AppleSqueezer GS

That will make your IIGS scream and zip! :) Also, it includes 14 MB RAM, so you will not need a memory card. An immense RAM disk of up to 240 MB is available with a driver. New features are being added regularly. With this, GSOS will feel smooth and usable. For games and some sound or music programs, acceleration can be adjusted, too.

There is the Uthernet II ethernet adapter card. I have heard that WiFi is being worked on. The current GG Labs SCSI card revision 3 can use BlueSCSI on the IIGS. Alternatively, the ReActive Micro CF card adapter or SD Disk ][ Plus is available.

Oh, there is the VidHD card to hook up to the big HDMI screen.
 
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eric said:
My IIgs has a 8MB DarkRAM from ByteBoosters, a Apple II High Speed SCSI card from @Garth Beagle (with a BlueSCSI attached of course), a LiteSound Apple IIgs Stereo Audio from @jcm-1, and a “GR8RAM” 8+ MB Slinky/RamFactor RAM from @Zane Kaminski

I use my IIgs though more like a glorified Apple II - run some GS/OS sometimes.

One of the nice things about the IIgs is that almost all the basics are there already.
Click to expand...
Ohhh I didn't know about the LiteSound card. That's really cool that it's transparent! I think I will pick one up. Appreciate the suggestion!

I didn't go with an 8MB card, I did get a RAMGS/4 from GGLabs though. The 8MB seemed a bit excessive for most apps.
 
retr01 said:
+1 on the 8 MB DarkRAM from ByteBoosters I have in my IIGS. :)

Another item I want to get soon:

AppleSqueezer GS

That will make your IIGS scream and zip! :) Also, it includes 14 MB RAM, so you will not need a memory card. An immense RAM disk of up to 240 MB is available with a driver. New features are being added regularly. With this, GSOS will feel smooth and usable. For games and some sound or music programs, acceleration can be adjusted, too.

There is the Uthernet II ethernet adapter card. I have heard that WiFi is being worked on. The current GG Labs SCSI card revision 3 can use BlueSCSI on the IIGS. Alternatively, the ReActive Micro CF card adapter or SD Disk ][ Plus is available.

Oh, there is the VidHD card to hook up to the big HDMI screen.
Click to expand...
jots notes

The ethernet adapter is odd to me. I admit I haven't checked into it but can GS/OS support ethernet? I kinda wonder if it would be easier to copy/run apps and games from an AppleTalk file share.
EDIT: Ahhh looks like Marinetti is the best option, provides a lot of useful tools including an FTP and HTTP client that I could use to pull files down with.
 
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Stinkerton18 said:
The ethernet adapter is odd to me. I admit I haven't checked into it but can GS/OS support ethernet? I kinda wonder if it would be easier to copy/run apps and games from an AppleTalk file share.
EDIT: Ahhh looks like Marinetti is the best option, provides a lot of useful tools including an FTP and HTTP client that I could use to pull files down with.
Click to expand...
Yes, I use AFPBridge (https://sheumann.github.io/AFPBridge/) to get on my netatalk file server and print over my network to a PostScript-capable printer using Direct Connect PostScript Printer Driver (DCPPD) for GS/OS 6.0.x (http://www.apple2works.com/directconnectpostscriptdriver/) and Treehugger (http://krue.net/treehugger/).
 
My GS has a TransWarp, an AI InnerDrive and a GG Labs 8MB RAM card. Thinking about a proper SCSI card or network, though.

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retr01 said:
How do you like the Applesqueezer GS? :) What is the "OG" model?
Click to expand...
I like it. It works well enough to make the IIgs achieve its proper 14 MHz glory.
The "OG" model is what @niek made before one of the components were no longer in stock. He's redesigned the board to not rely on that component and that is what will be available going forward. The new ones will have an SD slot so you can save / load the contents from / to the 240 MB RAMdisk.
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