Technology: The C64 Makes a Comeback!

The original Commodore 64, circa 1982.

Anyone over a certain age may well remember with a certain fondness the 80s heavyweight, the Commodore 64, the successor of Commodore's then popular VIC-20 (ya, I'm old enough to fondly remember both of those!) followed by the relatively forgettable C128. The C64 made it's public debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, 1982, and hit store shelves later that same year. It quickly outsold it's competitors - the Apple II and the Atari 400/800 - due to it's flexible hardware and low cost: an impressive $595US. The C64 managed to out perform business class computers of the day on graphics while remaining relatively affordable. That meant kids got them for Christmas and video games were a favorite on the system. For some it was also the first time they got a taste for programming by entering BASIC code and getting simplistic programs running.

Despite a few attempts by Commodore to discontinue the C64 in favor of other, higher priced machines, constant demand made its discontinuation a hard task. By 1988, Commodore was selling 1.5 million C64s worldwide. Although demand for the C64 dropped off in the US by 1990, it continued to be popular in the UK and other European countries. In the end, economics, not obsolescence, sealed the C64's fate: in March 1994, at CeBIT in Hanover, Germany, Commodore announced that the C64 would be finally discontinued in 1995. Commodore stated that the C64's disk drive was more expensive to manufacture than the C64 itself. Although Commodore had planned to discontinue the C64 by 1995, the company filed for bankruptcy a month later, in April 1994.

Even with it's absence from the market, the Commodore 64 never really fell from public perception. Many musicians took the C64's sound chips and built them into synthesizers, due to it's distinct sound.

The new, and drastically improved C64x.

Fast forward to present day, and the C64 is set to make a comeback, of sorts. In keeping with nostalgia, the new system looks almost exactly the same as the original unit, but the hardware inside is very different and a few decades more powerful. It has also been renamed the C64x.

What Commodore USA has done is fitted a Mini-ITX board inside the casing allowing a modern OS such as Windows or Linux to be run, but also they managed to include a Commodore operating system for that authentic experience.
When you boot the C64x a menu appears allowing a choice between the Commodore OS or your modern OS of choice. Loading Commodore OS 1.0 gives you access to C64 emulation, a classic selection of games, productivity apps, and lots of open source software. It looks like that option may only come later, though, and for now the machine ships with a copy of Ubuntu 10.04.

So how does this new model compare to the original? For pure processing power, graphics performance, and sound capabilities the new C64x easily wins:
C64 (Price: $595 in 1982, the equivalent of $1367 today)

• 0.985MHz 8-bit MOS Technology 6510 processor
• 64KB RAM (38KB for BASIC programs)
• MOS Technology VIC-II graphics chip (16 colors, 112 sprites maximum)
• MOS Technology SID sound chip

C64x (Price: starting at $595)

• 1.80GHz Intel Atom processor
• Up to 4GB RAM
• Nvidia ION2 graphcis chip (unlimited sprites)
• Realtek 6-channel HD audio

While the original has ports for a cartridge expansion, composite video, serial bus, tape interface, and a user port for modems, the new model has what you’d expect from a modern machine including a card reader, USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet, DVI, VGA, and HDMI.

How much you pay for a C64x depends on the model you choose, with 5 being on offer (Barebones, Basic, Standard, Deluxe, Ultimate). The options per model include more RAM, a DVD or Blu-ray drive, and larger hard drives. The Barebones unit only gives you the case, chassis, keyboard, and card reader and costs $250. A usable system shoots the price up to $595 for the C64x Basic, and then prices escalate right up to the C64x Ultimate at $895.

A breakdown of the C64x options.

What you are being offered here is a modern machine, but with a retro feel. That’s going to appeal to a lot of original C64 owners, but it may also make for a good way to introduce your kids to the world of computers in the same way you experienced it, only with 2011 levels of performance.