Commodore C64, Officially Reborn

Commodore is showing photos of its new C64 computer. Some of you are too young to remember this 8-bit classic computer, but it will spark great memories for others. And that’s exactly what Commodore is counting on as it recreates the C64 using modern hardware. The new C64 is powered by a Dual-core Intel Atom 525 and an NVIDIA Ion 2 chipset. It has 2GB of memory, expandable to a maximum of 4GB. On either side, there are media readers (DVD, flash cards) and the back has all the modern outputs that you can expect: HDMI, DVI, VGA, USB, Ethernet, Audio – and even the IBM PS/2 keyboard and mouse connectors. Externally, it looks like the original C64.

Because it’s basically a PC, it runs Windows – but you can also boot directly to the C64 emulator and play games/apps (I’m not certain about the level of compatibility). Will selling a classic-looking computer work? We’ll have to see. There’s no doubt that a number of fans will order it, but the world has since moved to thinner and more attractive designs. In the meantime, I’ll be waiting for the Amiga 500 version.

Specifications from Commodore

MODEL: Commodore 64x
PROCESSOR: Intel® Atom D525 1.80GHz (Formerly Pineview-D)
CHIPSET: Intel NM10 (Formerly Tiger Point), NVIDIA ION Graphics (ION2)
MEMORY: 2 x DDR2 667/800 Single Channel DIMM slots (up to 4 GB)
GRAPHICS: Next-Generation NVIDIA ION Graphics Processor
AUDIO: Realtek ALC662 6-CH HD Audio, Nvidia L-PCM digital audio (HDMI 1.3) can support 7.1 output with external decoder
LAN: Realtek RTL8111DL PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet

– 12 VDC jack on back panel for external power supply
– Dedicated DDR3 512MB Graphics Memory Onboard
– DirectX 10 graphics
– PureVideo Full 1080p HD video and Blu-ray playback
– NVIDIA CUDA technology

ONBOARD I/O

CONNECTORS: 1 mini PCI Express x1 Slot
1 Serial header (RS232)
4 SATA2 3Gb/s Connectors with RAID 0, 1, JBOD functions (SATA#3,#4)
2 USB Pin Headers for up to 3 additional USB 2.0 Ports
1 8 bit GPIO header
1 CIR header
1 9-pin Audio Connector
1 Front Panel Connector
3 Fan Headers
1 4-pin Power Connector

Hubert Nguyen
Categories: Computers
Tags: emulator