6502 Archives - The Silicon Underground

Commodore RAM expansion units

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 11:00:57 +0000

The 6502-family CPUs in Commodore 8-bit computers famously used 64K of RAM at a time. But in 1985, Commodore introduced a cartridge that added up to 512K of RAM to the 128. Commodore followed up soon after with a 256K cartridge for

The post Commodore RAM expansion units appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Commodore 64 Z80 cartridge

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 11:00:32 +0000

One of the most popular add-ons for an Apple II added CP/M compatibility. So I guess it should be no surprise that Commodore tried the same thing. But the Commodore 64 CP/M operating system and the associate Commodore 64 Z80

The post Commodore 64 Z80 cartridge appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Disadvantages of the 8086 microprocessor

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 11:00:43 +0000

An 8086-series microprocessor, the 8088, powered the original IBM PC. Its direct descendants power PCs to this day. Not only that, they power modern Macs too. This was always controversial, especially running Mac OS on Intel chips. Why? What are

The post Disadvantages of the 8086 microprocessor appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

The Atari 2600 CPU: The MOS 6507

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 29 May 2017 11:00:40 +0000

The Atari 2600 CPU was a nondescript MOS 6507 chip. Neither Intel nor Motorola had a CPU chip in the early 1970s that could meet Atari’s price point. MOS Technology didn’t have one either, but they asked Atari what they

The post The Atari 2600 CPU: The MOS 6507 appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Radio Shack computers

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 25 May 2017 11:00:13 +0000

Radio Shack released one of the first home computers, the TRS-80 Model I, in 1977. Between 1977 and 1979, it sold 100,000 units. Radio Shack sold them just as quickly as Tandy could make them. You can count Radio Shack and

The post Radio Shack computers appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Commodore 64 vs Amiga

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 12:00:14 +0000

Looking at the Commodore 64 vs Amiga seems a little odd, at least to me. After all, the machines were never intended to be rivals. The Amiga was supposed to succeed the 64. Commodore bought Amiga because they couldn’t make a

The post Commodore 64 vs Amiga appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

History of overclocking

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 12:00:36 +0000

Overclocking didn’t start in the 90s, and it wasn’t limited to PCs either. Here’s a history of overclocking from a guy who did it some, and talked to guys who did it a lot in the 80s. I don’t recommend

The post History of overclocking appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Commodore 64 vs 128

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 19 May 2016 11:00:56 +0000

Commodore introduced the Commodore 128 in 1985 as an upgrade path from the Commodore 64, the most popular model of computer of all time. The 128 addressed the 64’s biggest shortcomings while remaining mostly compatible with its hardware and software.

The post Commodore 64 vs 128 appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

C64 vs Apple II

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 05 May 2016 11:00:58 +0000

The C64 vs Apple II was perhaps the most epic battle of the 8-bit era. Both companies sold millions of machines, yet both nearly went out of business in the process. Comparing the two machines with the largest software libraries of

The post C64 vs Apple II appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Commodore 64 vs VIC-20

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 11:00:27 +0000

The C-64 and VIC-20 look a lot alike, and shared some of the same designers, but there are a number of differences between these two vintage computers.

The post Commodore 64 vs VIC-20 appeared first on The Silicon Underground.