Atari 8-bit computers: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:37, 15 May 2006

Revision as of 20:40, 15 May 2006

Line 82:

Although Commodore emerged intact from the computer price wars, fighting inside Commodore soon led to [[Jack Tramiel]]'s ousting. Looking to re-enter the market, he soon purchased Atari from Warner for an extremely low price.

[[Image:65xe.jpg|thumb|Atari 65XE]]

The final machines in the 8-bit series were there '''65XE''' and '''130XE'''. They were announced in 1985 at the same time as the initial models in the [[Atari ST]] series: the 130ST and 520ST. The 65XE was the replacement for the 800XL. Originally called the 900XLF, the 65XE was functionally equivalent to the 800XL minus the PBI connection. The 65XE (Euro version) and the 130XE had a [[Enhanced Cartridge Interface (ECI)]], a variant of the [[Parallel Bus Interface (PBI)]]. The 130XE came with 128KB of memory, accessible through bank-selection (thanks to [[Atari FREDDIE|FREDDIE]] and a [[EMMU]] chip). An additional '''800XE''' was available in [[Europe]] (mostly [[Eastern Europe]]), itwhich was basicallyessentially a 130XE with half the memory65XE. ''XE'' stood for '''''X'''L-'''E'''xpanded''.

The reason for repackaging the 130XE into the 800XE was Atari trying to ride on the popularity of the original 800XL in Europe. Unfortunately, 65XE and 800XE machines sold in Eastern Europe had a buggy GTIA chip, specifically those machines made in China in 1991.