Commodore 64

Producer: Commodore - Category: Personal Computer

Photo 1: Evan-Amos, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Commodore-64-Computer-FL.jpg) Photo 2: Evan-Amos, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Commodore-64-Computer-BL.jpg) Photo 3: Bill Bertram, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (C64motherboard.jpg) Photo 4: MOS6502, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (Commodore 64 - Joystickports, EinAus-Schalter, Poweranschluss.jpg)

Home computer, 1982, Commodore. The Commodore 64 is the best-selling desktop computer model of all time: presented at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 1982 and on sale from August 1982, it stayed in production until 1994 with an estimated 12.5 to 17 million units sold. It took its name from its 64 KB of RAM and owed its success to custom chips for graphics and sound, the VIC-II and the SID, and to an aggressive price policy.

Years	1982 to 1994
Manufacturer	Commodore Business Machines (US)
Processor	MOS Technology 6510 at 1.023 MHz (NTSC) or 0.985 MHz (PAL)
RAM	64 KB
ROM	20 KB (BASIC 2.0 and KERNAL)
Graphics	VIC-II, 320 x 200 pixels, 16 colours, 8 hardware sprites, 40 x 25 text
Sound	SID 6581 (later 8580), 3 voices with programmable waveforms, filters and ADSR envelopes
Storage	cassette (Datasette) and 5.25" floppy disk drives (1541) via the Commodore serial bus
Ports	2 control ports for joysticks, paddles and mouse, expansion/cartridge port, serial bus, user port, cassette port, RF and audio/video output
Operating system	Commodore BASIC 2.0 in ROM
Case	the original "breadbin" design in beige, replaced in 1986 by the slimmer 64C
Price (1982)	US$595