Atari 800
Photo 1: Evan-Amos, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Atari-800-Computer-FL.jpg)
Home computer, 1979, Atari. The Atari 800 is the top model of the first Atari 8-bit generation, presented with the 400 in late 1979. It has a full-travel keyboard, two cartridge slots under a hinged lid, monitor and RF video outputs, and a heavy shielded case whose internal card cage holds the processor board and up to three memory boards, giving a maximum of 48 KB of RAM. Its custom chips for graphics and sound made it, for years, one of the most capable home computers for games, while the SIO serial bus allowed daisy-chaining of disk drives, printers and modems.
| Years | 1979 to 1983 |
|---|---|
| Processor | MOS 6502 at 1.79 MHz (1.77 MHz PAL) |
| RAM | 8 KB standard at launch, 16 KB later, up to 48 KB with plug-in memory boards |
| ROM | 10 KB operating system; Atari BASIC on cartridge |
| Graphics | ANTIC and CTIA (later GTIA), up to 320 x 192, palette of 128 or 256 colours |
| Sound | POKEY, 4 channels |
| Storage | cassette or floppy through the SIO bus |
| Ports | 2 cartridge slots, 4 joystick ports, SIO, monitor output, RF output |
| Price (1979) | US$999 with 8 KB |
Documentation
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