Search icon

Tech

09th Apr 2011

Want One: C64x, the new Commodore 64

Remember Flimbo's Quest? Klax? If you're looking to revisit your youth, you'll be thrilled to hear that the Commodore 64 has returned, offering BluRay compatibility and Wi-Fi.

JOE

Remember Flimbo’s Quest? Klax? If you’re looking to revisit your youth, you’ll be thrilled to hear that the Commodore 64 has returned, offering BluRay compatibility and Wi-Fi.

By Leo Stiles

As anyone who grew up in the 80s will know, the Commodore 64 was the ultimate home computer to own if you wanted to play the best games and make your mates green with envy. Obviously things move on but if you have been pining for the days of yore then Commodore USA have heard your cries and redesigned the machine for the 21st century.

As you can see, the new Commodore 64 has retained its bulky design and colour scheme and looks spot-on, with a fantastically chunky keyboard and dated ‘On’ light. In fact, if you looked at the machine from the front, you could well be deceived into thinking that the keyboard computer was a very well preserved tech relic.

Further investigation reveal some very modern additions, such as USB ports, card readers, ethernet connections and a Blu-Ray drive. Yes, pixel graphics have been cast aside in favor of contemporary HD visuals and if we take a look inside, more fundamental changes have occurred.

The machine runs off an Intel Atom 1.8GHz dual-core CPU, which is backed up by the very capable ION2 graphics chip from NVIDIA and a generous 4GB of RAM. While these specs are pretty decent, they won’t set any speed records, but anything more in a retro machine would rob it of its charm.

Storage options for the new C64 range from the standard 160GB hard drive all the way up to a massive 1TB of space. For the full price of the full deluxe model, Commodore will throw in goodies such as wireless Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a HDMI port. This is all well and good but the best feature of the machine is wholly retro.

Versatile

Booting up the machine gives you access to the built-in C64 emulator, which runs on Commodore’s own operating system and is preloaded with some of the original machines greatest hits and is a fantastic touch that shows that the designers have been treating the older machine’s legacy with the respect that it deserves.

While the machine runs its own operating system, you can shoehorn Windows 7 in if you want to and thanks to its unique start options, you can choose to run the system as a Linux-based computer or as a regular Windows-run machine from a choice menu each time you turn the C64 on.

The downside to all this goodness is price. The basic model will set you back €415 and the ultimate model that includes all the goodies like Wi-Fi and Blu-Ray is priced at a recession-unfriendly €620.

If that doesn’t deter you then you are left with the ultimate retro statement for your office or desk and one that is sure to get the older nerds all misty eyed and digging out their collection of classic games magazines.

LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Conor Sketches | Tiger Woods loves Ger Loughnane and cosplaying as Charles LeClerc 

Topics:

Gadgets