Harrison
14th May 2008, 11:21
I've always been a little confused by the Plus/4. What exactly is it?
I know the Vic20 came first and then the C64. But where does the Plus/4 fit in?
I remember it was released after the C64 and had some built in business software in roms. And I seem to remember it had a faster CPU and other advancements compared to the C64, but other than that I don't know much about it.
Was it compatible with C64 software?
Also what was the other C64 off shoot that Commodore released around that time? Was it the C16? or was it something else?
EDIT: I was just reading about it on Wikipedia and it seems that it did have a much faster CPU (about 75%) and had access to much more of the systems 64K for basic compared to the C64. It also had a more powerful Basic 3.5 rom than the C64. However it used the TED chip which was an all in one video, sound and I/O chip. And this lacked the sprite capabilities of the C64's Vic-II chip, and didn't have the advanced sound capabilities of the C64's SID chip for sound. So it wasn't compatible with C64 software. Quite mad!
Imagine if Commodore had created the Plus/4 the correct way. Include the faster CPU that was still compatible with the C64 one, the better basic with access to more system ram, but also include the VIC-II and SID chips. Now that would have been a brilliant machine.
Typical missed opportunity from Commodore.
I know the Vic20 came first and then the C64. But where does the Plus/4 fit in?
I remember it was released after the C64 and had some built in business software in roms. And I seem to remember it had a faster CPU and other advancements compared to the C64, but other than that I don't know much about it.
Was it compatible with C64 software?
Also what was the other C64 off shoot that Commodore released around that time? Was it the C16? or was it something else?
EDIT: I was just reading about it on Wikipedia and it seems that it did have a much faster CPU (about 75%) and had access to much more of the systems 64K for basic compared to the C64. It also had a more powerful Basic 3.5 rom than the C64. However it used the TED chip which was an all in one video, sound and I/O chip. And this lacked the sprite capabilities of the C64's Vic-II chip, and didn't have the advanced sound capabilities of the C64's SID chip for sound. So it wasn't compatible with C64 software. Quite mad!
Imagine if Commodore had created the Plus/4 the correct way. Include the faster CPU that was still compatible with the C64 one, the better basic with access to more system ram, but also include the VIC-II and SID chips. Now that would have been a brilliant machine.
Typical missed opportunity from Commodore.