VIC-20 durability vs the 64?

[Muzz73]

Had I been thinking clearly in 1992, I'd have stocked up!

[Tempest]

From what I understand early SID chips in the C64 tend to overheat, but the early C64's had all kinds of issues anyway. The C64 power supply has been described as a 'ticking time bomb' by some people as it's a crappy design and can fry the system when one of the parts go. Not sure if the VIC-20 power supply has the same issues (they look similar though so maybe?). So far both my VIC-20 and C64 are just fine though.

 

A bit off topic, but Plus/4's have a horrible lifespan. The TED chip in them is really prone to frying itself.

[carlsson]

As far as I know, the DIN style power supplies at first were interchangeably supplied with both VIC and C64. After a while, Commodore upped the specs slightly on the 5V from 1.5A to 1.6A, at least in Europe but at that point the VIC was out of production anyway.

[Retro-Z]

Is it the climate where you are located that is particularly rough to Commodore chips?

 

I'm sure it's a lot of things. The Kansas climate is bad for electronics if they are stored anywhere but in a climate-controlled environment. Bitterly cold winters, extremely hot and humid summers, etc. So, if the stuff is stored in a garage, attic, or storage unit (where a lot of old obsolete computers end up), they don't take the neglect very well. Coupled with the lower-quality construction compared to IBM, Tandy, Atari, etc., the Commodore stuff just doesn't hold up as well. I have had luck with the C128 and C64c, but not the older C64 and VIC-20 units.