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Atari 130XE or Atari 800


santoscork

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On 7/10/2021 at 6:18 PM, mikesk8 said:

I have both Atari 800 (stock) and 130XE (stock) and both are amazing in their own way :) 

 

Atari 130XE (or 65XE or late 800XL with Freddie) gives you basically all out of the box: svideo and min 64kb provides access to almost all programs. The earlier XE had springs in keyboards (I have one of those) and this keyboard is not bad at all. The quality of plastic, keyboards and motherboards is not like in 800 (XL is visibly better), but they work without issues. This is the best value for money in my opinion. 

 

Atari 800 is one of the most beautiful vintage computers (more than 1200 :) ) to me and the build quality is superb. However, if you want to have it as a daily runner you really need to mod it, which is rather expensive. 

 

 

Do you know if all 65XEs come with Freddie chips or are there any versions without?

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yes all XEs use the Freddie chip. Some late model 800XLs have it too. They are sometimes referred to as 'XLF'

for variations of the 65XE, some had no ECI port, some had 8 DRAMs - some had 2, some had unpopulated DRAM locations on the PCB for an extra 64k - some didnt, some were made for arabic text

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Just now, xrbrevin said:

yes all XEs use the Freddie chip. Some late model 800XLs have it too. They are sometimes referred to as 'XLF'

for variations of the 65XE, some had no ECI port, some had 8 DRAMs - some had 2, some had unpopulated DRAM locations on the PCB for an extra 64k - some didnt, some were made for arabic text

Yes, I happen to  have an 800xlf board. So there are variations of the 65XE with 2 DRAMs? Is there a way to tell the difference without opening the machine? Do you have a link to check the board of this version?

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As many have said already, the 800 will probably be appreciated by you more since that is where you started, and there are upgrades that make it every bit as capable as an XL/XE (as long as you don't need PBI or ECI expansion port).  I appreciate all of the Atari 8 bits.... I started with a 400, so that one will hold a special place for me.  Looking forward (hopefully) to a 400 Incognito upgrade :-).

 

The 1200XL is a nice system with one of the better Atari keyboards, but most will require keyboard repair (new mylar or careful fixing of the existing mylar).

 

And the 600XL once upgraded is tough to beat if you want something compact.  I have one I added Ultimate Atari Video, added the missing monitor port, upgraded with Ultimate 1MB, and will either change the keyboard out to an AWC (type 2) or Alps (type 1) at some point.  In considering a 600XL though, you do need the video upgrade (so you're not stuck with TV channel output), and need to upgrade to at least 64K (multiple ways to do that). 

 

The XEGS is also pretty interesting, but will seem like a cross between a console and a computer in terms of 'vibe'.  But it is every bit as capable.

 

No matter what you end up with, enjoy !

 

 

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10 hours ago, xrbrevin said:

ive never seen a 2x DRAM version nor a non-ECI version in the UK. ive only ever seen ECI'd 8x DRAM with 8x unpopulated - easy upgrade to 128k ?

the 2x DRAM version is referenced in the schematics:

 

130xe.zip 2.57 MB · 2 downloads

I found pictures of  the last XE model, the 800XE(its an 65XE in Eastern Europe). They used the 130xe mobo with only two DRAM chips and the ECI port.

I have an 65XE with a Freddie Chip and without an ECI port, so I was wondering if there are any XEs versions released without a Freddie chip.

It looks like there aren't any.

 

http://oldcomputer.info/pictures/index.php?spgmGal=Museum/8-bit/Atari_800XE&spgmPic=5

index.jpg

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