classic computer questions

[chrisbid]

i wasnt into computers as a kid in the 80's, in fact, i didnt own my first computer until i was out of high school for a few years. Im currently a Mac User, and i do own a couple of classic style macs (in fact, i have one attached to my DX-7 synth), but the Mac was never much of a gaming machine, and i havent bothered looking for stuff to play on it.

 

I already own way too many consoles, carts, and CD/DVDs, so im not itching to get into old computers, but probably what piques my interest the most is the Atari 8-bit line, as i love what my 5200 can put on my TV screen, but i dont have the money to invest in a reliable controller solution right now.

 

The Apple ][ line also intrigues me since basically that is the only computer line i used in my school days. Our High School (early 90's) was outfitted with ][GS machines, my first windows experience was in 1994 on a 386 (wheeeeeeeeeee, solitaire!). There were some pretty cool games i remember playing in grade school and middle school. But from what i gather, Apple ][ games are generally the weakest since it was the oldest platform (please correct me if im wrong)

 

The last major line i assume would be the commodore 64. my friend picked up one of these last year, but the thing is broken, when it is turned on, you just get weird random noises (which i do plan to sample on an upcoming music project ). This was the platform that prospered during the down time in the video game industry.

 

I also know about Texas Instruments, and Tandy i guess, but how would you rate these platforms, and keep in mind that im not going to spend money on ebay on any of these, If i do start collecting any of these, they will be thrift store finds only. Again, the Atari 8-bit line seems the most appealing, since i already have a lot of VCS controllers. If i were to find an Atari 400, would the lack or RAM be a burden, if i only wanted to use the machine to play cart-based games? My other n00b question would be if any of these machines can be hooked to a TV. The last thing i need in my tiny apartment is more monitors. I would love to have an old commodore monitor, but those are somewhat pricey on epay, and ive never seen a working one in the wild.

 

i appreciate all your help, and thanks for putting up with my meandering post

[Rockin' Kat]

Well.... The Apple IIgs was a 16-bit computer(all the other II's were 8-bit) and the last of the Apple II line... THe IIgs is my favorite computer.... gs stood for graphics and sound by the way.. ...They're also incredibly easy to get for next to nothing if you know where to look online(the IIgs that is)... I got mine for shipping cost.

 

I'd suggest downloading some emulators and disk images(click here for Apple II archives) and seeing what you like.

[cimerians]

Me and and all my highschool friends in the mid 80's had C64's. A few outcasts owned Atari computers.

 

The king of the underground.

 

the C64.

 

Check the internet for tons of info, listen to the sid tunes, kick back with a Jolt, watch Miami Vice re-runs and rock on with a game of Commando.

 

 

[Rockin' Kat]

I think the Commodore64 is a pretty cool computer too.... nice sound, nice graphics... I really like mine...you can also get a special cable to hook up an old PC and have it emulate the floppy drive with the right sofware and load games straight from the PC.

 

only problem I have with it is that I've had to get my commodore equipment repaired about 3 times now :-/

[NovaXpress]

You C64 kids just ripped off the most games. And if most of the kids owned a C64, it wasn't so underground was it?

 

I owned or playedst of those machines back in the day. The Apple IIe was the classic Apple if you're looking for a fun museum piece. The IIgs was soon eclipsed by the first Macs.

 

Apple's first competitor was the TRS (Trash) 80. Apple an Trash 80 people had an Atari-Intellivision relationship. the Trash guys were the nerds while the Apple guys sacrificed goats to Cthulu. The Apple is a superiot machine and a better looking system.

 

The TI 99/4A was underrated, lots of good games were available.

 

Don't forget the old IBMs, I wonder what a PC Jr goes for. And you'd also be able to appreciate the early days of Microsoft OS, before we knew they were in league with the devil.

 

The C64 was a gaming machine, really more comparible to the Colecovision than to other PCs. Don't forget the VIC-20 which preceeded it. i still see VIC games for sale amidst the 2600 oldies.

 

The Ataris were the ultimate hybrid, great gaming machine and a great machine for programming. Lacking the expanded RAM won't affect you if you stick with cartridge games and the lesser disk/cassette options. If you actiually want to do some retro-programming don't get anything less than an 800. You'd also need a cassette or disk drive of course.

 

Best PC for programming applications: Apple

Best PC for gaming: C64

Best combination of the two: Atari

[cimerians]

Nova's right on! except for the following misunderstanding:

 

And if most of the kids owned a C64, it wasn't so underground was it?

 

Thats not what I meant by underground.

 

 

Everyone had a C64 for many good reasons!

 

Lets all sing along now:

"Fifteen men on the dead man's chest --

Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"

 

[SteveW]

The TI-99/4A wasn't the greatest game machine. Because of it's oddball engineering, it was kind of slow. The C=64 was much better game-wise. I love my TI, and I hate to say anything bad about it, but most consoles had more game playing power. The TI-99/8 would have fixed all the 4A's shortcomings, but was cancelled in it's infancy. That would have been one Hell of a game machine, 10mhz processor, upgradable to 5 megabytes (and this was back in 1983!)

 

There are some great games for the TI, but other consoles had much better.

[Ze_ro]

I still consider my C-128 my favorite computer ever. So my vote has to go with the C64.

 

--Zero

[AtariDude]

My favorite 8bit was the Atari 800XL because that was the first personal computer I ever owned. I used to have a ton of games for it that I would get from BBSs using my 300 baud modem. Those were the days.

 

I still play with my 8 bit emulator from time to time. Some 8 bit games are still fun (Like Rescue on Fractulus)

[+davidcalgary29]

There's no reason why you shouldn't consider owning both an Atari 8-bit and a C64. Both machines have their own respective strengths, and the only peripherals that you'll need to get that are unique to each system are the floppy disk drives. VCS controllers will, with few exceptions, work on both the C64 and A8 lines, and you should be able to get many older printers to work with both systems. Plus, I'd be quite surprised if total space for both systems would be more than what is typically taken by the standard WinTel machine.