800XL vs XEGS

[BydoEmpire]

I'm looking at getting either an 800XL or an XEGS, as I've never owned an Atari 8-bit computer (or a working 5200 for that matter). Any recommendations or warnings for one or the other. Any chance the carts are compatible?

[ApolloBoy]

Yes, the 800XL and XEGS are compatible with each other. After all, they are basically the same thing!

[SteveW]

The cartridges should be interchangeable. I've used XEGS carts with an Atari 600XL, 800XL, 1200XL, and a 130XE. I think there's some incompatibilities running early 400/800 carts on an XEGS, and vise versa, due to the console's memory differences. But either the 800XL or the XEGS should be fine. They're both decent machines.

[jaybird3rd]

I'm looking at getting either an 800XL or an XEGS, as I've never owned an Atari 8-bit computer (or a working 5200 for that matter).  Any recommendations or warnings for one or the other.  Any chance the carts are compatible?

952371[/snapback]

The carts are compatible, as has been noted earlier.

 

As to which one of the two you should buy ... it really depends on what your needs are. If you're ONLY interested in playing games on it, then I'd say go with the XEGS. It's got big game control buttons and the detached/removable keyboard might make it easier to integrate into whatever home entertainment setup you've got. The fact that it has integrated composite audio/video jacks also makes it easier to connect to modern TVs (the 800XL is also capable of composite output but it requires a special cable).

 

The 800XL has an advantage over the XEGS when it comes to expandability. It's got the parallel bus interface, it's easier to find memory upgrades for it, and there's more room inside for hardware hacking. For that reason, I'd say the 800XL is a better choice if you're interested in using it as a computer.

[BydoEmpire]

Cool, thanks for the responses.