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Atari 800 XL

Video Game-maker Atari spawned a range of computers of which the Atari 800XL was one of the most popular. Driven by the ubiquitous 6502, gaming credentials are to the fore in this machine, with graphic sprites, great sound and a handy 64K RAM. Released in 1983, it weathered the home computer wars and although beaten up somewhat by the Commodore 64 in the sales stakes, it still managed to post a respectable score.

I'd never used an Atari until I acquired this machine last year. I like it! I like it more than the C-64. The unit is light, compact and nice looking, the keyboard has good positive feel, the video is crisp and loading a game from disk is easy and fast. Most are self-booting.

My unit is in what I'd call "reasonable" shape. It's a little worn around the edges. In particular the XL800 label is nearly worn away. If saw a good replacement case going cheap somewhere, I'd snaggle it!

When I first took delivery of it, the computer wasn't in reasonable shape. It was in bad shape! Years of sleeping under a bed in a (damp?) bedroom saw a touch of rust in the chassis along with (more seriously) a completely non-functioning keyboard! Thankfully, disassembly and cleaning remedied the problem but it took a bit of work. However, it's all good now.

I've got a stack of manuals, books and disk software with it so it's the complete package.

I had been looking for an Atari 800. Those are almost impossible to get in New Zealand though. This is the next best thing and I'm happy with it. It's still a classic.

Want to know more about this micro? Google is your friend.

This page last edited 7th May, 2009

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