Commodore  Commodore 65
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The Commodore 65 - A prototype only

In 1990 commodore produced a prototype for an advanced successor to the C64, the Commodore 65 (also known as the "C64DX"). Unfortunately the project was canceled by Commodore's chairman Irving Gould in 1991.

The C65's specifications were impressive for an 8-bit computer, bringing specs comparable to the 16-bit Apple IIGS. For example, it could display 256 colors on the screen, while OCS based Amigas could only display 64 in HalfBrite mode (32 colors and half-bright transformations). Although no specific reason was given for the C65's cancellation, it would have competed in the marketplace with Commodore's lower-end Amigas and the Commodore CDTV. Likely the cancellation was due to the diminished sales of the commodore 64, the fact that Nintendo had take up a big market share of household gaming, and the fact that the original 64 hardware was aging.

Some of the specifications:

  • VIC-III Chip providing C64 compatibility as well as enhancements
  • Dual CPU, MOS8502 and Z80
  • Dual SID Sound processors
  • Built in 3.5" double density floppy disk drive

Custom chips developed for the C65:

  • CSG 4510: CPU, commonly (Called Victor, after Victor Andrade)
  • CSG 4567: VIC-III Graphics Processor (Called Bill, after Bill Gardei)
  • CSG 4151: DMA controller (designed by Paul Lassa)
  • F011C: Floppy Drive Controller (Designed by Bill Gardei)
  • PAL16L8: Programmable Logic array

Technical Details
Released 1990 Brand Commodore Type Commodore Vic/C64 Name Commodore 65 CPU Class 650x CPU CSG 4510 R3 @3.54MHz Memory RAM: 128kB
RAM max: 1MB
Sound Chip SID (MOS 8580R5) x2 Sound 2x 3 independent audio oscillators with 4 waveforms (stereo) Display Chip VIC-III Display All VIC-II modes, 4096 color palette
80x25 text
320x200 256 colors
640x400 16 colors
1280x400 4 colors
genlock & DMA
Best Text 80x25 Best Color 256 or 16 out of 4096 colors Best Graphics 640x400 in 16 colors Sprites none System OS Commodore BASIC 10
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