New here, what should I buy ?

[daznic]

Hi all,
I`m new here, this is my first post !!
First of all the reason I am here - I have a real love of 8 bit computers, I was a child of the 80`s, I loved my C64 and played on my friends Ataris & Spectrums all the time.
I`m now re-living my youth by collecting some of those great old machines that started it all !
I have a C64, a Spectrum 48K, a Spectrum 128+ and an Atari65XE, but I do remember a lttle bit about playing on my cousins Amstrad years ago.
So please give me some advice on buying a CPC, what is the best model to go for ?
Do I have to buy a monitor or can I connect it to a TV ?   
How does the Amstrad compare to the other machines I have ? - I don`t mean which is best, just what are the differences in graphics / sound / types of games, etc.
Sorry about so many questions ! 
Many thanks.   

[ukmarkh]

It's not as powerful as the C64 or Speccy 128K, but it's still a worthy contender and actually does some things better. Most games are really colourful, but can sometimes lack smooth scrolling, use a small playing area or feature a flick screen. However; there are literally hundreds of classics on this system, and some games like Operation wolf and Chase HQ even rival the same games of the other two machines. The 6128 model with 128K memory, disk drive and colour screen would be my personal choice, and the 6128 Plus (90's Model) packs a serious punch. I wouldn't say the CPC was a remarkable machine, just that it was the machine I grew up with, and several programmers, especially from the 'Ocean' stable, produced remarkable results.

[arnoldemu]

Hi all,
I`m new here, this is my first post !!
First of all the reason I am here - I have a real love of 8 bit computers, I was a child of the 80`s, I loved my C64 and played on my friends Ataris & Spectrums all the time.
I`m now re-living my youth by collecting some of those great old machines that started it all !
I have a C64, a Spectrum 48K, a Spectrum 128+ and an Atari65XE, but I do remember a lttle bit about playing on my cousins Amstrad years ago.
So please give me some advice on buying a CPC, what is the best model to go for ?
Do I have to buy a monitor or can I connect it to a TV ?   
How does the Amstrad compare to the other machines I have ? - I don`t mean which is best, just what are the differences in graphics / sound / types of games, etc.
Sorry about so many questions ! 
Many thanks.   

The CPC6128 or 6128Plus.
It *is* possible to connect it to a tv, using a special cable. However, you need some power, one method is to use a PC power supply with more special cables. The best choice, for simplicity, is o buy a cpc monitor.

The CPC is a nice machine. It is the one I grew up with. It has a nice selection of colours, and some reasonable sound and resolutions. If programmed using skill it can produce some nice games.. especially considering it lacks hardware sprites. Take a look at some recent demos and you will be suprised at what it can do. Run Star Sabre (128k version) and you will see the quality of games it has. True a lot of the games were transferred from the Spectrum, but there are also some games that really shine.

[Gryzor]

Welcome, dear daznic. The CPC was certainly more powerful than the poor Speccy. If you compare it to the c64 then it depends on what you look at. the c64 did have great scrolling and fantastic sound* but the colours and resolution were not up to the CPC's standards.

The Atari 8-bitters, on the other hand, were fantastic machines, but I don't know much about them...

Now, back to your question, the 6128 Plus was the most advanced model, so if you only want ONE then but this one, though it's very rare and pretty expensive (>£100). Failing that, just get a plain old 6128, almost as nice and much cheaper.

You can get an MP1 or MP2 modulator that will allow you to connect your CPC to your TV, but this is through RF and the picture quality is NOWHERE NEAR ENOUGH a SCART solution. But SCART won't power your CPC, whereas the MP1/2 will.

*mind you, the CPC's sound abilities were much better than the tiny internal speaker would allow for... Just plug some decent speakers into it and you'll see for yourself. Still, inferior to SID though.