avatar_JimmyChan2022

If you had to choose 1, 8 bit micro as the best all around?

Started by JimmyChan2022, 14:36, 03 July 22

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

JimmyChan2022

Im going to say C64, it has the speed, more colors than Speccy, best sound imo, and scrolls well.

I love 464, but I think if someone had asked me out of the 3, (Speccy, C64, 464) would have to recommend C64.

Gryzor

What are the criteria for the "best"? 

eto

What means "all around"?

If it's about games, yes of course, the C64 will win. But as soon as we look into homework, semi-professional use, programming, user friendliness,... I would say that the CPC becomes the better choice. Whatever category you'll come up with, the CPC will probably not win a single one, but it will be "good" in every category. Most other 8bits will have at least one "bad" category, so it does not qualify for "all around".


Gryzor

It's a question with no answer. I know people who wrote their PhD thesis on a cpc. Others that used to run stores on one. For them, of course, not only was the CPC the best option, but arguably the only one. 

ComSoft6128

Slightly off-topic but the 6128 was used as a "PC" long before the IBM PC (and clones) were affordable for most home users.

Gryzor

Not at all off topic, that's the thing. With its 80-column mode and CP/M it could do stuff others couldn't do, not just better.

reidrac

I would go with a MSX2+. Z80 (it is 8-bit), V9958 Video Display Processor with 128K of VRAM (which makes the base 64K RAM last!), YM2149 + YM2413 for audio, MSX cartridges + 720kB 3.5" floppy disks, built for the Japanese market so good keyboard, etc.

Say a Sony HB-F1XV.

Oh, well. An MSX2 (not plus) would be also fine (not sure how many games used the extra bit of the plus). There are plenty of models to choose from, and those were available in Europe as well.

All is relative though. Not sure there's "the best all around". For a lot of people, the CPC 6128 was it.
Released The Return of Traxtor, Golden Tail, Magica, The Dawn of Kernel, Kitsune`s Curse, Brick Rick and Hyperdrive for the CPC.

If you like my games and want to show some appreciation, you can always buy me a coffee.

Bryce

Quote from: JimmyChan2022 on 14:36, 03 July 22Im going to say C64, it has the speed, more colors than Speccy, best sound imo, and scrolls well.

I love 464, but I think if someone had asked me out of the 3, (Speccy, C64, 464) would have to recommend C64.


Yeah sure, let me know when that disk software has loaded on the C64... The 464 tapedeck was almost faster! :D

Bryce.

Prodatron

Quote from: reidrac on 08:40, 04 July 22I would go with a MSX2+..
I agree, the CPC will stay my favourite 8bit forever, but if I had to choose for the most powerful one, which is not "too young" (not later than mid 80ies), I would choose the MSX2 with all it's features, power and clean designed architecture.


Quote from: Gryzor on 06:20, 04 July 22I know people who wrote their PhD thesis on a cpc. Others that used to run stores on one.

And others even
used it on the Space Station ;D  (a Sony MSX2)

GRAPHICAL Z80 MULTITASKING OPERATING SYSTEM

abalore


Gryzor


abalore


asertus

Well, I'd go to the 6128 plus, this is the one I use the most in recent times, with M4, but, actually, what I like about that 8bit computers is how diverse they were, different characteristics, and different strengths. Even the Spectrum had its charm in its simplicity.. 

And not forget about niche ones.., FM-7, Enterprise, the Atari 8bit were also amazing, etc...

Sykobee (Briggsy)

Assumptions:
All Rounder: Games and Business and Education
Years: 80s
Price: Reasonable
Sales: At least moderate success

All Rounder after setting the criteria appropriately - CPC of course (American's might argue for the Apple II)

Adding on modern additions, I think it would still be the CPC, although those large cart C64 games are impressive.

lmimmfn

This is a strange question,  I'm a professional software developer, doing do for 24 years, and i owe that to the CPC464.
I learnt to program on the CPC because the basic was fantastic( apparently the BBC was as good but they were far too expensive in my time).
I even discovered how binary worked from the cpc manual and symbol after commands(even more fun when switching mode 1 to mode 0 addressing).

The basic on the c64 was just know substituting pokes for functionality. The 48k spectrum was a waste of time due to the keyboard.
6128 for the win!!!

martin464

The CPC I think was carrying behind it the 70's approach to being an all purpose machine for business or games, it was a 'PC'. The welcome tape sort of sums that up doesnt it - that is a great tape to put on huh?!

it could do anything. It wasn't a pure gaming platform and it managed to find serious applications as well. I think a lot of CPC's ended being used for word processing, but like Imimmfn above it got me started programming which I'm still doing now and it made me get my head around coding in a way I don't know if I could have persevered otherwise. In those days, you could visit Toys R Us and by coding books. Imagine going to Smyth's toys today and buying a book on Z80 machine code like I did.. the CPC I think a lot of people under the hood of computers, so did the others but... CPC was particularly good at it with it's BASIC and excellent instruction manual. All those 8 bits were good but it's the CPC  
CPC 464 - 212387 K31-4Z

"One essential object is to choose that arrangement which shall tend to reduce to a minimum the time necessary for completing the calculation." Ada Lovelace

TotO

It is obvious here, the CPC (6128). Else, into other retro! ;D
"You make one mistake in your life and the internet will never let you live it down" (Keith Goodyer)

asertus

Key point is if you mean just "Micro" of the full computer set. No other home computer compares to CPC, mostly 6128 including Monitor and diskdrive all in one..

Actually I would say even PCW if games ported by Habisoft had been available in the 80s.

Devlin

my personal favourite 8bits micro? MSX.

But the one that holds a place firm in my heart forevermore? The amstrad, obviously :)
CPC464 & CPC6128 + USIfAC II + Revaldinho 512k(universal cpld ver) - Schneider CRT TV
Administrator of Amstrad Discord : https://discord.gg/ksWvApv

GUNHED

http://futureos.de --> Get the revolutionary FutureOS (Update: 2023.11.30)
http://futureos.cpc-live.com/files/LambdaSpeak_RSX_by_TFM.zip --> Get the RSX-ROM for LambdaSpeak :-) (Updated: 2021.12.26)

VincentGR

The only 8bit that has everything.
CPC 6128.

Great quality for the price
Keyboard for humans
CP/M
80 columns
Great Basic
Decent sound
Fast FDD
Lots of expansions
Colors!!!

I also remember back then using them in stores.
Hellas was the land of Amstrad.

martin464

I see the 'all in one' thing from a slightly different perspective

The very first micro's were not all in one because the peripherals hadn't been developed (and there was a bus)
Then all in one's appeared like the Pet and business machines in the late 70's
Then it went back to separate again for the home market, I suppose for cost reasons

So the CPC was like the professional late 70's machines and the IBM PC were
I think this together with the wide availability of non-gaming software, the disk drive, the 80 characters, CP/M, educational manual, it puts the CPC in a unique class of its own that's hard to pin down. It could be for games or any of the stuff businesses were doing on 8 bit systems a few years earlier. A bit like the BBC maybe

I think that gives it an 'all-round' win even if the C64 had advantages on games or the Speccy (which has an advantage by having less of something - screen RAM!). I think people that only think of games won't get why the CPC was so good cause they don't see all the other side to it. I will enjoy the argument of which one was best for games but for all-round there's not much contest. It's like the PC now does this role of all round gaming and business


CPC 464 - 212387 K31-4Z

"One essential object is to choose that arrangement which shall tend to reduce to a minimum the time necessary for completing the calculation." Ada Lovelace

McArti0

Enterprise 128, excelent but slow basic with procedure and local variable. 256colors, fantastic ram configurator , 640x512 resolution and native CPC simulator.
CPC 6128, Whole 6128 and Only 6128, with .....
NewPAL v3 for use all 128kB RAM by CRTC as VRAM
TYPICAL :) TV Funai 22FL532/10 with VGA-RGB-in.

roudoudou

Quote from: McArti0 on 18:25, 09 November 22Enterprise 128, excelent but slow basic with procedure and local variable. 256colors, fantastic ram configurator , 640x512 resolution and native CPC simulator.
let me guess, you bought one of them last year in a very typical shop? ;D
My pronouns are RASM and ACE

McArti0

CPC 6128, Whole 6128 and Only 6128, with .....
NewPAL v3 for use all 128kB RAM by CRTC as VRAM
TYPICAL :) TV Funai 22FL532/10 with VGA-RGB-in.

Powered by SMFPacks Menu Editor Mod