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CPC
,link to the Gate Array page
[[Category:CPC History| ]][[Category:Hardware| ]][[Category:CPC Internal Components| ]][[Category:Amstrad Products| ]]
The Real meaning of this Wiki.
Because of its use of the Z80, which was also used in the Sinclair models, some of the earliest games found on the CPC were fairly direct ports of the Spectrum versions which failed to take advantage of the CPC's extra capabilities. The amount of Spectrum ports has often been overstated by those who wish to knock the machine, and in fact formed a comparatively small number of largely unsuccessful games. Nonetheless, those that were published left users and reviewers with a bad taste in their mouth.
At its core, the CPC combined a standard 4MHz [[Z80|Z80A]] with off-the-shelf components and a custom [[Gate Array ]] chip. The [[firmware]] comprised two 16k ROMs (combined onto one 32k chip): one was effectively the operating system, the other the fast and flexible [[Locomotive BASIC]] interpreter. All machines except the original 464 would also include a further 16k ROM (on a separate chip), the AMSDOS disc operating system.
In all, there were three 'classic' models, the CPC [[464]], [[664]] and [[6128]]; plus two short-lived later [[Plus|advanced]] models, the 464 Plus and the 6128 Plus. A final iteration was the [[Plus|GX4000]] games machine based on the CPC+ computers.
[[Image:cpc664.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Amstrad CPC [[664]] with colour monitor in 80-column display mode]]
In June 1985, Amstrad took the initial design and, building upon the same idea, removed the tape recorder and replaced it with a disc drive, using the same hardware sold as the [[DDI-1]] add-on for 464 owners. The result: the CPC664. Sporting a less colourful and easier-to-type-on keyboard, the CPC664 appealed as a more serious machine and proved a success, especially due to its quite fast 3", 180KB/side drive. * ''[http://www.gondolin.org.uk/hchof/reviews/yc-cpc664.html Your Computer review of the CPC664]''
Never the less, the 664 did have a very short life and was soon replaced by the 6128 (according to [[Amstrad Action]], Issue 1, Oct 1985, page [[:File:Amstrad Action001 08.jpg|8]], the 664 was produced only from May until August 1985).
* ''[http://www.gondolin.org.uk/hchof/review.php?id=29&mcid=27 Your Computer (June 1985) review of the CPC664]''
== The 6128 ==
Shortly afterwards, Amstrad launched the CPC6128 for the American market only, through its distributor [[Indescomp]]. The new machine sported 128k of memory and a still more sober appearance, but was otherwise nearly identical to the 664. The height of the case was greatly reduced, and the cursor keys were arranged more comfortably, both making the keyboard more ergonomically than the 464/664. Internally, the keyboard consists of two foils, although such membrane foils are relative fragile, they were more robust and reliable than the single foil used in the 664.
Despite initial denials, the machine was launched in Europe shortly afterwards, replacing the 664 for the same price - a situation which understandably irritated some of those who had recently purchased 664s. As well as the CP/M 2.2 and [[DR Logo ]] that had shipped with the DDI-1 and the CPC664, the 6128 came bundled with CP/M Plus (with the GSX graphics extension) making it an appealing all-round computer at a low price. Though the 128KB of memory could not be accessed all at once from BASIC (due to limitations of the [[Z80]]), the upper 64KB could be used readily from machine code courtesy of an upgraded Gate Array. A bundled program, [[Bankman]], provided some access from BASIC.
The presence of this extra memory and the clever design of Amstrad's CP/M Plus implementation allowed for a TPA (Transient Program Area) of 61KB, more than enough to run all CP/M software.
The last models in the Amstrad CPC range were the [[Plus|Amstrad 464 Plus]] and [[Plus|Amstrad 6128 Plus]], launched together in 1990. The CPC name is said to have been dropped because of a legal dispute with a French firm, though it is also likely that "CPC 6128 Plus" was considered too unwieldy a name and one redolent of the machine's mid-80s heritage.
Described as a solution of 'too little, too late', this was Amstrad's second effort to prolong the life of its 8-bit computer series in the face of fierce competition from new 16-bit machines (notably, the [[Atari|Atari ST]] and the Commodore [[Amiga]]). The Plus series were mostly (but not quite 100%) compatible with the original CPC computers, and incorporated a list of [[ASIC|new features]], like a cartridge port for instant program loading, DMA for the [[AY]] soundchip, enhanced hardware scrolling, programmable interrupts, 16 hardware zoomable sprites (not vectorized) with an independent palette of 15 colours, and a choice of 4096 colours all in a new, sleek case which mimicked the keyboard-computer design that was ''en vogue'' in the 16-bit market (ST, Amiga etc).
While the Amstrad Plus computers were arguably one of the best 8-bit computers ever built for the mass market, they died an early death as the 16-bit era had well and truly begun.
