 | |
| Manufacturer | Commodore Business Machines |
|---|---|
| Type | Home computer |
| Release date | January 5, 1985 |
| Introductory price | US$ 300 (1985) |
| Discontinued | 1989 |
| Units sold | About 4 million |
| Media | ROM cartridge 5¼-inch floppy disk Compact Cassette |
| Operating system | Commodore BASIC 7.0 CP/M Plus 3.0 GEOS 128 |
| CPU | MOS Technology 8502 @ 1–2 MHz Z80A @ 4 MHz |
| Memory | 128 kB RAM |
| Graphics | VIC-IIe (320 × 200, 16 colors) VDC (640 × 200, 16 colors) |
| Sound | SID 6581/8580 |
| Connectivity | Joystick ports, serial port, user port, cartridge port, tape port, RGBI video, composite video, RF output |
| Predecessor | Commodore 64 |
The Commodore 128 (shortened to C128) was a personal computer with 128 KB of RAM. Commodore Business Machines released it in January 1985, and it had an 8-bit MOS Technology 8502 CPU (based on the MOS Technology 6502) and a Z80A (based on the Zilog Z80) that could run CP/M software.
The C128 was sold from 1985 to 1989. It was fully compatible with the Commodore 64 but not as popular. At the time, Commodore was already developing the 16-bit Amiga computer system. Amiga was more powerful than the C128, and many users preferred it. About 4 million units were sold.
The C128 could run in three different modes: C128 mode, Commodore 64 mode, and CP/M mode. C64 mode allowed users to run most Commodore 64 software without changes.
Unlike the Commodore 64, the C128 also included an 80-column display mode through a second video chip.
