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System Information: Amstrad CPC664

Development, History, Games, Internals, Additional Information, Photos

Specifications Table

Manufacturer: Amstrad

Year Released: 1985
Year Discontinued: 0000

Size & Weight: Unknown at this time

Storage: 3" Hitachi Disk Drive / optional external cassette / ROM

CPU: Zilog Z80A
Speed: 4Mhz

Additional Processors: Motorola Video Controller, General Instruments AY38910 Sound Chip.

System Memory: 64 Kilobytes RAM 48 Kilobytes ROM

Graphics Modes: 3 Modes: 640x200, 320x200, 160x200

Max Colours: 27 Total (16 on screen at once)

Sound: General Instruments AY38910 Chip (3 Tone Generators)

Ports: Expansion, Centronics Printer, Joystick, Tape-In, Audio Out, Power in, RGB Monitor out.

Power Rating: 5 Volts DC (powered from monitor)

Original Cost

3 out of 10

Retro-Zone.Org - Retrospective Review:

I have never understood why Amstrad released this system. It seems like a complete waste of their time and money when the CPC6128 was just around the corner. It is basically a CPC464 with a disk drive and a different ROM chip. I like the look but this system is even bigger than the 464 and does not sit well on a desk. A strange choice for Amstrad and a rare system to find these days due it's poor commercial performance.

Do I have one in my Collection?

YES

I do actually have one of these in working condition. I have been unable to find a boxed version as of yet but I live in hope. Any software that will run on this system will also run on the CPC6128 so I never really need to boot this one up.

Additional Links:

Development:

The CPC664 was the direct successor to the CPC464 - adding a disk drive for faster loading times and incorperating an additional 16 kilobytes of ROM memory containing the disk operating system AmsDOS. The machines physical size is a lot bigger than the CPC464 - the extra height of the casing was needed to house the 3" disk drive.
The keyboard layout mirrors that of the CPC464 with a few changed to key colour and size. The cursor keys on this computer are simply huge! It's possible this was intended to allow easier game play using the keyboard.
The use of the 3" disk format (as opposed to the Sony 3.5" equivalent used by most other machines) can be attributed to Mr Alan Sugar managing to get a large number of the drives on the cheap from the Asian market!

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History:

The CPC664's release is a bit of a mystery. The machine was superseded by the superior CPC6128 in the same year - giving this computer one of the shortest production life spans ever. It's sales were hit much more that would otherwise had been the case due to Amstrad's owner Sir Alan Sugar boasting about the CPC6128 while the lower spec machine was being released - meaning the public were unwilling to spend their money on a machine they knew would be replaced in a few months.
As a result the CPC664 is pretty rare now days and fetches relatively high prices compared to the other CPC's.
Not much software was written specifically for the CPC664 - although is could play all disk based CPC464 software and had the option of connecting an external cassette player to play cassette games.

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Games:

No software was really written specifically for the CPC664 - as it was 100% compatible with the earlier released CPC464 and had the same amount of RAM. All in all nearly 500 Games were released for the CPC range of computers.

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Internals:

The CPC664 continued the trend set by Amstrad's CPC464 and used a Zilog Z80A processor as it's CPU. The AY38910 sound chip also made a return appearance. The CPC664 did contain an extra 16 Kilobytes of Read Only Memory (ROM) which contained the disk operating system AmsDOS, which was required to use the new disk drive. One thing I've always tough strange is the AmsDOS operating system does not include a "Format" command - allowing you to prepare disks (CPM would have to be used for this).

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Additional Information:

The CPC664 was in production for less than a year before being replaced by the more sleek and technically superior CPC6128.

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Photos

Gallery (click on a thumbnail to enlarge)

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References:

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