The Commander X16 Is a Brand-New Computer Built From 1980s Technology

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  • čas přidán 8. 04. 2024
  • The Commander X16 is a microATX computer developed over the last few years and modeled on the 8-bit computers of the 1980s, specifically the Commodore 16. This computer is manufactured of all-new parts but runs on a version of the 6502 microprocessor that powered so many of the 8-bit devices of the eighties, from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the Atari 800 and many more in between.
    The CommanderX16 is the "dream" computer of "The 8-bit Guy" David Murray, a CZcamsr, game designer, and arcade owner. Murray's love of vintage computer hardware led him to develop a modern computer with the same functionality as those classic beige boxes of yore.
    With no formal training in computer science or engineering, Murray created the CommanderX16 with the help of a passionate community of like-minded vintage computing enthusiasts. The result is a throwback experience that brings users closer to the code than you can possibly get on today's modern and infinitely more complex systems.
  • Věda a technologie

Komentáře • 102

  • @djstyles97
    @djstyles97 Před měsícem +222

    After all these years it's great to see The 8-Bit Guy finally get more mainstream recognition.

    • @vivastar2231
      @vivastar2231 Před měsícem +7

      oh yea its great, been watching him for a few years now :).. was interested in his restoration videos at first, but now anything goes :)

    • @GimmeTOKYO
      @GimmeTOKYO Před měsícem +1

      Right? Been loving his videos for 7 or 8 years now and it’s just been amazing seeing the recognition that he deserves.

  • @jonathanarras1281
    @jonathanarras1281 Před měsícem +87

    8 bit guy is the real OG, so cool to see this

  • @JustWasted3HoursHere
    @JustWasted3HoursHere Před měsícem +33

    This computer has been many years in the making. The end goal, not mentioned, is to get the price down to as little as possible, perhaps even less than $100 eventually. But these first few iterations will be around $400 or so.
    One thing that was really cool about those old 8 bit computers like the VIC-20 and C64 (and Atari 400/800/etc) were that they came with a spiral-bound user manual that showed you how to program in BASIC so you could start making your own games right away. Many legendary programmers got their feet wet doing just that.

  • @DavidGalich77
    @DavidGalich77 Před 8 dny

    What a throwback to the day.

  • @TalynWuff
    @TalynWuff Před měsícem +54

    Proud of David getting mainstream eyeballs.

  • @LordXsi
    @LordXsi Před měsícem +15

    Programming was anything but “basic” in those times. You had to actually know the hardware and really understand a lot of algorithms to get anywhere serious. And there were very few (if any) prebuilt libraries. And no stackoverflow or anything like that. Real programming was an art back then.

    • @doltBmB
      @doltBmB Před měsícem +1

      no, that stuff is simple, it's having 100 million lines of code on top that nobody can understand that makes it hard

    • @c0d3warrior
      @c0d3warrior Před měsícem +2

      Blindly typing in a listing from a print magazine was a thing back then, too.
      Understanding what that listing did was an entirely different thing however.

  • @TheRafaelRamos
    @TheRafaelRamos Před měsícem +57

    THE 8-BIT GUY MENTIONED, LET'S GOOOOO

  • @RaymondHulha
    @RaymondHulha Před měsícem +2

    Thank you for this great video! ❤

  • @calledout4437
    @calledout4437 Před měsícem +1

    Atari 800 here. It was magical haha. Nostalgia from those days.

  • @benbreeck3363
    @benbreeck3363 Před měsícem +6

    For follows up, you should next profile the C256 Foenix series by Stefanie Allaire and the MEGA65.

    • @gabor222
      @gabor222 Před měsícem +3

      Yeah, both has beautiful and more retro design and the Mega has the C64 compatibility too.

  • @greatwhiteretro
    @greatwhiteretro Před měsícem +2

    The Commodore 16 wasn't the inspiration, rather the VIC 20 was. The C16 and its TED counterparts took a very different direction.

  • @Elibbb-sx3kg
    @Elibbb-sx3kg Před měsícem +104

    But can it run crysis ?

    • @batterypwrlow
      @batterypwrlow Před měsícem +20

      I'd be surprised if it could run Doom

    • @Jos3phIVIasucci
      @Jos3phIVIasucci Před měsícem +9

      Some men just wanna watch the world burn.

    • @TheLastLineLive
      @TheLastLineLive Před měsícem +9

      It would be great if they could convince Crytek to make a Commodore 64 version of Crysis (probably a top down run and gun shooter like Commando would be appropriate) so they could say yes, it runs Crysis!

    • @uziel900able
      @uziel900able Před měsícem +2

      😂😂😂 that's rich!​@@TheLastLineLive

    • @mikeuk666
      @mikeuk666 Před měsícem +2

      ​@batterypwrlow there are toothbrushes that can run doom

  • @markododa
    @markododa Před měsícem +1

    What is the game at the beginning of the video, Shadow something?

  • @mrsupertash
    @mrsupertash Před měsícem +2

    If you say dream computer I'm thinking about the one in Weird Science.

  • @eduardoADSL
    @eduardoADSL Před měsícem +9

    Congratulations David, nice to see you here.

  • @TheMitoSan
    @TheMitoSan Před měsícem +15

    It's awesome to see David on IGN. Amazing! 💜

  • @mikeuk666
    @mikeuk666 Před měsícem +19

    Congratulations to the 8bit Guy & the team 🕹 👍

  • @DougDingus
    @DougDingus Před měsícem +7

    Thanks IGN. This project deserves a little mainstream recognition and it's great to see.

  • @_yatte
    @_yatte Před měsícem +1

    The parallels with synthesizers and music studio/mixing gear 😂 you have no idea yall 😅

  • @jengelenm
    @jengelenm Před měsícem +3

    Great video guys, alongside David’s supergreat project, there’s also Stefany Allaire’s Phoenix Systems 16bit retro computers. Surely deserves a spotlight as well !!! Cheers

  • @jc33353
    @jc33353 Před měsícem +5

    Love to see this. It can be really fun trying to figure out how far you can take a system with intentionally limited capabilities like this one. Plus it has those big chonky chips!

  • @johnmckown1267
    @johnmckown1267 Před měsícem

    Ah, my TRS-80 model 1 with 56K and an 80 track single sided 5.25 inch floppy powered by a Z-80 processor.

  • @Khaostheory1980
    @Khaostheory1980 Před měsícem +9

    2:49 was not actually screwing any screws...

    • @sn0n
      @sn0n Před měsícem +2

      ^ this

  • @Tarodenaro
    @Tarodenaro Před měsícem

    Can you guys please pass this to the IGN France:
    "Back then, in the 80's, you can connect up two IDE devices, with either "primary" or "slave" in one ribbon connectors"

  •  Před měsícem +5

    So Great to see the 8 bit guy in IGN.

  • @sherekhangamedev
    @sherekhangamedev Před měsícem +1

    One of the magnum opus from 8-bit guy. A really solid "what if" system.

  • @alexbedel6320
    @alexbedel6320 Před měsícem

    Can it run dwarf fortress

  • @mrelba9176
    @mrelba9176 Před měsícem +1

    WAIT...This was an unexpected feature. Go The 8-Bit Guy!

  • @neuralwarp
    @neuralwarp Před měsícem

    A desktop VAX cluster please.

  • @trippg3261
    @trippg3261 Před měsícem +8

    Just FYI folks, learning to program on this, or learning how this relatively simple CPU works will actually let you understand a lot about the current hardware. In my opinion more people learning to code on this will be the breakthrough needed for the US to excel in hardware design.

  • @DarkZenith
    @DarkZenith Před měsícem +3

    pretty sure the wood grain veneer reached its height in the 70s. 80s people started wanting to go black/silver/etc

  • @scottiepal3029
    @scottiepal3029 Před měsícem +2

    How to purchase it. How much? For a complete system

    • @Bobbias
      @Bobbias Před měsícem +1

      Currently they're selling the developer edition, which is about 400 USD. They hope to reduce prices over time, as the intended price is 100 USD, but the price of electronics has overseen a fair bit since the project began development making that price point quite difficult to hit.

  • @DaftRebel
    @DaftRebel Před měsícem +4

    the 8 bit guy is the best!

  • @awedelen1
    @awedelen1 Před měsícem

    Nice

  • @HumanityAsCode
    @HumanityAsCode Před měsícem +1

    Is this thing really $350?

  • @kingshadow8782
    @kingshadow8782 Před měsícem +4

    Nice.

  • @TGAProMKM
    @TGAProMKM Před měsícem +1

    wow!!

  • @EvelynRamos2
    @EvelynRamos2 Před měsícem +3

    Interesting

  • @toplist4944
    @toplist4944 Před měsícem +1

    nice...

  • @SpaceGringos3D
    @SpaceGringos3D Před měsícem +2

    8-Bit guy!!!!!!!

  • @AnnatarTheMaia
    @AnnatarTheMaia Před měsícem

    1970's technology had wood veneer; in the 1980's plastic was the new cool.

  • @AS-oz6ep
    @AS-oz6ep Před měsícem +1

    For what it is.. the price is much too high for me to consider buying one at this time.

    • @the_otamatone
      @the_otamatone Před měsícem +1

      They hope to reduce the price, and there is a clone called the otter, which is about half the price right now

    • @throwaway6478
      @throwaway6478 Před měsícem +2

      @@the_otamatone
      They throw a fair bit away to hit that price point though. 512KB RAM instead of 2MB, a single expansion slot instead of four, and several of the chips aren't genuine parts - they're emulations based on modern microcontrollers/FPGAs, which would upset some of the target demographic for a machine like the X16.
      Having said that, from what I've seen, the Otter is pretty close to what 8-Bit Guy envisages for the "cost reduced" second version of the X16, plus he wants to go surface-mount to reduce cost even more.

  • @COMATRON.
    @COMATRON. Před měsícem +2

    dope! MiSTer core would be even more dope

  • @stuartleckie
    @stuartleckie Před měsícem +1

    Seth the right guy to bring this to the IGN audience!
    Awesome.

  • @valentinoesposito3614
    @valentinoesposito3614 Před měsícem +1

    8 bit guy

  • @ignaciosalia1952
    @ignaciosalia1952 Před měsícem +2

    I'm not crying you are crying

  • @juniorxranger
    @juniorxranger Před měsícem +2

    My mind is blown right now. IGN!!

  • @hi2chan
    @hi2chan Před měsícem +2

    My dream PC is a Mac Pro

  • @Adam-jw3uz
    @Adam-jw3uz Před měsícem +6

    I'm already a longtime fan of 8BG and his work, I'm just here to read the normie reactions to the video and laugh at the ignoramuses.

  • @claudioexplica
    @claudioexplica Před měsícem +1

    The 8-bit guy boss

  • @jazzlover10000
    @jazzlover10000 Před měsícem +3

    The Commander X16 made so many of us very very sad.
    This project could have been really great but because of the stubbornness and the way it rolled out, it's only interesting to a very small group of people. Needs a modular design with the backplane on a daughterboard so that it can be small and forged into a laptop with a display. Think Model 100 / NEC PC8201a if ANYONE had listened this could be selling a million. A real lost opportunity it's just sad, really. Also needs to be open-source instead of this ridiculous cagey "we mock you with our non-openness" kind of bzi.

  • @johnhunt1725
    @johnhunt1725 Před měsícem +2

    But, WHY?!?

  • @bbuggediffy
    @bbuggediffy Před měsícem +1

    Uhhh its been ready for a year already

  • @Iamallwaysright1
    @Iamallwaysright1 Před měsícem +4

    Cool concept but idk how useful it is. Can't this just be emulated?

    • @DanteS-119
      @DanteS-119 Před měsícem +11

      No, clocks run different, not completely accurate

    • @batterypwrlow
      @batterypwrlow Před měsícem +6

      ​@@DanteS-119correct. Some games heavily depended on the cpu clock speed for the game speed. Goof example is if you get the OG Xbox and did an overclock on the cpu, some games will go faster like the speed of characters, npcs, attacks, ect. Can cause game breaking glitches sometimes too. It's kind of interesting.

    • @jc33353
      @jc33353 Před měsícem +5

      There is already an emulator, which is how X16 games can be played on Steam. This is all discussed in the video.

    • @gormondprecursor3525
      @gormondprecursor3525 Před měsícem +2

      @@DanteS-119 Even on something like a MiSTer?

    • @novh4ck
      @novh4ck Před měsícem +7

      It's like asking why somebody would want a simple car build like in the old times when they can buy a Tesla. Some people just want to drive cars from the 60's because it's fun.

  • @MS-eb8cf
    @MS-eb8cf Před měsícem +10

    Yeah but.. why though?

    • @novh4ck
      @novh4ck Před měsícem +11

      Why not? It's fun.

    • @mikeuk666
      @mikeuk666 Před měsícem +18

      If you have to ask you will never understand 😂

    • @Wythaneye
      @Wythaneye Před měsícem +8

      Because there is a huge community of enthusiasts who want such a thing to exist.

  • @moe47988
    @moe47988 Před měsícem +1

    Did you just say that one SSD has to be dedicated to games? People still do this crap? Why?

  • @mrsupertash
    @mrsupertash Před měsícem +1

    A vibrant facebook (!!1!1!1??9) community? first of all this makes no sense, second of all, it clearly says 11 members. why lie about his?

  • @crescentmoon256
    @crescentmoon256 Před měsícem +2

    somepeople will stay in the past forever

    • @TheSulross
      @TheSulross Před měsícem +14

      Teenagers (and even younger) can master the assembly language of the 6502 CPU and learn to write games for a computer such as the Commander X16. Look at game development for modern hardware - no place for the single individual - producing modern games is more akin to producing films. The coolness factor here is that its entirely possible to get in there and learn to program the video and the sound hardware and do nifty things. David's games (The 8-Bit Guy) are proof of what can be done.

  • @tical2399
    @tical2399 Před měsícem +3

    8 bit guy gets an auto thumbs down on the vid for me.