History and specs of Atari 8 bit computers
I remember when the Atari 400/800 came out , I wanted to ditch my Commodore in favor of the 800, based on looks alone. I love the Atari 800 aesthetic & really wanted one. I never did, but I did get an XL eventually.
Specs are for the original Atari 800 & 800xl (the one I owned)
| manufacturer | Atari Inc |
| model numbers | 400,800 (600/800/1200xl, XE) |
| years on sale | 1979-1984 (400/800), 1979-1992 (all) |
| price (new) at launch | (US) $999.95 [800], $549 [400] |
| price in today’s (2026) money | (US) $4,548 [800], $2,501 [400] |
| CPU / speed | MOS 6502 / 1.8MHz |
| RAM / ROM | 8K / 10K |
| sound | 1-bit toggling, built-in speaker |
| colors | 128 |
| screen size (text) | 24 x 40 |
| graphics mode (hor x vert x colors) | 320x192x1, 160x96x128 |
| OS(s) | Atari DOS, Atari BASIC (MS port) |
At some point I got an Atari 800xl from the bargain bin at Sears. I played around with it for a bit, but overall I didn’t like it. I honestly don’t remember why I didn’t like it, but I remember having some graphics issues. I do think that it looked really cool.
I loved the look of the Atari 800 (NOT the 400, yuck!) & the XL was really sleek & futuristic looking with those ‘aluminum’ buttons. I still remember playing ‘Star Raiders’ until the ‘wee hours of the night.
