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Hardware

The chips and components that made it all possible.

4
Articles

Inside the VIC-II

The graphics chip that defined the Commodore 64

Sprites, smooth scrolling, and colour on a budget—how the VIC-II (6567/6569) pulled off the C64’s signature look.

SID: The Sound of the C64

Three voices, endless personality

The SID 6581/8580 chip gave the Commodore 64 synthesizer-class sound, inspiring composers and hardware hackers alike.

The Amiga Custom Chipset

Agnus, Denise, and Paula

Three custom co-processors gave the Amiga capabilities that PCs wouldn't match for years: graphics, blitting, and four-channel stereo audio.

VIC-II Chip Reference

Programming the C64's graphics hardware

Complete programmer's reference for the VIC-II (6567/6569)—registers, memory layout, display modes, and hardware quirks.