Technology | Nostalgia | 1980s
Remembering the Amstrad CPC 464: A Classic 1980s Home Computer
Looking back at an all-in-one machine that offered a lot for the money
This is an updated version of an article I wrote for some of my now-defunct blogs.
In 1984, Amstrad entered the 8-bit home computer market with the CPC 464. When I first read a review, I was amazed by how much it had to offer.
It was supplied as a complete package, with either a green monochrome monitor or a colour one. There was also a built-in cassette recorder.
I loved the colourful keyboard, and how the cassette deck featured keyboard-style controls.
It was a computer with a lot of appeal, and I was a little envious of a work colleague whose family had one. I acquired a user guide in the late 1980s, so even though I never became an owner, I learned more about what I had missed out on!
Processor and RAM
As with many of the later Z80-based computers, the processor in the CPC 464 was clocked at 4 MHz. In contrast, the earlier ZX Spectrum only clocked its Z80 at 3.5 MHz.
The machine wasn’t lacking in RAM either, having a full 64 KB as standard — four times as…
