What this comparison shows

A decade of Commodore clocks

Three machines from one company, all in their PAL configuration, because a PAL Commodore and an NTSC Commodore use different clocks and mixing them would put an artifact of broadcast timing into the comparison.

The clock row works: all three figures come from each machine’s own hardware documentation, they describe the main processor, and they were obtained the same way, so the ratios are legitimate. They are also close to meaningless as a statement about performance. A 68EC020 at 14.19 MHz does far more per cycle than a 6510 at 0.98525 MHz, and nothing in a clock frequency knows that. The multiplier here is a fact about oscillators.

Each machine carries more than one thing that answers to “memory”: the Commodore 64 has RAM and ROM, and the Amiga 1200 has Chip RAM and a Kickstart ROM. All are recorded as system memory. Asking for “the memory capacity” of such a machine is asking two questions at once, so there is no single figure to divide. The individual capacities are all there to read, but no multiplier is calculated.

At a glance

This card lists what each record states. These are the six questions every machine in the catalog is asked. A row with answers from different methods has no bar or multiplier; the line beneath it explains the difference.

Question	Commodore 64Commodore Business MachinesHome computer · 1982PAL	Commodore Amiga 500Commodore-Amiga, Inc.Home computer · 1987PAL	Commodore Amiga 1200Commodore Business MachinesHome computer · 1992PAL
CPU clock	Commodore 64 (PAL)0.98525 MHzConfirmed	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)7.09379 MHzConfirmed	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)14.19 MHzConfirmed
Methods, caveats and sources for cpu clock Where these sit among 65 machines recorded this way 1.02273 MHzCommodore 64 1.023 MHzApple II 5 MHzIntel 8086 PC 7.15909 MHzCommodore Amiga 500 7.16 MHzNEC PC Engine 12.5 MHzIntel 80286 PC 14.32 MHzCommodore Amiga 1200 16 MHzGame Boy Advance Commodore 64 — the lowest of the 65 figures recorded this way, and the lowest of the 12 from 1979–1985. Commodore Amiga 500 — 17th-lowest of the 65 figures recorded this way, and 5th-lowest of the 13 from 1984–1990. Commodore Amiga 1200 — 25th-lowest of the 65 figures recorded this way, and 4th-lowest of the 9 from 1989–1995. Positions on a linear scale. See all 65 over time.
GPU clock	Commodore 64 (PAL)not recorded for this variant	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)unknownThe Hardware Reference Manual describes the custom chips by the clocks the bus carries them — a 7.16 MHz system clock, a 3.58 MHz color clock — and never gives the chipset a frequency of its own.	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)unknownThe service manual gives the processor clock and the crystal it is divided from, and no frequency for the AGA chipset.
Memory capacity	Commodore 64 (PAL)64 KiBConfirmed	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)1 MiBConfirmed	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)2 MiBConfirmed
Methods, caveats and sources for memory capacity Where these sit among 68 machines recorded this way 48 KiBZX Spectrum 48K 64 KiBCommodore 64 65 536 BSega Mega Drive 524 288 BAtari 520ST 1 MiBCommodore Amiga 500 2 MiBCommodore Amiga 1200 2 MiBCommodore Amiga 4000 Commodore 64 — 8th-lowest of the 68 figures recorded this way, and 6th-lowest of the 10 from 1979–1985. Commodore Amiga 500 — 16th-lowest of the 68 figures recorded this way, and 7th-lowest of the 9 from 1984–1990. Commodore Amiga 1200 — 17th-lowest of the 68 figures recorded this way, and 4th-lowest of the 9 from 1989–1995. Positions on a linear scale. See all 68 over time.
Memory bandwidth	Commodore 64 (PAL)unknownThe Programmer’s Reference Guide describes the memory by capacity, by address map and by which chip may reach which part of it, and never states a transfer rate.	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)unknownThe manual states which parts of memory the custom chips can reach and how bus cycles are shared between them, and states no transfer rate.	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)unknownThe service manual states the data path width and the memory fitted, and no transfer rate.
Peak FP32	Commodore 64 (PAL)not applicableMOS Technology 6510No floating-point hardware. The 6510 does decimal and binary integer arithmetic in an eight-bit accumulator; the Commodore 64's floating point is a software library in the BASIC ROM, which is not a property of the processor.	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)not applicableMotorola MC68000The 68000 has no floating-point hardware on the die. Floating point requires a separate 68881 or 68882 coprocessor, which the Amiga 500 does not have, so any floating-point rate would describe software running on an integer ALU.	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)not applicableMotorola MC68EC020No floating-point hardware on the die. The Amiga 1200 has a socket for a 68881 or 68882 coprocessor, but the manual records it as factory-installed only, so a stock machine has none and any floating-point figure would describe software on an integer ALU.
Power	Commodore 64 (PAL)unknownThe Programmer’s Reference Guide gives no power figure for the machine. The only wattage in it is a resistor rating on a schematic.	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)unknownThe Hardware Reference Manual is a programming document and rates no power for the machine; the supply figures in it are for expansion cards drawing from the bus.	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)23 WConfirmed

Commodore 64 (PAL), the first record, is the multiplier baseline. Each section covers its own metrics. This comparison has no overall score. Bars are drawn to scale within a row and carry no number of their own.

Processing

Instruction rates, floating-point peaks, benchmark results and clocks. None of these converts into another.

Clock frequencycpu

Method	Commodore 64PAL	Commodore Amiga 500PAL	Commodore Amiga 1200PAL
Nominal clock	Commodore 64 (PAL)0.98525 MHzConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat Set by the video standard, not chosen for the processor: the VIC-II derives the system clock from the television timing. The 6510 part itself is rated for 1 MHz and 2 MHz operation. Sources c64-programmers-reference-guide	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)7.09379 MHzConfirmed 7.2000×the baselinecaveat Recorded as Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat The manual notes these rates can vary with an external system clock, such as from a genlock board. The figure describes the processor only; the custom chips do much of the machine's work in parallel with it. Multiplier `a ÷ b` (ratio v1, to 5 significant digits) Commodore Amiga 500: 7.09379 MHz Commodore 64: 0.98525 MHz Compares clock-frequency at cpu scope, obtained by nominal-clock. Valid only within this comparability group, and reported to 5 significant digits — the precision of the least precise input. Sources amiga-hardware-reference-manual	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)14.19 MHzConfirmed 14.40×the baselinecaveat Recorded as Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat The same manual states 14.18 MHz in its functional-specification section. The conflict ledger records why 14.19 was accepted. Note also that this is roughly twice the Amiga 500's clock while the machine is considerably more than twice as capable, because the data path doubled as well. Multiplier `a ÷ b` (ratio v1, to 4 significant digits) Commodore Amiga 1200: 14.19 MHz Commodore 64: 0.98525 MHz Compares clock-frequency at cpu scope, obtained by nominal-clock. Valid only within this comparability group, and reported to 4 significant digits — the precision of the least precise input. Sources amiga-1200-service-manual

Peak FP32 ratecpu

Both records address this quantity, but neither states a value. The figures are recorded as an explicit absence, so there is nothing to compare.

Method	Commodore 64PAL	Commodore Amiga 500PAL	Commodore Amiga 1200PAL
Theoretical peak	Commodore 64 (PAL)not applicableNo floating-point hardware. The 6510 does decimal and binary integer arithmetic in an eight-bit accumulator; the Commodore 64's floating point is a software library in the BASIC ROM, which is not a property of the processor. baseline Recorded as MOS Technology 6510: Stated by the vendor. Sources c64-programmers-reference-guide	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)not applicableThe 68000 has no floating-point hardware on the die. Floating point requires a separate 68881 or 68882 coprocessor, which the Amiga 500 does not have, so any floating-point rate would describe software running on an integer ALU. baseline states none Recorded as Motorola MC68000: Stated by the vendor. Multiplier No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by. Sources amiga-hardware-reference-manual	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)not applicableNo floating-point hardware on the die. The Amiga 1200 has a socket for a 68881 or 68882 coprocessor, but the manual records it as factory-installed only, so a stock machine has none and any floating-point figure would describe software on an integer ALU. baseline states none Recorded as Motorola MC68EC020: Stated by the vendor. Multiplier No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by. Sources amiga-1200-service-manual

Graphics

Figures recorded against a graphics processor.

Clock frequencygpu

Both records address this quantity, but neither states a value. The figures are recorded as an explicit absence, so there is nothing to compare.

Method	Commodore 64PAL	Commodore Amiga 500PAL	Commodore Amiga 1200PAL
Nominal clock	Commodore 64 (PAL)not recorded	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)unknownThe Hardware Reference Manual describes the custom chips by the clocks the bus carries them — a 7.16 MHz system clock, a 3.58 MHz color clock — and never gives the chipset a frequency of its own. baseline states nonecaveat Recorded as Stated by the vendor. Caveat Unknown rather than not-applicable. The Commodore 64’s manual names a single video dot clock, while the Amiga’s names several clocks the display hardware runs from and leaves which one is "the chipset’s" to the reader. Picking one would be this project answering a question the document declines to. Multiplier No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by. Sources amiga-hardware-reference-manual	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)unknownThe service manual gives the processor clock and the crystal it is divided from, and no frequency for the AGA chipset. baseline states nonecaveat Recorded as Stated by the vendor. Caveat Unknown for the same reason as the Amiga 500’s, one generation later: the documents describe the custom chips by what they can reach and how fast they can be fed, never by a clock of their own. Multiplier No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by. Sources amiga-1200-service-manual

Memory

Capacity, bandwidth, bus width and timing. Binary and decimal prefixes are kept as the source wrote them.

Memory capacitymemory

Method	Commodore 64PAL	Commodore Amiga 500PAL	Commodore Amiga 1200PAL
Design capacity	Commodore 64 (PAL)64 KiBConfirmed20 KiBConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as Commodore 64 system RAM: Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Commodore 64 system ROM: Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat Exactly 65 536 B: the manual's "64K" is a binary kilobyte. The ROM capacity is recorded separately and overlaps this address range rather than extending it, so the two must never be added.Banked over the RAM inside the same sixteen-bit address space, not added to it. Sources c64-programmers-reference-guide	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)512 KiBConfirmed several parts statedcaveat Recorded as Amiga 500 Chip memory: Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat Chip memory only: what the custom chips can reach. It is not the machine's total RAM, and the two are not interchangeable: Fast memory is invisible to the graphics and audio hardware. Multiplier No multiplier: the machine states this quantity for more than one part, so there is no single figure to divide. Sources amiga-hardware-reference-manual	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)2 MiBConfirmed512 KiBConfirmed several parts statedcaveat Recorded as Amiga 1200 Chip memory: Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Amiga 1200 Kickstart ROM: Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat Chip memory only: what the AGA chipset can reach. Fast memory added in the CPU slot or the PCMCIA slot is invisible to the graphics hardware and is not counted here. Multiplier No multiplier: the machine states this quantity for more than one part, so there is no single figure to divide. Sources amiga-1200-service-manual

Memory capacitywhole-system

Method	Commodore 64PAL	Commodore Amiga 500PAL	Commodore Amiga 1200PAL
Design capacity	Commodore 64 (PAL)64 KiBConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as Derived. Computed here from figures the vendor stated. Caveat Adds 1 memory-capacity figure obtained by design-capacity. Left out: 20 KiB of system ROM (read-only, so it is storage the machine reads from rather than memory it works in). A total is only as trustworthy as the decision about what belongs in it, so both the terms and the exclusions are named records. Sources c64-programmers-reference-guide	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)1 MiBConfirmed 20×the baselinecaveat Recorded as Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat The third edition dates from 1991, and its base Amiga 500 is a later machine than the 512 KiB one sold in 1987. Chip memory is a subset of this figure, not an addition to it. Multiplier `a ÷ b` (ratio v1, to 1 significant digit) Commodore Amiga 500: 1 MiB Commodore 64: 64 KiB Compares memory-capacity at whole-system scope, obtained by design-capacity. Valid only within this comparability group, and reported to 1 significant digit — the precision of the least precise input. Sources amiga-hardware-reference-manual	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)2 MiBConfirmed 30×the baselinecaveat Recorded as Derived. Computed here from figures the vendor stated. Caveat Adds 1 memory-capacity figure obtained by design-capacity. Left out: 512 KiB of Kickstart ROM (read-only firmware, not memory the machine can write to). A total is only as trustworthy as the decision about what belongs in it, so both the terms and the exclusions are named records. Multiplier `a ÷ b` (ratio v1, to 1 significant digit) Commodore Amiga 1200: 2 MiB Commodore 64: 64 KiB Compares memory-capacity at whole-system scope, obtained by design-capacity. Valid only within this comparability group, and reported to 1 significant digit — the precision of the least precise input. Sources amiga-1200-service-manual

Memory bandwidthmemory

Both records address this quantity, but neither states a value. The figures are recorded as an explicit absence, so there is nothing to compare.

Method	Commodore 64PAL	Commodore Amiga 500PAL	Commodore Amiga 1200PAL
Theoretical peak	Commodore 64 (PAL)unknownThe Programmer’s Reference Guide describes the memory by capacity, by address map and by which chip may reach which part of it, and never states a transfer rate. baselinecaveat Recorded as Stated by the vendor. Caveat Unknown, not not-applicable: the machine moves bytes and therefore has a rate. It could be computed — one byte per cycle, and the processor and the VIC-II take alternate cycles — but that arithmetic is this project’s, not the manual’s, and it would have to describe the interleaving rather than just state the product. Sources c64-programmers-reference-guide	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)unknownThe manual states which parts of memory the custom chips can reach and how bus cycles are shared between them, and states no transfer rate. baseline states nonecaveat Recorded as Stated by the vendor. Caveat Unknown, not not-applicable. What the manual gives instead is more useful than a rate and less summarizable: Chip memory is the pool the display hardware can see, and the cycles it takes are cycles the processor does not get. Multiplier No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by. Sources amiga-hardware-reference-manual	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)unknownThe service manual states the data path width and the memory fitted, and no transfer rate. baseline states nonecaveat Recorded as Stated by the vendor. Caveat Unknown. The A1200 widened the path to Chip memory to 32 bit, which is the change that mattered most for graphics on this machine, and it is recorded as a width because a width is what the manual states. Multiplier No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by. Sources amiga-1200-service-manual

Energy

A cooling-design target, a specified rating and a measured wall draw are separate quantities, and only the last supports a multiplier.

Rated power consumptionwhole-system

Both records address this quantity, but neither states a value. The figures are recorded as an explicit absence, so there is nothing to compare.

Method	Commodore 64PAL	Commodore Amiga 500PAL	Commodore Amiga 1200PAL
Rated power	Commodore 64 (PAL)unknownThe Programmer’s Reference Guide gives no power figure for the machine. The only wattage in it is a resistor rating on a schematic. baselinecaveat Recorded as Stated by the vendor. Caveat Recorded so the question is asked and answered rather than left blank. The Amiga 1200’s service manual has a specification table with a supply rating in it; this guide is a programming manual and has no such table, which is a fact about the document rather than about the computer. Sources c64-programmers-reference-guide	Commodore Amiga 500 (PAL)unknownThe Hardware Reference Manual is a programming document and rates no power for the machine; the supply figures in it are for expansion cards drawing from the bus. baseline states nonecaveat Recorded as Stated by the vendor. Caveat The Amiga 1200 states 23 watts because its service manual has a specification table. No such table has been found for the A500 in a source this catalog accepts, so the question stays open rather than being answered from an enthusiast page. Multiplier No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by. Sources amiga-hardware-reference-manual	Commodore Amiga 1200 (PAL)23 WConfirmed baseline states nonecaveat Recorded as Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat A supply rating, not a draw: nothing here was measured, and the manual says the A1200 shares the supply with the A600, so the figure describes what Commodore fitted rather than what this machine uses. Comparable in kind with the Apollo Guidance Computer’s 70 W and the Mac mini’s 150 W, and with nothing anybody put a meter on, which is why the metric forbids ratios. Multiplier No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by. Sources amiga-1200-service-manual

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