RetroFlops
Menu

Compare

Forty years of home computing

A PAL Commodore 64 and an 8 GB Raspberry Pi 5 across forty-one years: valid CPU-clock and whole-system-memory multipliers that remain separate facts, not a performance score.

What this comparison shows

Forty years of home computing

The PAL Commodore 64 and the 8 GB Raspberry Pi 5 are forty-one years apart. The two allowed ratios measure nominal CPU clock and whole-system memory capacity. The CPU-clock row compares the main processors. The whole-system-memory row compares the fitted 64 KiB of RAM with 8 GiB of unified memory. Each pair has the same metric, scope, and method, so the catalog can show its multiplier.

Neither ratio is a universal measure of speed. The 6510’s PAL clock derives from television timing, while the Raspberry Pi’s quad-core Cortex-A76 is a different processor with a different instruction set, cache hierarchy, and number of cores. The clock multiplier reports oscillator rates only; it provides no work-per-second result.

The memory multiplier is similarly narrow. The Commodore 64’s whole-system figure is its 64 KiB RAM; its 20 KiB ROM is banked over that address space and is deliberately not added. The Raspberry Pi has 8 GiB of unified RAM shared by its CPU and GPU. Capacity reports installed memory. It leaves access speed and software capability unmeasured.

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.

QuestionCommodore 64Commodore Business MachinesHome computer · 1982PALRaspberry Pi 5Raspberry Pi LtdPersonal computer · 20238 GB model
CPU clocklog scaleCommodore 64 (PAL)0.98525 MHzConfirmedRaspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)2.4 GHzConfirmed

Methods, caveats and sources for cpu clock

Where these sit among 65 machines recorded this way
  1. 1.02273 MHzCommodore 64
  2. 1.023 MHzApple II
  3. 2.4 GHzIntel Core 2 Duo E6600 PC
  4. 2.4 GHzRaspberry Pi 5
  5. 2.99 GHzApple iPhone 12
  • Commodore 64 — the lowest of the 65 figures recorded this way, and the lowest of the 12 from 1979–1985.
  • Raspberry Pi 5 — 53rd-lowest of the 65 figures recorded this way, and 3rd-lowest of the 10 from 2020–2026.

Positions on a logarithmic scale. See all 65 over time.

GPU clockCommodore 64 (PAL)not recorded for this variantRaspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)800 MHzConfirmed
Memory capacitylog scaleCommodore 64 (PAL)64 KiBConfirmedRaspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)8 GiBConfirmed

Methods, caveats and sources for memory capacity

Where these sit among 68 machines recorded this way
  1. 48 KiBZX Spectrum 48K
  2. 64 KiBCommodore 64
  3. 65 536 BSega Mega Drive
  4. 8 GiBNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
  5. 8 GiBRaspberry Pi 5
  6. 11 GiBNVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
  • Commodore 64 — 8th-lowest of the 68 figures recorded this way, and 6th-lowest of the 10 from 1979–1985.
  • Raspberry Pi 5 — 51st-lowest of the 68 figures recorded this way, and 4th-lowest of the 16 from 2020–2026.

Positions on a logarithmic scale. See all 68 over time.

Memory bandwidthCommodore 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.Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)unknownThe product brief names LPDDR4X-4267 but publishes no comparable memory-interface width or system bandwidth.
Peak FP32Commodore 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.Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)unknownThe product brief names the VideoCore VII GPU but does not publish an FP32 peak.
PowerCommodore 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.Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)25 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

MethodCommodore 64PALRaspberry Pi 58 GB model
Nominal clocklog scaleCommodore 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
Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)2.4 GHzConfirmed
2400×the baselinecaveat
Recorded as
  • Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor.
Caveat
The product brief names a 2.4 GHz clock for the BCM2712 processor.
Multiplier
a ÷ b (ratio v1, to 2 significant digits)
  • Raspberry Pi 5: 2.4 GHz
  • Commodore 64: 0.98525 MHz
Compares clock-frequency at cpu scope, obtained by nominal-clock. Valid only within this comparability group, and reported to 2 significant digits — the precision of the least precise input.
Sources

Peak FP32 ratecpu

Only one of these records states this figure in this form, so there is nothing here to compare it with.

MethodCommodore 64PALRaspberry Pi 58 GB model
Theoretical peakCommodore 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
Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)not recorded

Graphics

Figures recorded against a graphics processor.

Clock frequencygpu

Only one of these records states this figure in this form, so there is nothing here to compare it with.

MethodCommodore 64PALRaspberry Pi 58 GB model
Nominal clockCommodore 64 (PAL)not recordedRaspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)800 MHzConfirmed
baseline states nonecaveat
Recorded as
  • Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor.
Caveat
The product brief names an 800 MHz VideoCore VII GPU.
Multiplier
No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by.
Sources

Peak FP32 rategpu

Only one of these records states this figure in this form, so there is nothing here to compare it with.

MethodCommodore 64PALRaspberry Pi 58 GB model
Theoretical peakCommodore 64 (PAL)not recordedRaspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)unknownThe product brief names the VideoCore VII GPU but does not publish an FP32 peak.
baseline states nonecaveat
Recorded as
  • Stated by the vendor.
Caveat
The product brief names the VideoCore VII GPU but does not publish an FP32 peak.
Multiplier
No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by.
Sources

Memory

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

Memory capacitymemory

Only one of these records states this figure in this form, so there is nothing here to compare it with.

MethodCommodore 64PALRaspberry Pi 58 GB model
Design capacityCommodore 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
Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)built differentlyStated for the whole machine, in another row here.

Memory capacitywhole-system

MethodCommodore 64PALRaspberry Pi 58 GB model
Design capacitylog scaleCommodore 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
Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)8 GiBConfirmed
100 000×the baselinecaveat
Recorded as
  • Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor.
Caveat
This configuration is the 8 GB board model; memory capacity is treated as binary working memory.
Multiplier
a ÷ b (ratio v1, to 1 significant digit)
  • Raspberry Pi 5: 8 GiB
  • 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

Memory bandwidthmemory

Only one of these records states this figure in this form, so there is nothing here to compare it with.

MethodCommodore 64PALRaspberry Pi 58 GB model
Theoretical peakCommodore 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
Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)not recorded

Memory bandwidthwhole-system

Only one of these records states this figure in this form, so there is nothing here to compare it with.

MethodCommodore 64PALRaspberry Pi 58 GB model
Theoretical peakCommodore 64 (PAL)not recordedRaspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)unknownThe product brief names LPDDR4X-4267 but publishes no comparable memory-interface width or system bandwidth.
baseline states nonecaveat
Recorded as
  • Stated by the vendor.
Caveat
The product brief names LPDDR4X-4267 but publishes no comparable memory-interface width or system bandwidth.
Multiplier
No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by.
Sources

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.

MethodCommodore 64PALRaspberry Pi 58 GB model
Rated powerCommodore 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
Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB model)25 WConfirmed
baseline states nonecaveat
Recorded as
  • Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor.
Caveat
The 5 V, 5 A input is the board’s rated supply requirement, not a workload power measurement.
Multiplier
No multiplier: Commodore 64 (PAL) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by.
Sources

Change it

This preset is a starting point, not a fixed set. Open it in the comparison builder to swap a record in or out. The builder needs JavaScript; this page does not.