website/content/museum/commodore-sx-dx-64-executive-computer.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Commodore SX/DX 64 - Executive computer	Computers	Transportable	U.S.A.	1983	6510	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos adverts hardware emulators links docs videos related oc_id source SX/DX 64 - Executive computer /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_system_s1.jpg /companies/commodore Commodore label value NAME SX/DX 64 - Executive computer label value MANUFACTURER Commodore label value TYPE Transportable label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR 1983 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE SX-64 Basic v2.0 label value KEYBOARD Full-stroke detachable keyboard, 66 keys, 4 function keys label value CPU 6510 label value SPEED 1 Mhz label value CO-PROCESSOR VIC II (Video), SID (Sound) label value RAM 64k (38911 bytes free) label value ROM 20k label value TEXT MODES 40 chars. x 25 lines with 16 colors label value GRAPHIC MODES several, most used : 320 x 200 label value COLORS 16 label value SOUND 3 voices, 9 octaves, 4 waveforms label value SIZE / WEIGHT 36.8 (W) x 36.8 (D) x 12.7 (H) cm label value I/O PORTS 2 joystick sockets (Atari standard), cartridge slot, expansion port, serial, RGB video output, keyboard label value BUILT IN MEDIA SX-64 : 1 x 5''1/4 FDD\ DX-64 : 2 x 5''1/4 FDD label value POWER SUPPLY Built-in power supply unit label value PERIPHERALS Z80 card label value PRICE SX-64 : US$ 1000 (USA, may 1983) - £895 (U.K., 1984) photos adverts hardware emulators links docs videos 518 title subtitle text image SX-64 #1 Special thanks to **Marc Horchler** who donated us the pictured computer /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_system_s3.jpg title subtitle text image SX-64 #2 /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_system_s2.jpg title subtitle text image SX-64 #3 /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_hr_1.jpg title subtitle text image FRONT /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_front_hr_1.jpg title subtitle text image RUNNING SYSTEM Same well known boot-up screen as the Commodore 64. /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_bootscreen_s1.jpg title subtitle text image CARTRIDGE SLOT /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_cartridge_s1.jpg title subtitle text image FRONT BUTTONS These buttons, protected by a cover, allow video and sound adjustments, as well as the floppy drive reset. /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_videobuttons.jpg title subtitle text image FRONT /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_front_hr_2.jpg title subtitle text image CLOSED #1 The cable you see below the computer is used to connect the detachable keyboard to the central unit. If you find a SX-64, make sure you get this cable as it is often missing. /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_closed_s1.jpg title subtitle text image CLOSED #2 /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_closed_s2.jpg title subtitle text image CLOSED #3 /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_closed_hr_1.jpg title subtitle text image CLOSED #4 /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_closed_hr_2.jpg title subtitle text image REAR PANEL From left to right :\ • 2 joystick DB9 sockets,\ • RGB video output DIN socket,\ • Serial DIN socket,\ • Expansion port,\ • Power in,\ • Fuse,\ • ON/OFF switch /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_backside_s1.jpg title subtitle text image REAR #2 /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_rear_hr_1.jpg title subtitle text image KEYBOARD /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_keyboard_hr_1.jpg title subtitle text image UNCOVERED The upper plasic housing was replaced with a second floppy drive in the DX-64 version. /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_uncovered_s1.jpg title subtitle text image INSIDE **(1)** Main CPU card\ **(2)** I/O card. The cartridge slot is connected to this card\ **(3)** Floppy drive controller card\ **(4)** Power supply unit\ **(5)** Video CRT card /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_inside_s1.jpg title subtitle text image INSIDE CLOSE-UP /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_inside_s2.jpg title subtitle text image COMMODORE LABEL Where we can see that this model was manufactured in Japan, in December 1983 /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_label_s1.jpg title subtitle text image SX500 The SX500 was an Amiga 500 cased into a SX64 chassis. Only a few prototypes were made, although the machines creator has 1 of them, often shown at Computer shows over in the states. It used the same case, as you can see where the top cartridge slot has been blocked off! About the SX-500, **Bob Eller** adds:\ Your SX-500 picture is a one of a kind computer built by Dale Luck, who was with the Amiga Los Gatos engineering team. As I understand it, he wanted a portable Amiga and put the machine in a gutted SX-64 case. Thanks to **Malcolm Ramage** - Picture from **www.retrobits.com** /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_sx500_s1.jpg title subtitle text image MIDI SYSTEM **John Tudder** sent us this amazing pictures along with the following comment:\ I made some great music and played live with this setup. All in a rack mount now. /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_midisystem_s1.jpg title subtitle text image GPIB VERSION This special version held a GPIB interface controller. It was probably modified by a third company. /media/museum/photos/commodore_sx64_gpibmodel.jpg title subtitle text image US ADVERT This guy has so much power in his hands that he has attracted two girls (so far) in his swimming-pool ! Notice the classical symbol of the 80s adverts : the glass of orange juice with a straw... /media/museum/pubs/commodore_sx64_sweden-pub_1.jpg title subtitle text image UK ADVERT (1984) Thanks to Tony Mattson for this picture /media/museum/pubs/commodore_sx64_pub-uk_1.png title subtitle text image NEW ZEALAND ADVERT dated February 1984 from Bits & Bytes magazine null title subtitle text image 1530 C2N Tape-recorder The classic Commodore tape-recorder ! /media/museum/hardware/commodore_c64_tape-recorder-1530-c2n_1.jpg title subtitle text image SONG PRODUCER from Moog MIDI interface with sequencer software plugged in an SX-64 computer. /media/museum/hardware/commodore_sx64_moog-sound-producer.jpg title subtitle text image CMD SUPERCPU The SuperCPU by Creative Micro Devices is an accelerator cartridge for the Commodore 64. It contains an W65C816S processor running at 20 MHz, providing 20 times the performance of the stock 6510 processor! CMD later added a SuperRAM Card option that could include up to 16 MB of additional memory. There is also a v2 version that offers native 128 mode support (also called SuperCPU/128). It is one of the most sought-after Commodore peripherals. Thomas Conté /media/museum/hardware/c64_supercpu.jpg title subtitle text image CMD RAMLINK This RAM expansion unit by Creative Micro Devices was intended to be used as a RAM drive to accelerate disk access. It is externally powered, and thus will preserve the data even when the computer is turned off. Thomas Conté /media/museum/hardware/c64_cmd_ramlink.jpg title subtitle text image FLOPPY DISK UNIT 1540-1541 It is connected to the C64 via a serial link.\ It is very very slow and can store 170 kb per disk. /media/museum/hardware/commodore-diskdrive_1540_1.jpg title subtitle text image QUICK DATA DRIVE **Cheaper and faster than diskettes.** This Quick Data Drive from Dean Electronics is dedicated to Commodore 64 and <$252$>Vic 20 systems. It uses a special tape called 'Wafer', of 16, 64 or 128 Kb capacity. This wafer was also used by a product marketed for the <$223$>Sinclair Spectrum, called Wafadrive. Various tests proved that the Q.D.D. was approximately 20 times faster than a normal cassette recorder and 2 or 3 times faster than the Commodore 1541 disk drive. The reason : data transfer routines (called QOS) much more efficient than those of Commodore, and a file management operating system (FMU) much more modern and powerful. The Q.D.D. is however not more than an advanced tape recorder using a magnetic tape, and the delay to access a specific file still remains higher than with a normal disk drive. Despite its qualities, the Q.D.D. did not meet success because most C64 software was sold on disks or tapes and users had to acquire both Commodore peripherals before investing in a third powerful storage system. /media/museum/hardware/commodore_64_quick_data_1.jpg title subtitle text image CMD HD-20 20Mb hard-drive This is a hard drive for the C64 or 128. SWAP-Devicenumber-Buttons let the HD become drive 8 or 9. It can create sub-directories and partitions, including 1541 emulation. /media/museum/hardware/commodore_c64_cmd-hd20_1.jpg title subtitle text image VICMODEM Advert You could already send emails !! /media/museum/hardware/commodore_vicmodem_pub_1.jpg title subtitle text image WERSIBOARD MUSIC 64 Thomas Conté /media/museum/hardware/c64_wersiboard.jpg title subtitle text image MODEL 1525 It can print all the semi graphic characters of the C64. (30 characters per second) /media/museum/hardware/commodore_printer_1525_1.jpg title url platform text CCS64 http://www.ccs64.com/ Windows The best C64 emulator for the PC title url platform text Free64 http://www.umr.edu/~bmartin/ Windows A Freeware emulator for MS DOS title url platform text MESS http://www.mess.org Windows This fantastic emulator can emulate the mlost of the 8-bit Commodore systems title url platform text Win 64 http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/6558/win64.htm Windows The Best C64 Emulator for Win95 / WinNT title url platform text Win64 http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/park/6558/win64.htm Windows Good Commodore 64 for Windows title url platform text Mac Frodo http://internetter.com/titan/macfrodo/ Apple The MAC OS version of Frodo, one of the best C64 Emulator title url platform text Power 64 http://www.infinite-loop.at/Power64/index.html Apple Emulator for PPC Macintoshes title url platform text SID PLay http://stud1.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426444/sidplay/ Apple A player for C64 Musics title url platform text ccs http://www.funet.fi/pub/cbm/crossplatform/emulators/unix/ Unix / Linux C64 emulator for Unix title url platform text Frodo for Amiga OS http://www.uni-mainz.de/~bauec002/FRMain.html Amiga OS The best C64 Emulator for Amiga title url platform text VICE for Amiga OS4 http://amidog.se/amiga/vice/ Amiga OS This AmigaOS4 version is ported by Mathias "AmiDog" Roslund title url platform text c64.gr http://www.c64.gr/ Other platform C64 online emulator. Play favorite games in your browser! title url platform text C-ONE http://c64upgra.de/c-one/ Other platform Hardware emulator (re-configurable computer) title url platform text Frodo for PalmOS http://frodopalm.sourceforge.net/ Other platform Frodo for PalmOS title url platform text VICE http://viceteam.bei.t-online.de/ Other platform Emulates the C64, C128, VIC20, all the PET models and the CBM-II under Unix, MS-DOS, Win95/NT, OS/2, Acorn RISC OS or BeOS !! title url platform text Web C64 http://www.dreamfabric.com/c64/ Other platform The 64 as a Java applet in your Browser. Excellent ! title url platform text C=64 Emulator for OS/2 Full Screen http://home.hccnet.nl/w.m.brul/emulator/index.html OS2 Freeware emulator for OS/2 title url text C64.COM http://www.c64.com/ Excellent and beautifully designed site, full of games to download. A must title url text c64.gr http://www.c64.gr/ C64 online emulator. Play favorite games in your browser! title url text c64files.com :: the ultimate C64 portal! http://www.c64files.com/ News, Gaming, Music, Museum, Links etc. title url text Commodore 64 - http://folkvagn.commodore64.org Info about the C64 and successors, C64 emulators and the SID chip. Also contains C64 programs and a forum. In Swedish only. title url text Commodore 64 Game Endings http://www.c64endings.co.uk/ All your fave C64 game endings under one roof. title url text Commodore 64 Nostalgia http://www.staggs.pair.com/c64/ title url text Commodore Scene Magazine and Importing Service http://www.commodorescene.org.uk/ New publications, hardware and software for the Commodore 128/128d and C64 title url text Commodore Service Manuals http://www.devili.iki.fi/Computers/Commodore/ Commodore Service Manuals & other stuff title url text Commodore-64 Programmer's Library http://home.comcast.net/~c64proglib many of Robert Baker's early original magazine articles, programs and programming tips (not free) title url text Commodore-related Net Resources http://www.hut.fi/~msmakela/cbm/netresources.html title url text Good Old Games http://speccy.altervista.org/ Many games with screenshot comparisons, download and magazines title url text Greg and David's C64 Web page http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gvincent/ title url text HV C64 CD's - The ultimate CD set full of software for the C64 http://www.talent.demon.co.uk/64/ title url text LEMON 64 http://www.lemon64.com/ The source for all Your Commodore 64 Gaming and News needs ! Quite impressive !!! title url text Mayhem64 http://www.mayhem64.co.uk/main.htm For all your C64 cartridge needs... and more! title url text Remixes of music from C-64 games http://remix.kwed.org Hear the tunes from your fav C64 games like you've never heard them before! title url text Stadium 64 http://s64.emuunlim.com/ Are you a sportgaming fan? Then this site is definitely for you! Over 1000 sportgames available for download. Lots of manuals, reviews, covers, adverts, screenshots, hints&tips, world records + a lot more! title url text The Commodore 8-bit WWW server http://www.hut.fi/~msmakela/cbm/ title url text The Secrets Weapons of Commodore http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/ckb/secret/ Awesome website ! Presents all the weird systems imagined by Commodore. title url text The Star Commander homepage http://sta.c64.org/sc.html title url text Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com This is a bulletin board run on a Commodore 64! title url cover text COMMODORE SX-64 USER'S GUIDE null /media/museum/docs/couvs/commodore_sx64_user-guide.jpg **COMMODORE SX-64 USER'S GUIDE**\ written by Commodore  compiled/archived by Russ Riebel\  type of document : Online reader **... READ THE ONLINE VERSION BY CLICKING BELOW :** title url text C64 assembly line pictures! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vzfJLVS2YI Length: 6 min 56 s /museum/commodore-c128-c128d /museum/commodore-c64 /museum/commodore-c64-aldi /museum/commodore-c64-golden-jubilee /museum/commodore-c64c /museum/commodore-c64g /museum/commodore-educator-64 /museum/commodore-lcd /museum/commodore-vic-1001 /museum/eds-c64-edc 524 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230205011417/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=524 2023-02-05

The SX/DX 64 is the "laptop version" (though hardly portable) of the C64. This computer has a built-in 5" color screen (just about enough for the eyes), a detachable keyboard with new functions, and one or two 5.25" floppy disk drives (the famous 1541), depending on the model.

The DX-64 and the SX-100 (SX-64 with black & white monitor) were first announced in January 1983 but the SX-100 never made it to the shelves and was replaced by the SX-64 later that year.

One important feature is that the SX/DX-64 lacks a cassette interface ! People who upgraded from the classic C64 couldn't play their games stored on tapes ! Some programs that used the tape buffer for storage (of sprites say) had problems too.
The cartridge slot is found on top of the case, and there is a sound speaker inside the unit (unlike the C64).

The DX-64 has the same characteristics as the SX64 except its two 5.25" floppy disk drives instead of one. A very small quantity was produced. It was probably never sold but only used by Commodore insiders.

The SX64 and DX64 computers never had success, probably because of higher selling prices, but were known as the world's first color portables.

The SX64 was not the only machine that Commodore made in this chassis, there was also the SX500, which was an Amiga in the SX case (see 'More pictures').