NAME  

400

MANUFACTURER  

Atari

TYPE  

Home Computer

ORIGIN  

U.S.A.

YEAR  

1979

END OF PRODUCTION 

1982

KEYBOARD  

QWERTY membrane keyboard, 61 keys
4 function keys (Reset, Option, Select, Start)

CPU  

6502

SPEED  

1.79 MHz

COPROCESSOR  

ANTIC (Scrolling, Sprites, Video), CTIA / GTIA (Color, Sprites, Collisions), POKEY (timers, sound, keyboard, serial I/O), PIA 6810 (I/O, including the 4 joystick ports)

RAM  

8 kb or 16 kb (newer models)

ROM  

10 kb

TEXT MODES 

40 x 25

GRAPHIC MODES 

Several graphic modes, maximum: 320 x 192

COLORS  

16 (each color can have 8 luminance) = 128 colors maximum in the lowest graphic mode (requiring display list interruption to have them simultaneously)
and up to 256 colors in some specific modes for machines having the GTIA chip instead of the CTIA

SOUND  

4 voices, 3.5 octaves

I/O PORTS 

HF TV output, 1 cartridge slot, Expansion bus, Atari Serial I/O (SIO), 4 joystick sockets, Tape recorder

OS  

400/800 OS in ROM

 

Atari 400

Atari 400


 The Atari 400 and 800 were the first home computers to use custom coprocessors and the first to use "sprites" and special video interruptions like display lists, features that will be implemented later on the Commodore 64 and Amiga (Atari 400/800 and Amiga were designed by Jay Miner).

It offered high graphic resolution, lots of colors and great sound

capabilities, more than other computers could do then! The two models had same characteristics, the 400 is the low-cost version, it has only 16 kb (instead of 48 kb), one cartridge port (two for the 800) and a membrane keyboard (a typewriter style keyboard one for the 800).

Originally, the 400 was sold with 8 KB RAM, but later most of the 400's were sold with 16 KB RAM.

The Atari 400 was known inside Atari as code name "Candy".


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