Hardware / Atari 65XE

HARDWARE / COMPUTERS

Atari 65XE

The 65XE has 64 KB RAM and built-in Atari BASIC. It retains the 800XL's basic capabilities in a grey XE-series case. Versions exist with and without ECI.

An 800XL in a new case

Introduced in 1985, the 65XE retained 64 KB RAM, built-in BASIC and SIO compatibility. Its grey case resembled the Atari ST being developed alongside it. The resemblance was external: the ST is a different computer family, with a different processor and software.

BASIC and the Translator Disk

BASIC starts without a cartridge. Holding OPTION at power-on disables the interpreter for programs that need its address space.

Atari provided the Translator Disk for some older 400/800 software. It loads the earlier operating system into an XL/XE computer's RAM.

Two connector configurations

The 65XE has SIO, a cartridge slot and two controller ports. It omits the XL series' PBI. Some machines have ECI, labelled Expansion, alongside the cartridge slot.

External bus expansions such as the XE TURBO FREEZER use ECI together with the cartridge slot. They cannot connect to a 65XE without ECI.

Sources and further reading