Full-size Amiga A1200 retro gaming system comes armed with modern HDMI port, 25 classic games
Modders recreate the original Xbox prototype with solid block of metal and original hardware
On the topic of the screen, a 10-inch 4:3 screen was selected for this project. It sat central with era-appropriate massive bezels. After mounting the screen and its PCB, a small mod was needed to wire brightness to a wheel on the side of the laptop. An audio volume wheel was positioned there, too. Ever the perfectionist, Noki decided to tamper with the screen firmware to banish on-screen messages regarding input sources and other features.
The final assembly steps were now ready to complete, with sprung latches added to the laptop lid. Torque hinges were used for easy, smooth, laptop screen angle adjustments. And now, the keyboard and screen were attached to the system PCB and all the panels screwed or snapped into place.
The finished prototype as shown in the video takes 11 seconds to boot to the Commodore 64 BASIC screen. Our intrepid tech adventurer found the system satisfying to use. He could load original software from the 1541 floppy, and an original ‘Pac-Man’ game of unknown provenance still worked. Even the Datasette test worked nicely, but slowly, of course.
The legendary Competition Pro 9-pin joysticks worked as intended. A Python program running in the background converted joystick input, wired to the Pi 5’s GPIO, to the appropriate key presses.
If you were to take the Portable 64 on the road, you’d probably eschew original media, though. For truly portable C64 fun, an SD card packed with games and apps was Noki’s preferred choice. Apparently, this prototype weighed about 4kg, or about 8 pounds. We didn’t hear anything about untethered battery life.
Previous notable projects by Kevin Noki include a 1980s beige Apple iPad.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/this-scratch-built-period-correct-design-portable-commodore-64-is-a-love-letter-to-an-alternate-commodore-history-nokis-cleverly-designed-homage-to-the-era-merges-commodore-apple-and-raspberry-pi#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- Splave's Cave: Overclocking the Asus RTX 5090 Astral and setting the 3DMark Port Royal world record
- This MSI Pro 27-inch gaming monitor plummets to its lowest-ever price of $89.99 at Newegg — 1080p, 144Hz display is a gaming and productivity double-threat
- Nvidia refuses to replace RTX 5080 FE GPU's broken 16-pin power connector retention clip — the owner says Nvidia is trying to 'burn my house down'
- Days after killing the brand, Crucial shows up at Delhi Comic-Con — As Micron pivots to AI, Crucial's presence likely booked out months in advance to event
- AMD's B650 chipset isn't going anywhere, according to a new rumor — rising memory costs and softening DIY demand mean the transition to B850 may take longer tha
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.