Which Atari computer would you recommend?

[Hardcore]

I'm looking over the Atari computers for retrogaming goodness, and I'd like your thoughts concerning the different models.

Which model gives the best quality gaming experience?

Which is cheaper/easier to find?

Thanks for helping me in my research.

[Wookie]

The 800XL is competent and relatively easy to find at a decent price. 800 and 130XE are also pretty common. 65XE and 1200XL are somewhat harder to find but are pretty good machines. Avoid the 400 & 600XL as they have limited memory (unless upgraded) so have the most compatibility issues, and the 400 has that awful membrane keyboard.

Keep in mind that there are some compatibility issues between the three families (400/800, XL series, XE series) so a handful of games won't run on all machines. Only the 400/800 have 4 controller ports.

Personally, I prefer to use an 800 because I like it's massive feel and they seem more reliable, but my 130XE gets more use since it fits better on the shelf.
-Ron

[cyberfluxor]

I always see discussions on the Atari 800 so I'd suggest going with it not only to be apart of those threads but obviously there are more members that can help you with it in troubled times.

[ApolloBoy]

I would go with either the aforementioned 800XL or the XEGS. They both have the best compatibility (next to the 130XE) and have enough memory to run almost all games.

[DarthKur]

You can't go wrong with either an 800 or 800XL. You'll definitely want a 1050 disk drive to go along with it as well.

[Goblin]

The 800 is a tank, but I much prefer the 130XE in terms of styling. It might cost you a but more, but the XE GS is good since it has composite out without having to make or locate any special cables. I usually have this hooked up without the keyboard, although then you loose the ability to play a whole bunch of titles.

[oesiii]

800XL is the most common starter system for Atari computers. Easy to use with carts and if you like the games usually makes more sense to get a sio2pc cable that gives you access to thousands of games instead of a 1050 disk drive.

www.atarimax.com has good sio2pc cables, software, and service.

[zektor]

I agree with the 800Xl and SIO2PC. Atarimax also has some systems pre-modded that you may want to look in to.

[Family Computer]

Commodore 64

[j_factor]

Are you only looking at the 8-bitters? Because the 1040STF (Atari ST) is a very nice machine.

[Hardcore]

Where do I go for the systems on Atarimax? All I've found so far are just the peripherals.

[blue lander]

Whatever you get, you should totally invest in an SIO2PC cable. It's relatively easy to build if you want to make your own. It's a little picky about what kind of parallel port and OS it'll work with, though. I ended up having to run the program off an old Pentium Pro running just DOS before it'd work!

[Hardcore]

Alright, so I'll go with an 800XL. What games would you suggest?

I prefer any genre short of sports.

[idrougge]

Any machine with 48 K of memory of more will do, no matter what you call it. SIO2PC makes the system very managable, especially if you have a PC laptop which can be easily parked next to it.

Just a few game tips: Starraiders, Mirax Force, Mutant Camels, Dropzone, Zybex.

[Cantaloup]

Alright, so I'll go with an 800XL. What games would you suggest?

I prefer any genre short of sports.

There are just so many games... but here are some I have fond memories of, though I'm not sure how well some of them have aged:

Star Raiders
MULE
Archon
Archon II
Seven Cities of Gold
Pinball Construction Set
Ultima I-IV
Gemstone Warrior
Maxwell Manor
Silent Service
Zeppelin
Alley Cat
Space Dungeon
Miner 2049er
Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory
Jumpman/Jumpman Jr.
Montezuma's Revenge
Bruce Lee
International Karate
Karateka
Blue Max
Alternate Reality
Zombies
Rescue on Fractalus
Koronis Rift
Pastfinder
Summer Games
Hacker
Agent USA
Castle Wolfenstein
Wavy Navy
Ghostbusters
Mail Order Monsters
Racing Destruction Set
Mercenary
Spy vs. Spy
Lost Tomb

[BillKunkel]

There are just so many games... but here are some I have fond memories of, though I'm not sure how well some of them have aged:

Star Raiders
MULE
Archon
Archon II
Seven Cities of Gold
Pinball Construction Set
Ultima I-IV
Gemstone Warrior
Maxwell Manor
Silent Service
Zeppelin
Alley Cat
Space Dungeon
Miner 2049er
Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory
Jumpman/Jumpman Jr.
Montezuma's Revenge
Bruce Lee
International Karate
Karateka
Blue Max
Alternate Reality
Zombies
Rescue on Fractalus
Koronis Rift
Pastfinder
Summer Games
Hacker
Agent USA
Castle Wolfenstein
Wavy Navy
Ghostbusters
Mail Order Monsters
Racing Destruction Set
Mercenary
Spy vs. Spy
Lost Tomb

Great list; I had so much fun with Racing Destruction Set and Seven Cities from EA, but a lot of Broderbund classics are missing, esp. Spielunker. Hardware wise I guess I'm a confirmed dinosaur cause I'd take the original 800 with a disk drive, of course and a Commodore monitor. When the XE series originally came out, we got one at EG and I took it home and haaaaaated it. Especially the fact that they had redesigned the cartridge input slot so you could only fit Atari carts in there. Oh sure, you could rip the casing off your non-Atari games and stick in the ROM board but, ummm, that wasn't so good. That was the only item that infuriated me so much I actually it sent back to the manufacturer in 30 years of getting freebies.

Was the XL an attempt to correct the XE's flaws? Can't quite fit that series into the Atari timeline.

Also, get a basic Kraft joystick, the best Atari-style stick... ever.

In terms of original launch on the Atari 400/800 and the C64 (replacing the awful VIC-20), the C64 was a much inferior machine, with an ugly, incorrectly spaced keyboard (that is, the keys were not correctly distanced from one another, making touch typing really difficult), a disk drive from hell and load times that are legendary. But that SID chip was really popular and juiced the audio and speed-up loader carts were soon introduced so you could actually play adventure games in this lifetime and Commodore just did a better overall job of marketing.

Liked the ST comment. They were made like crap and the idea of selling a low-res color monitor AND a hi-res b&w monitor was plain demented. Still, it was cheap, very intuitive (unlike the user-hostile and over-complicated original Amiga), introduced multi-tasking and had loads of really good games.

[ApolloBoy]

Was the XL an attempt to correct the XE's flaws? Can't quite fit that series into the Atari timeline.

400/800 > 1200XL > 600/800XL > 65/130XE > XEGS

[BydoEmpire]

I've never owned a 130xe, but from the pics I've seen it looks like the cartridge slot is in the back and NOT on the top of the machine, like the 800xl. This seems awfully inconvenient to me, so I'd probably go with the 800xl.

I would also recommend Necromancer, which I've been playing a lot of lately.

[ApolloBoy]

I've never owned a 130xe, but from the pics I've seen it looks like the cartridge slot is in the back

It is.

[StBob]

The 400/800 with 48k are the best. They had 4 joystick ports for 4 player games.
The comodore 64 had bragging rights with 16k more memory so Atari had to keep up. In order to have 64K ram they had to use the joystick ports 3 and 4 for access. This killed 4 player games.
I'm a MULE fan and 2 player MULE is horrid while 4 humans is one of the best games of all time.
There are not that many games that can't be played on a 48k atari. One that comes to mind is Bounty Bob returns, the sequal to Miner 2049er. There are probably a few others too. None are worth loosing 4 player MULE.