Again, programs are taken from this page.įOR NEXT cycles are really common on BASIC programs, so their execution speed gives a good idea of the interpreter overall performance. For the Commodore 128, the FAST command was executed in direct mode before running the programs. This way, for each program the code is the same for every machine. With slight modifications of the generic versions, these benchmarks were made capable of running on all the machines with no custom code. Now, let’s talk about those speed test programs. The Commodore 64 has the older interpreter and the lowest CPU clock speed among these computers. A BASIC interpreter made by Locomotive Software Ltd. It was based on a Z80 CPU, running at 4.0 MHz, and on a Motorola 6845 video chip. The Amstrad CPC 464 was introduced in 1984 as a competitor to the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. MSX machines have a vastly upgraded version of Microsoft BASIC, with many instructions. It actually features a Z80 clone by NEC, but I don’t think it makes any difference. By the way, I wanted another Z80 based machine to go along with the Spectrum, and here it is. This is not very common, but this is the only MSX 1 machine I now have. The PANASONIC CF 2700 is a MSX 1 machine. Z80s are “register oriented” CPUs, as they have many registers in comparison to 6502s. Furthermore, it has a bigger instructions set than 6502 CPUs and it is usually better for vectors calculations. The Z80 CPU is an 8 bit CPU, but it does have internal 16 bit registers. This clock speed is much greater than the Commodore 64 one. This computer offers 128K RAM of memory, and is powered by a Z80 CPU 3,54 MHz. The +2 keyboard is excellent, despite the unusual position of the DELETE key. That helped me to type the benchmark programs with no problem. Being a Commodore 64 user, the Spectrum 128 keyboard is more confortable to me than the original 48K one. I had a 48K Spectrum but I sold it some time ago (and I do regret it). I choose this computer because is the only Spectrum I own at the moment. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128 +2 is a Spectrum version made by Amstrad in 1986. For our benchmark tests, the 2 MHz fast mode available on C128 80 columns mode will be used, so that programs will not need to be accomodated for the FAST/SLOW modes switching. This way, screen will be blanked only during program execution. So, if you only have RF connection and you are not able to have the VDC video output, you can test those programs by adding a BASIC line with the FAST command at the very beginning of each program, and by adding another BASIC line with the command SLOW at the end of the programs. Still, as those benchmarks programs don’t use screen, blanking the screen may be tolerated. 2 MHz can be activated on 40 columns mode actually, but no image will be shown. So, when on C128 40 columns mode, the CPU must be forced to 1 MHz operation. Unfortunately, the VIC-II chip is not able to work properly when the CPU is at 2 MHz. It also offers bitmap graphics, with a resolution of 640 x 200. This computer has two video chips: a variation of the C64 VIC-II chip, and a VDC, for 80 columns text. It has 128K RAM and a 1Mhz/2MHz 8502 CPU, very similar to a 6510. The Commodore 128 may be regarded as a powered-up version of the Commodore 64, from 1985. They enjoy fast memory access and for this reason they are “memory oriented” CPUs. 65xx family CPUs have a small instruction set and they have few registers. Commodore 64 BASIC is actually a Microsoft BASIC implementation. 64K RAM of memory, only 38911 RAM bytes available for BASIC programming. It has a 6510 CPU running at only 0,98 MHz on PAL systems. The Commodore 64 is a computer from 1982 we definetely know about. Two 128 K machines, and three 64K ones:Īll these tests have been performed on PAL machines. Still, in order not to make tests too long, I decided to only test five computers. I don’t have a big collection, so I couldn’t make a perfect choice. Different home computers models may have different BASIC dialects, but very simple programs will run on all of them.Īfter reading this web page, I decided to test these programs on some home computers I own. Different processors, different memory management schemes, different Operating Systems… all of this makes it extremely difficult to do benchmarks on these systems.īut, most of these systems do have one thing in common: a BASIC interpreter in ROM, available at start-up. This is rather difficult for 8 bit home computers, as each of them usually has a unique architecture. When reading some web content on home computers comparisons, I started asking myself if there is a way of evaluating performances on a fair bases.
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