SMRTR TechMar 15, 2026Bumbershoot Software

Playing Around With the C64 Ultimate

SMRTR summary

A retrocomputing enthusiast explores the C64 Ultimate, an FPGA-based recreation of the Commodore 64 with modern enhancements like 16MB RAM expansion, CPU acceleration up to 64MHz, and multiple SID chips. Testing revealed the CPU acceleration dramatically improved performance on computation-heavy programs, allowing an artificial life simulation to complete properly and outperform early-90s Amigas. While the system handled basic productivity work using period software like SpeedScript and Merlin 64, the experience highlighted how much modern computing has advanced beyond 8-bit limitations.

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