18 replies to this topic

[darklord1977]

i have a friend of mine in germany who is willing to sell me his atari xe system..i remember this system did not do very well at all and nobody i knew at the time wanted one... i just wanted to see what my fellow atarians have to say about the xe system

[UNIXcoffee928]

It's another 8-bit, of course you can find a use for it!

Check this link on an XE system that was made into a portable Atari notebook computer:

http://benheck.com/G...00_laptop_1.htm


L8R,

UNIXcoffee928

[darklord1977]

UNIXcoffee928, on Sat Apr 22, 2006 9:14 PM, said:

It's another 8-bit, of course you can find a use for it!

Check this link on an XE system that was made into a portable Atari notebook computer:

http://benheck.com/G...00_laptop_1.htm


L8R,

UNIXcoffee928

pretty cool miami vice ad LOL

[Ross PK]

It's supposed to have a cheaper feel to it in comparison to the other 8-bits, also the cartridge slot is in an awkward place.

It is supposed to have a more sharper picture though, but you could get that by using a modified scart lead that plugs into the monitor output on the other 8-bits.

[Osbo]

I love my XE works the same as the XL, and I dont use the keyboard to play videogames that much anyway

[drac030]

darklord1977, on Sun Apr 23, 2006 3:51 AM, said:

i have a friend of mine in germany who is willing to sell me his atari xe system

You mean XEGS? It is pretty cool in some aspects. It for example has plenty of room inside the chassis to install expansions. At the other hand, it has pretty lame keyboard. At yet another hand, the keyboard is detachable. You of course have to forget about PBI devices, unless you replace the MMU (no MPD signal, experts say). The console keys have ugly colours ... despite all that, it is just a 65XE.

[doctorclu]

I will always prefer the Atari 800 above all.

That disclaimer made, the XEGS is great for the detachable keyboard, and the fact that it uses standard A/V cables aside from the special Atari cable is another nice bonus.

Picture being sharper? No. A least not compared to the 800. Keys are an XE keyboard, the worst of the 8-bit line, and aisde from that, it is my second favorite design in the 8-bit world next to the 800.

[ZylonBane]

drac030, on Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:20 AM, said:

darklord1977, on Sun Apr 23, 2006 3:51 AM, said:

i have a friend of mine in germany who is willing to sell me his atari xe system

You mean XEGS?

If he didn't say XEGS, why would you assume that's what he meant?

[miker]

Maybe 800 is better but there in Europe it's very rare one. So if you wanna make REAL money, then sell some of them there!

[warerat]

doctorclu, on Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:49 PM, said:

I will always prefer the Atari 800 above all.

That disclaimer made, the XEGS is great for the detachable keyboard, and the fact that it uses standard A/V cables aside from the special Atari cable is another nice bonus.

Picture being sharper? No. A least not compared to the 800. Keys are an XE keyboard, the worst of the 8-bit line, and aisde from that, it is my second favorite design in the 8-bit world next to the 800.

My 130XE with the super video upgrade looks stunning compared to my 800. I hear that the 800 is supposed to have great video, but mine sucks. I'm going to have to take a look at it...

[Ross PK]

Well, I had read about the XE having a better picture in an Atari magazine (Page 6) where they reviewed the XE.

[Almost Rice]

warerat, on Mon Apr 24, 2006 2:59 PM, said:

doctorclu, on Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:49 PM, said:

I will always prefer the Atari 800 above all.

That disclaimer made, the XEGS is great for the detachable keyboard, and the fact that it uses standard A/V cables aside from the special Atari cable is another nice bonus.

Picture being sharper? No. A least not compared to the 800. Keys are an XE keyboard, the worst of the 8-bit line, and aisde from that, it is my second favorite design in the 8-bit world next to the 800.

My 130XE with the super video upgrade looks stunning compared to my 800. I hear that the 800 is supposed to have great video, but mine sucks. I'm going to have to take a look at it...

You could use mine to compare. I saw that you noticed the sharper image. You have yet to see it on a 1702 with Chroma and Luma cable instead of Composite. I would love to see your SuperVideo 130XE on the 1702.


Back on the subject. Can the SuperVideo mod be put on the XEGS?

Edited by Almost Rice, Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:50 PM.

[drac030]

ZylonBane, on Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:49 PM, said:

If he didn't say XEGS, why would you assume that's what he meant?

Because the saying "atari xe system" is rather unusual for a 65XE or 130XE, and at the other hand XEGS means "XE Game *System*". That's why I would actually _guess_ that he may be speaking about XEGS.

[highendsystems]

Doesn't matter if it's 65XE or XEGS, get it! If it's a 130XE then by all means it's better than the other
puters' in the 8-bit line. Some will argue that the keyboard was sucky and the cartidge port was hard
to use, but I rather like the XE line design. I have to agree that the AV ports for the XEGS do deliever
the clearest/crispiest' signal to a composite tv.

As far as I've heard, Atari 8-bits are common in Germany, so check ebay for what they are currently
going for and convert to Euros(sp?). Also I was recently made aware that there is exist an 800XE, which
was only released in Europe -- if you find one of these SNAG it!


Hey Ross PK, add some babes to the water and I'll be right over with something to fill the pipe....hehe

[MEtalGuy66]

drac030, on Wed Apr 26, 2006 12:56 AM, said:

ZylonBane, on Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:49 PM, said:

If he didn't say XEGS, why would you assume that's what he meant?

Because the saying "atari xe system" is rather unusual for a 65XE or 130XE, and at the other hand XEGS means "XE Game *System*". That's why I would actually _guess_ that he may be speaking about XEGS.

Yep.. And the Xe game system actually has "XE SYSTEM" embossed on the case.. And often, on european websites, it is referred to as such. Thats what hes talking about.... Not a 65/130xe...

[darklord1977]

MEtalGuy66, on Thu Apr 27, 2006 4:45 PM, said:

drac030, on Wed Apr 26, 2006 12:56 AM, said:

ZylonBane, on Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:49 PM, said:

If he didn't say XEGS, why would you assume that's what he meant?

Because the saying "atari xe system" is rather unusual for a 65XE or 130XE, and at the other hand XEGS means "XE Game *System*". That's why I would actually _guess_ that he may be speaking about XEGS.

Yep.. And the Xe game system actually has "XE SYSTEM" embossed on the case.. And often, on european websites, it is referred to as such. Thats what hes talking about.... Not a 65/130xe...

yep xegs

[calfranklin]

darklord1977, on Sat Apr 22, 2006 8:51 PM, said:

i have a friend of mine in germany who is willing to sell me his atari xe system..i remember this system did not do very well at all and nobody i knew at the time wanted one... i just wanted to see what my fellow atarians have to say about the xe system

I bought the 65XE back in '85 and I'll glad I still have it in original box. I agree with the cart slot location being somewhat difficult to use, but I like the computer overall. I prefer the 600XL or the 800XL for 8-bit computer gaming, carts and disk based games (of course, you'll need a 1050 drive to use disks). I think when Atari re-released their XE carts, they were targeting XEGS, not the XL/XE computers.

[Beetle]

Hi,

i like my XL Game System prototype even more...




Just kidding Of course it's only my newest mod.


The XE System or XEGS is not bad. Works as reliably as other ATARI 8-Bit Computers do. The Keyboard is in fact the same as the one used in the 130XE. So you can use the "ST-Touch" upgrade from Best Electronics to get a real good keyboard.
Biggest difference to other XL/XE computers is the different ROM-chip. Its a 32k one and contains OS, Basic and the game "Missile Command". So if you plan a OS upgrade (ie. for a MyIDE Interface) it can be a little tricky. Most RAM-disks are not designed to run on the XEGS, so you have to make some changes yourselfes. Oh, it doesn´t have a PB-connector, so the ie. the MIO is not connectable.

Regards,
Beetle

[darklord1977]

i got my xegs today its a great system..thanks to all for the advice