Looking for 5200 info

[ROCKINGROLL]

Hello. I'd like to get a 5200, but I'd like you guys to tell me just how good it is. I've never played it, but I have played the 2600 & 7800. How does it stack up to those machines? Where could I find one at a decent price? How's that multicart for it? Is it worth the price?

[Gunstar]

It stacks up right where it should; it's much more powerful than the 2600 but less than the 7800, although I believe it to be do to it's memory limitations and not the hardware that make it less powerful than the 7800. Why? because the 5200 is basically a 400 computer, which is compatible with the whole 8-bit computer line 800/xl/xe, and I have seen games that look a lot better on the the 8-bits with more memory, better than 7800 stuff. but the 5200 is restricted to 32k(?) max I believe, while the 7800 (I believe) can use 48k carts and the 8-bit computers can do 64k+(with bank switching even more), although it's possible that bank-switching carts could have been used on the 5200 and 7800 that would have expanded them to 64k and beyond. So maybe the 7800 limitations when compared to the 8-bit computers are only a matter of memory limitations too. Anyway, it's a cool system (the 5200) although if you have an 8-bit, you can get pretty much all the same games for it and they are pretty much identical except in a few rare cases, and there the differences are minimal. I have both the 5200 and 8-bit because I'm a collector, but anything I have on the 5200, I just don't get for the 8-bit and vice versa, so whatever game I come across first for either sytem is the one I get, and not the other. I also like the 5200 analog controls much better for some games, like Joust and StarRaiders...but I got it mainly because it was the system I always wanted when I was younger, but got a 2600 instead, and then I moved on to the 130xe (atari 8=bit computer) and never had a chance to own the 5200 as a child/adolescent.

[+Cafeman]

The 5200 is my personal favorite Atari system, and I have this ever-growing page to explain why & convince the rest of you:

http://cafeman.www9.50megs.com/atari/atari5200.html

[Tempest]

I'm convinced! I'm so thrilled I may write a game for it

 

 

Tempest

[Albert]

quote:

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Originally posted by Cafeman:

The 5200 is my personal favorite Atari system, and I have this ever-growing page to explain why & convince the rest of you:

http://cafeman.www9.50megs.com/atari/atari5200.html

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I just added this to the (very small at the moment) list of 5200 Links on our

Links page.

 

..Al