Atari XEGS compatibilty question

[King Atari]

Hope this is in the right forum. I've been looking into buying an Atari XE (the one from the late-80's, the XEGS I guess is the full name), and have seen that it's compatible with earlier Atari computers. Which ones? Is it compatible with all previous Atari computers?

[mariusz]

You mean Atari XE Game System - right? XEGS is fully compatibile with Atari 600XL, 800XL, 65XE and 130XE. If You want to play some really early games (but very few) from Atari 400 and 800, then You need translator but it is normal for all above versions. So if You like detachable keybord and console box - buy it!

[ATARIeric]

id say: the 400 800 800xl 65xe 130xe computers

[ATARIeric]

so on the 400 and 800 its a RAM issue ?

[King Atari]

If I were to buy a system, I probably wouldn't be investing too much into a disk drive, so really only games on cartridge are an option. Does it play all previous Atari computers? Are there any it's not compatible with? Sorry for all the questions, I'm experienced with Atari consoles, but not computers.

 

BTW, does the system come with AV cables, or is it RF only?

[King Atari]

You mean Atari XE Game System - right?

 

Yep, came out in what, 1986/87? Around the same time as the 7800, I know.

[Shawn Jefferson]

so on the 400 and 800 its a RAM issue ?

 

There are some programs that won't run on the 400/800 because of a RAM issue. The 800XL and up, had RAM under the OS, and the 400/800 did not, so any software that uses this RAM will not work on those older units.

 

The reverse issue is that the OS changed between the 400/800 and the XL/XE line, and some older software that used direct jumps into the OS won't work on the XL/XE line. Since there is RAM under the OS, you can turn on that RAM, and load a 400/800 compatible OS into that space to overcome this issue (The Translator disk).

[ApolloBoy]

BTW, does the system come with AV cables, or is it RF only?

 

You can use either A/V or RF.

[jsoper]

BTW, does the system come with AV cables, or is it RF only?

 

You can use either A/V or RF.

And if you have the energy, you can even modify it for s-video:

http://www94.pair.com/jsoper/xegs_svid.html

[King Atari]

Looks like a good system, I'll definitely put it on my "want list"! Thanks for the info, everyone!

[+CharlieChaplin]

Well,

believe it or not the XEGS is not fully XL/XE compatible. Thats due to the new XE (or better XEGS) OS used in these machines. So, quite some XL/XE disks which do not require the translator disk and work fine on XL/XE computers will not work on the XEGS. Alas, I cannot give many examples, since I sold my XEGS long ago. The only programs I remember now are "Muad Dib" by Hurek (a demo, that crashes right after the start) and "Fast PAcker" by SRU (the screen is partially filled with lines of the Fast PAcker program and lines of the built-in XEGS Missile Command game)... I also found out that some carts did not work ok with the XEGS but I do not remember which ones..., well after some bad experiences with this thingy I sold it... -Andreas.