Commodore 77 - The Cyberpunk C64
At first glance, the Commodore 77 stands out mainly because of its Cyberpunk 2077-inspired design:
- + worn industrial yellow case
- + new keyboard
- + magenta-turquoise internal lighting
But the visuals are only the surface. The C77 also differs technically from the classic C64, and in a few areas from the C64 Ultimate as well.
In this article, we'll briefly look at what changed in the hardware, what the 77 MHz turbo mode means, which FPGA is used, what the memory and SID system can do, and how much of the original C64 compatibility has been preserved.
The hardware
For anyone unfamiliar with the C64U: this is not a software emulator, but FPGA-based hardware emulation. The original C64 architecture was reimplemented in FPGA logic - including the CPU, video logic, bus handling, and timing.
So, what changed?
- + Larger FPGA: instead of the C64U's XC7A50T, the C77 uses an AMD/Xilinx Artix-7 XC7A100T.
- + 77 MHz turbo: compared with the C64U's 48 MHz maximum, the C77 CPU core can run at up to 77 MHz.
- + Exclusive cartridge: it comes with an approximately 2 MB cartridge styled like an "Arasaka shard", featuring a Cyberpunk demo by Arise with music by LukHash
- + Turquoise/neon lighting and a custom power LED - it can even react to SID music
And what hasn't changed?
- + 128 MB DDR2 RAM
- This does not replace the C64's 64 KB of RAM; it is used by the FPGA platform, REU/GeoRAM and RAM disk functions.
- + 24 SID channels + 2 real SID sockets
- + MultiSID provides 8 × 3 = 24 audio channels. The two physical SID sockets can also accept real 6581/8580 chips.
- + HDMI + analog video, with virtually zero-lag output.
- + Cartridge, Datasette, IEC and 2× DB9 ports
- + Ethernet/Wi-Fi
- + 66-key mechanical keyboard with Gateron Pro 3.0 55 g switches
- + USB - for loading PRG, D64, D81, TAP, etc.
- But there is an important twist: from C64U / C77 firmware 1.1.0 onward, it officially supports most USB mice, emulating them as Commodore 1351 mice
The package will include stickers, pins, custom collector's packaging, and a Cyberpunk 2077 spiral-bound manual.
Pros and cons
- + Cool design, with even cooler RGB-style lighting
- marketing-driven clock speed increase
- - Redesigned key legends make the keyboard harder to navigate (RESTORE -> REBOOT, CTRL -> DAEMON, RUN STOP -> EXEC HALT, etc.)
- - User Port requires an adapter connected to an internal header
Hopefully the C64U platform won't move in a direction where MHz and RAM become the main benchmarks. The C77 looks fantastic, but for this platform, C64 compatibility and the character of the original machine should still remain the priority.
At the time of writing, the C77 is still only available for pre-order at a price of $372 USD.