RasterCore
← Back to Amiga OCS/AGA

Amiga 500

ID: AMIGA-500
RELEASED 1987
PRICE
DISCONTINUED 1991
UNITS SOLD ~6,000,000

I/O PORTS

Trapdoor ExpansionSide ExpansionSerialParallelRGBMono

System Analysis

The best-selling Amiga. Packed the A1000 power into a consumer-friendly wedge case. The definitive gaming machine of late 80s Europe.

Processor

7.16 MHz (NTSC) / 7.09 MHz (PAL)
Motorola 68000

The workhorse CPU. Later revisions supported slightly faster RAM access.

Audio Subsystem

4 Channels
Paula

Hardware low-pass filter (LED filter).

Memory

Chip RAM
512 KB Chip RAM

Expandable to 9 MB (with trapdoor + sidecar)

Storage

880 KB
3.5" DD Floppy

Graphics Architecture

OCS (later ECS)
Palette: 4096 colors
  • 320x200
  • 640x512 (Interlaced)
Hardware Tricks
  • ▹ EHB (Extra Half-Brite)
  • ▹ Overscan

Did You Know?

  • ? The "Trapdoor" slot famously held the A501 512KB RAM expansion + RTC battery.
  • ? The power supply was a heavy external brick, often used as a doorstop.
  • ? Most games targeted exactly the A500 spec (68000 + 512KB).