Atari 1040STE

The Atari 1040STE combined 1MB of standard RAM with the enhanced graphics, sound and controller hardware introduced by the STE family. Its 4,096-colour palette, hardware scrolling, BLiTTER and stereo DMA audio improved multimedia performance while keeping the familiar all-in-one ST form.

SIMMs allowed straightforward expansion to 4MB, making the 1040STE useful for games, music, graphics and productivity software. Produced until Atari’s withdrawal from the computer market, it became one of the longest-lived and most versatile mainstream ST models.

Notable Features

• 1MB standard RAM, expandable to 4MB using SIMMs.
• Added hardware scrolling, BLiTTER, a 4,096-colour palette and stereo DMA audio.
• Included two enhanced controller ports in addition to the normal mouse and joystick ports.

Historical Significance

• Became the principal higher-memory STE and remained in production into 1994.
• Balanced compatibility with meaningful multimedia improvements for games, music and graphics.

Collector’s Notes

• Later examples may have a Falcon-style floppy opening and occasional late TOS revisions.
• Memory, floppy mechanism and TOS version can vary across its long production run.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Atari 1040STE
Manufacturer	Atari
Launched	Wednesday, November 1, 1989
Discontinued	1994
Launch Price	DM 1,598 in West Germany
Country	United States
CPU	Motorola MC68000 at 8 MHz
Units Sold
I/O	MIDI In/Out, RS-232 serial, Centronics parallel, ACSI, cartridge, monitor and joystick/mouse ports, stereo audio and RF television output
Controllers	Two standard joystick/mouse ports plus two enhanced controller ports
Storage	Internal double-sided 3.5-inch 720KB floppy; ACSI hard-disk support
Sound	YM2149 PSG plus two-channel 8-bit stereo DMA audio
Graphics	BLiTTER, hardware scrolling and enhanced palette
Colour Palette	4,096 colours
Display	320x200 in 16 colours, 640x200 in 4 colours, or 640x400 monochrome
ROM	256KB TOS ROM
RAM	1MB; SIMM sockets, expandable to 4MB
CPU Speed	8 MHz