Commodore VIC-20

The VIC-20 was Commodore’s first million-selling computer, combining colour, sound and a full keyboard at an aggressively low price.

Its mass-market distribution introduced home computing to a much wider audience and prepared the retail channel for the Commodore 64.

Notable Features

• Memory expansion was important because BASIC had only about 3.5KB free.
• Regional machines were also sold as the VC-20.

Historical Significance

• Its mass-market distribution introduced home computing to a much wider audience and prepared the retail channel for the Commodore 64.

Collector’s Notes

• Board revision, regional video standard, power supply, keyboard legends and original accessories should be recorded.
• Memory, storage, displays and expansion hardware should be documented because configurations often changed during a system’s working life.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Commodore VIC-20
Manufacturer	Commodore
Launched	Thursday, January 1, 1981
Discontinued	1985
Country	United States
CPU	MOS 6502 at approximately 1.02 MHz
Units Sold
Form Factor	Keyboard computer
Power	External or internal mains supply according to model
Networking	Commodore serial networking and third-party network adapters where supported
Operating System	Commodore BASIC 2.0
Expansion / I/O	Cartridge, cassette, IEC serial, user port and joystick
Keyboard	Integrated full-travel keyboard
Storage	Datasette, cartridges and serial floppy drives
Sound	Three voices plus noise
Colours	16 colours with mode limitations
Graphics	VIC programmable-character graphics
Display	Television or monitor; 22 x 23 text
ROM	20KB ROM with BASIC 2.0
RAM	5KB standard; expandable
CPU Speed	Approximately 1.02 MHz NTSC or 1.11 MHz PAL