Graphics
256×192
- Colors on screen
- 15
- Palette
- 15 colors
Below: Game Boy 4 colors · Above: Amstrad CPC 16 colors
ZX Spectrum
Also known as ZX Spectrum 48K · ZX Spectrum+ · ZX Spectrum 128 · ZX Spectrum +2 · ZX Spectrum +3
- Sinclair Research
- Home computer
2 ZX Spectrum games, 1 of them playable free in your browser.
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit home computer from Sinclair Research, unveiled in London on April 23, 1982 in 16 KB and 48 KB versions priced at £125 and £175. Designed by Clive Sinclair's team in Cambridge and manufactured by Timex in Dundee, it used a television as its display and compact cassettes for storage, keeping the number of components and the price low.
- First released · Europe
- 1982
- Units sold
- 5M+
- CPU
- 8-bit
- Games in the library
- 2
- Playable online
- 50%
TIMELINE
1982–1992
- EUEurope
- ENDDiscontinued
- Atari 2600Atari 2600: Sep 1977 – 1992
- SpectrumZX Spectrum: Apr 23, 1982 – 1992
- ColecoColecoVision: Aug 1982 – 1985
- Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
All 36 systems
- Atari 2600Atari 2600: Sep 1977 – 1992
- SpectrumZX Spectrum: Apr 23, 1982 – 1992
- ColecoColecoVision: Aug 1982 – 1985
- Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
- SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
- Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
- CPS-2Capcom CPS-2: Sep 10, 1993 – Dec 22, 2003
- Neo Geo CDNeo Geo CD: Sep 9, 1994 – 1997
- 32XSega 32X: Nov 1994 – 1996
- PS1PlayStation: Dec 3, 1994 – Mar 23, 2006
- N64Nintendo 64: Jun 23, 1996 – 2002
- CPS-3Capcom CPS-3: Nov 21, 1996 – end not recorded
- NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
- GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
- NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
- PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
- WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
- GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
- OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
- TIC-80TIC-80: Mar 22, 2017 – today
A bar that fades out means the end date is unknown. Fantasy consoles and game engines are still available.
UNDER THE HOOD
Technical specifications
Processor
3.5MHz
- CPU
- Zilog Z80A
- Core
- Zilog Z80
- Word size
- 8-bit
- ULA — graphics (gate array)
Below: WonderSwan 3.07 MHz · Above: Coleco 3.58 MHz
Memory
48KB
- Main RAM
- 48 KB
- ROM (Sinclair BASIC)
- 16 KB
Below: GBC 32 KB · Above: Amstrad CPC 64 KB
Sound
1channel
- Chip
- Beeper
One-channel beeper over ten octaves; the 128K models add a three-channel AY-3-8912
Sales
5million+
- Scope
- Total, more than five million
Media
Cassette tape
Launch price
£175
- Europe
- £175
Family line
- Before
- Sinclair ZX81
- This system
- ZX Spectrum
- After
- Sinclair QL
THE STORY
About the Spectrum
The machine runs a Zilog Z80 at 3.5 MHz and shows 256 × 192 pixels using 15 colors, but color is stored for each 8 × 8 character cell, which produces the 'attribute clash' that shaped the look of many Spectrum games. Sound on the original models comes from a one-channel beeper; the 128K models added a three-channel AY-3-8912 sound chip.
Later models included the Spectrum+ (1984), the Spectrum 128 (1985) and, after Amstrad bought Sinclair's computer business in 1986, the +2 and +3. More than five million units were sold, over 24,000 software products were released for the system, and production ended in 1992.
- Unveiled on April 23, 1982; the 16 KB model cost £125 and the 48 KB model £175.
- 256 × 192 display with color stored per 8 × 8 block, the source of 'attribute clash'.
- The millionth Spectrum was manufactured on December 9, 1983.
- More than 24,000 software products were released for the ZX Spectrum.
- The ZX Spectrum +3 (1987) added a built-in 3-inch floppy drive and could run CP/M.
THE LIBRARY
2 Spectrum games on Back2OldGames
1
playable right in your browser
Genres
THE GAMES
The Spectrum library
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Sources
Specifications and history from the sources below (Wikipedia text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; facts summarized in our own words). Library numbers come from the Back2OldGames catalog.
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