Commodore Amiga 2000
Ship Date:1987
Price:US $1,500
CPU:Motorola 68000 @ 7.14 MHz
RAM:512K stock, 8Meg max
Display:16 colors at 640 X 400
4096 colors at 320 X 200.
Ports:parallel, serial, floppy
RGB video, stereo audio
Storage:Internal 880K 3.5-inch floppy
optional hard drive
OS:AmigaDOS
"Workbench" GUI






The first of the big-box Amigas, the Amiga 2000 is the successor to original Amiga 1000. They are nearly identical in operation, with the 2000 having much more expansion capability.

While the 1000 has only one internal 3.5-inch floppy drive, the 2000 has room for two, with an additional expansion bay for a larger 5.25-inch drive, CD-ROM, tape backup, etc.


Internally, the 2000 has a video slot, a processor slot, as well as five Amiga expansion slots and four IBM-style expansions slots, but two of these are either-or. The IBM-style slots are for power only, as the Amiga does not have the circuitry built-in to communicate with PC cards. What good is this? Some PC cards such TBCs (Time Base Corrector) manipulate external video signals and don't necessarily need to communicate with the host computer. Also, with a "Bridgeboard" or similar emulator card installed, the Amiga can run MS-DOS and utilize PC cards.

The Amiga slots are "autoconfig", or what Microsoft now calls "plug-n-play". There are no jumpers or switches, you just plug the cards in and the system recognizes and configures them automatically - remember that this was in 1987.

Hundreds if not thousands of expansion cards are available for the Amiga, ranging from the ordinary to the amazing-
  • PC and Macintosh emulation
  • memory expansion
  • CPU accelerators
  • SCSI controllers
  • networking
  • video cards
  • audio cards
  • video capture
  • parallel,serial ports
  • non-linear video editing
  • real-time video special-effects

    Related Links

  • Amiga Hardware Database (amiga.resource.cx)
  • "old-computers.com"
  • The Unofficial Eric Schwartz Web Site

    • History of the Amiga Computer

    • 1982: Hi-Toro Incorporated is formed by a group of midwest investors trying to cash in on the video game craze. The name was later changed to Amiga, Incorporated after being confused with the lawn-mower manufacturer, Toro.
    • 1983: Information is leaked about an incredible computer codenamed Lorraine featuring unheard of graphics and sound capabilities, multitasking, 80 column display, 5+ megs of RAM and MORE!
    • 1984: August - Commodore purchases Amiga Corporation.
    • 1985: July - Commodore unveils the new Amiga 1000 in New York, for US$1300.
    • 1986: Commodore releases Transformer software for the Amiga, which, along with the Commodore 1020 5 1/4-inch disk drive, provides limited MS-DOS compatibility.
    • 1987: January - Commodore announces the Amiga 500.
    • 1987: January - Commodore announces the Amiga 2000.
    • 1988: December - Commodore announces the A2286D Bridgeboard for the Amiga 2000. The A2286D contains an 8-MHz Intel 80286 and a 1.2MB 5 1/4-inch disk drive.
    • 1988: Commodore introduces the Amiga 2000HD.
    • 1988: Commodore introduces the Amiga 2500.
    • 1989: January - Commodore announces that 1 million Amiga computers have been sold.
    • 1989: November - Commodore announces the Amiga 2500/30. It is essentially an Amiga 2000 with a 2630 Accelerator Board (25-MHz 68030 and 68882 math coprocessor).
    • 1990: April - Commodore offers Amiga 1000 owners US$1000 to trade in their Amiga on a new Amiga 2000.
    • 1990: June - Commodore ships the Amiga A3000 computer.
    • 1990: September - NewTek ships the Video Toaster, a hardware/software real-time video effects tool for the Amiga 2000, for US$1600.
    • 1990: Commodore announces the Amiga 3000. Prices start at US$4100 with a monitor.
    • 1991: January - Commodore releases the CDTV package. It features a CD-ROM player integrated with a 7.16-MHz 68000-based Amiga 500. List price is US$1000.
    • 1991: Commodore unveils the Amiga 3000UX. Cost is US$5000, without a monitor.
    • 1992: March - Commodore introduces the Amiga 600 for a base price of $500.
    • 1992: September - Commodore introduces the Amiga 4000.
    • 1992: December - Commodore introduces the Amiga 1200.
    • 1994: Commodore International and Commodore Electronics (two of the many international components of Commodore Business Machines) file for voluntary liquidation.
    • 1995: April - At an auction in New York, ESCOM buys all rights, properties, and technologies of Commodore.
    • 1997: Gateway buys bankrupt Amiga.
      Source: Chronology of Events in the History of Microcomputers



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