CBM 610 & 620

As mentioned on the page for the B128, the CBM-II models were Commodore's last effort to capture the business market with it's superior proprietary technology. All the machines in this line are distinguished by the MOS 6509 processor, Commodore BASIC 4.0 (like that found in the later CBM/PET computers, the Commodore "SID" sound chip, IEEE-488 peripheral compatibility, an RS232-C port, and 80 column text video capability. Shown here on the right is the 128k CBM 610 computer. These machines are part of the "low profile" CBM-II series, called such because they feature a single integrated unit with a full business keyboard, numeric keypad, and 12 function keys. The 620 is the 256K version of the CBM 610. Whereas the 610 only utilizes the 64K in bank 1 for BASIC code, and bank 2 for variables, the 620 adds banks 3 and 4 for variable storage as well.

The 610 and 620 are the European model numbers for the machines known as the B128 and B256 in the U.S. The reason for the model number difference is unclear, as the machines are otherwise almost identical. The only other difference between these are their U.S. counterparts is the PAL configuration of the video output, and the 220V power supply, often utilizing an externally available fuse not found in the American B128 machines.

Statistics, features, and CBM 610/620 resources:

Personal Note:The CBM-II line are personally very cool to me. I used to sit and write little BASIC programs on these things, but they fell out of favor as my collection grew, so now they are all boxed up. The 610 came through negotiations with a fine fellow named Stefan Walgenbach