CPC 464, 664 & 6128: The Meaning Behind The Numbers

The Amstrad CPC range of computers has one of the more obscure naming conventions in the 8-bit line-up. Most systems went with something memorable, like the Spectrum; or the NewBrain (yes, really). Amstrad didn’t have any truck with that kind of nonsense however, they were going to stand out from the crowd and they knew there was one way that guaranteed they would keep their machines one step apart from the rest: incomprehensibility.

Hence we got the Amstrad CPC 464, the CPC 664, the CPC 6128, the GX 4000, the 464 Plus and the 6128 Plus. Note that the final two are compatible with the CPC’s range of software but they don’t carry the CPC name because that would be too simple (and also because Amstrad wanted to make them seem next-generation when they weren’t).

So what does CPC stand for? This one is simple: Colour Personal Computer. It’s right there on the machine’s casing. It makes a fair amount of sense, when you think about it. The machine is colourful, it’s personal (which, at the time, basically meant it wasn’t attached to a network of other machines) and it’s a computer.

“This is as close to making sense as we’re going to get.” – Amstrad marketing. “Also, double up those coloured blocks. We need six of ’em but we don’t want to think up any more colours.”

So what does the 464 mean? Well, you can see from the fact that we have two machines with 64k of in-built RAM (the 464 and the 664) plus one machine that has 128k of in-built RAM (the 6128) that the 64 in 464 and 664 probably relates to “64k of RAM”, while the 128 in 6128 relates to “128k of RAM”. Hey, look at us – we’re cracking this code!

So what does the first “4” or “6” mean? Well, that stumped a lot of people for many years. The prevailing theory was that “4” stood for “in-built cassette” while the “6” stood for “in-built disk”, since the 464 is the only machine with a cassette deck built in and both the 664 and the 6128 have in-built 3″ disk drives. It makes a fair bit of sense.

The other theory, which hung around for a surprising amount of time, was that the “4” and the “6” were model or design numbers; which would then mean the “464” should be read as “Model/Version 4, 64k of RAM” while the “664” should be read as “Model/Version 6, 64k of RAM”. That could work but it leaves two very big questions: what were models 1, 2, 3 and 5? Were these rejected designs? Were they versions of the computer that just didn’t test well? Can we see the drawings for these machines, please?

The other big question is: what does the “6” stand for in “6128” if the “6” is a model or version number? The CPC 6128 looks nothing like the CPC 664, so clearly this isn’t the correct reading of the code. Does that mean “6” stands for “disk-operated” after all?

Turns out, no. Roland Perry joined the Amstrad CPC Facebook Group last year, in a move that shocked and overjoyed many Amstrad CPC fans. He even took the time to answer some long-sought-after questions when he first ventured into the group. The question I asked was “what do the numbers mean, Mr Perry?” and he was gracious enough to answer.

It turns out, they don’t mean anything at all. Roland named the CPC 464 the “464” because adding a 4 to the start of “64” meant it had symmetry. When the time came to name the next CPC, he called it the “664” to make it different to the “464” and since “6” was the next even number, that’s what it got. Since the 6128 was the quick replacement to the 664, they stuck with the “6” prefix; and the rest is history.

So Amstrad fans have been searching for this answer for decades now and here it is. The numbers don’t mean anything, they just looked nice when the CPCs were being designed. Now you might think that’s a bit of an anticlimax but I don’t, I think it’s pretty funny really. We’ve all been searching for answers that were ultimately not going to lead us to enlightenment; and if that isn’t a metaphor for the human condition, I don’t know what is.

And hey, it still beats “NewBrain” in the naming stakes, so we’ve got that going for us.

One thought on “CPC 464, 664 & 6128: The Meaning Behind The Numbers

  1. Who cares about understanding how the Universe emerged now that we have the answer to such a big question as that ? As for the GX4000, no big deal, surely it stands for the 4096 colours available.

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