== The 464 ==
[[Image:464.png|right|thumb|250px|Amstrad CPC [[464]] with colour monitor]]
First came the CPC464, the father of the CPC family, released on the 21st June 1984 (with production ceasing in 1990). This model used an integrated tape recorder and offered 64KB of RAM. It sold around two million units in Europe and, technologicallytechnology-wise, was more impressive than the ZX Spectrum and on a similar level with the Commodore 64. One notable exception was the sound chip: while the C64 employed the splendid custom SID chip, Amstrad opted for a generic sound chip - [[AY|AY-3-8912]] - with unremarkable features. That said, the firmware of the CPC was leagues ahead of the C64.)
At its core was a [[Z80]] clocked at 4MHz - though screen display considerations, and the particular design of the [[Gate Array]] limited this to an effective 3.3MHz in practice - while the display was managed by the [[CRTC|6845 CRTC]] along with a gate-array chip.