Atari 800XL

By 1983 Atari's 8-bit range needed a fresh face, and the 800XL provided it: a sleeker, more modern case at a sharper price, with the same well-regarded custom hardware humming away inside. It was the machine that brought Atari's 8-bit line up to date without throwing away what made it good.

That winning combination of strong graphics, capable sound and a tidier design made it one of the most popular and best-loved models in the entire range, particularly across Europe, where Atari's machines enjoyed a famously devoted following. It struck a genuine sweet spot: capable enough to impress, affordable enough to actually buy.

For a lot of enthusiasts the 800XL is the Atari 8-bit they remember most warmly, the one that sat in the bedroom loading games off cassette. It carried the platform confidently through the middle of the decade and remains a firm favourite among collectors today.