Commodore C64X Mister FPGA Build - The Best Retro Gaming Setup Ever

[@piperpilot44253]

My childhood best friend would have loved this. Unfortunately he passed away 11 years ago. We were huge C64 geeks. When ever I see videos like this I can still picture us playing games on the C64 and later when he had his Amega.

[@gcolombelli]

Damn, that's one of the sweetest MiSTer builds I've seen.

[@nicholascooney]

This is the most beautiful FPGA setup I have ever laid eyes on. I wish there somebody sold these already assembled since I am too novice to this myself

[@AmigaLove]

Thanks, Nicholas. In the description below the video I link to an article that lists all the things you would need. The build is NOT a cheap one, but - and I mean this sincerely - if I can do this, almost anyone can. the build itself isn't tough once you get the pile of parts. The hardest part is acquiring everything - and waiting. Honestly the Ironclad took a few months to arrive they are so back-ordered. Anyway, thanks for watching! And if you have the means don't be afraid. You can do it!

[@joedharma]

This was a very well made and timely video! I've been wondering what to do with my transparent C64x case (even contemplating selling it) and the news of the cheap Mister clone has reawakened my interest in finally getting one. This is would be the perfect match. I started searching around for builds like this but did not see much being done, and now you have shared the definitive example. Thank you! Here's hoping the MisterFPGA will fit perfectly.

[@AmigaLove]

Thank you so much and I’m glad you found the video useful. In the description area I link to an article with a shopping list. (I’m not attached to any of the shops in any way.) the entire build - for me, with shipping, was $700-800 total. However you’re right - a very affordable clone Mister at $100 appears to be dropping any day now, which is amazing. Good luck with your build! Would love to see it when it is done. The motherboard took the longest for me to receive.

[@-H3li03-]

I really enjoy your videos, really professional, I love 'em! About this fpga build, wonderful! keep up the good work! P.s. Greetings from Sicily!

[@AmigaLove]

Thank you SO much. You, my friend, have made my day. Grazie!

[@newdlesmusic]

Great build! Well done video. Cool history behind the 64x👍

[@AmigaLove]

Thanks a lot! Glad you liked it.

[@international806yachting]

Great video, thanks for sharing. You could replace that modern flat display with a nice Sony PVM. It will look even better.

[@mpantig]

OMG, I love it!

[@GeminiNight]

This is so cool!

[@AmigaLove]

:)

[@proteque]

This looks wonderfull. I have a modded "TheC64" (simply used the keyboard part of it (it is usb)) myself with a mister in it. it is a very good way to experience the C64 this way. Your build looks a lot more tidy and better though! Mine is a mess inside :) I did not know about that floppydrive intrface!! Awesome!

[@AmigaLove]

Very cool! And thanks!

[@urracojalpa4481]

Good job. I have my MiSTer inside an amiga 600 shell, it surely was cheaper, got the shell and the keyboard back when they you could find them for relatively cheap at 40 euros each.

[@AmigaLove]

Very nice. Did you follow my friend mattsoft's build? (He also did this with an A1000, but never publicized that one) www.amigalove.com/viewtopic.php?t=636

[@urracojalpa4481]

@@AmigaLove Yes, mostly. You can thank him on my behalf. I got the idea when I saw the 3D printed conversion kit on eBay, and later I found out it was based on his design (it gotta be, it's identical).

[@AmigaLove]

@@urracojalpa4481 Yes indeed - a lot of people take his creations and recreate them and sell them w/o any credit. He doesn't want or expect $ from his ideas but the lack of credit is ... tacky, I guess is the right word. He's a mad scientist! =)

[@thecimmerian7679]

I remember a C64 version of "Lady Bug". It was called "Lady Tut"

[@75slaine]

Happy 4th Eric, great build.

[@AmigaLove]

Thanks, man! Easily one of my favorite gaming machines now. Honestly will be picking up a USB arcade joystick later this summer. I love me some Shinobi but it just feels wrong on a Logitech joystick. I need a real joystick where I can slap the buttons properly. Cheers!

[@schlarptarf3675]

Perfect build for a desktop solution!

[@youtube-ventura]

Love this, nice job!

[@AmigaLove]

Thank you! I'm in love with this machine and glad I could share it. Cheers!

[@speedbird737]

C64X mister fpga building working for me only 2 weeks in total to order and assemble all components! Everything working other than power light so checking your written guide in case Ive positioned the led dupont connectors incorrectly. FYI the USB on the ITX mini has been revised and moved to bottom right of the mini ethernet cable section - in that space.

[@AmigaLove]

Did you figure out the issue with your power LED?

[@speedbird737]

@@AmigaLoveyes! Because I had purchased the semi see through bread bin case with RGB key lighting from my retro computer that particular case comes with a green power light as standard. Still looks good. I assume it’s to break up the colour scheme a little as the default RGB key colour is red when you switch it on. Quick question! How did you remap the function keys in MiSTer so they work in game as they just open the menu or volume up and down for me

[@cyrillemit1211]

Thank you ! I would love to have one, all I have left is my 1040STE, very nice explanations !

[@AmigaLove]

It takes a couple of months to get all of the parts but the actual build isn't bad at all. Once you're up and running you'll LOVE it! Good luck

[@speedbird737]

ok brilliant video - I have just bought the same hardware with v3 memory! and SD to SD extension cable - bought the 64X translucent case with RGB lighting!

[@AmigaLove]

That sounds awesome. That should be quite the retro gaming disco when you’re done!

[@speedbird737]

@@AmigaLove thanks! checkout the video for a demo by "MyRetroComputers Translucent c64x Breadbin/RGB Keyboard Review"

[@andrewdupuis1151]

c64 my fav system of alltime

[@AmigaLove]

Same.

[@TheMcflyster]

Cool project! I love your videos man! Thanks.

[@AmigaLove]

Thank you! I appreciate that.

[@TheLemminkainen]

kudos again!

[@Taurus072Gemini]

Hi, thanks for detailed instructions and video, best looking build! I'm planning to do one myself, almost got all the parts. I'm just curious, it seems that you connect the keyboard to de-10 nano (only) internal usb port? Does that mean that you cannot connect anything else (e.g. internal SSD drive)?

[@AmigaLove]

Glad you enjoyed the video and the build. It's a fantastic machine. Honestly, since this is a dedicated MiSTer machine there's no need for an internal drive. There's the one internal SD card for MiSTer files, and one external USB drive for most of the software. And there's still tons of space left over.

[@Ori-Retro-Gamer]

Great stuff, i had this idea also , really great , great retro minds think alike 🤣

[@michaelwallen738]

Great video! Wow.. how cool…

[@AmigaLove]

Dude - it's SUPER cool! I love this thing!! Good to see you as always, Michael! Happy 4th

[@JeremyLevi]

Nice build! I'm not convinced a MiSTer is compelling for me but I'd definitely consider this case as an option on my short list for a Denise mini-ITX Amiga. I feel pretty confident it would be a good fit with a picoATX power supply even allowing room for a CPU socket accelerator and a smaller (or maybe even two) zorro II card with an appropriate right angle riser.

[@AmigaLove]

If you decide to get a case, be sure to do a search on mini-itx.com for "barebones" and you'll see the 3 color options. The VIC-20 white case would look good with an Amiga core... hell, even the black one!

[@JeremyLevi]

@@AmigaLove I was just looking at those and yeah, I agree the VIC-20 case feels the most Amiga. Ideal I think would be to have that paired with the white keyboard with grey function keys although I have no clue if they could accommodate that. Another option since it's standard MX mount keycaps would just be to swap the keycaps for something more appropriate.

[@JimWood28]

Excellent video, thanks.

[@AmigaLove]

Thank you, Jim!

[@JohnWindberg]

Cool, Love to build this, but the ironclad board appears to be sold out. I'm on their waiting list.

[@AmigaLove]

Yes, even back when I made this earlier this year I had to wait about two months iirc.

[@samwisebaggins830]

I LOVE this build - by far the best mister setup. Links? I don’t see them yet. I put this build into my arcade as I can also take it out of the drawer and take it with me. I’ve done the same build a couple times with the Atlantis for Mister FPGA. From a price perspective it’s a nice value and wires in the ATX power switch.

[@AmigaLove]

Hey thanks! I love it, too. The link to all of the stuff is in the description. Here it is again: www.amigalove.com/viewtopic.php?t=2765

[@samwisebaggins830]

@@AmigaLove thanks - and thanks for all you do for the community

[@Wobble2007]

I've been waiting a lifetime now for a full fat 1:1 parity Amiga 1200 & C64 FPGA computer, that has a full mech KB, floppy drive and CD-ROM, plus native OPL3, SID and MIDI built in, along with a UHS-III full-size SD card reader, or something even better than that even like CFExpress, a traditional cart slot that can boot games, soundbanks/fonts and software, along with high-quality repro games inc modern indie releases and ports, basically the perfect C64 & Amiga computer FPGA all-in-one, would be amazing to get either X68K mode as well, or a standalone Sharp X6800 1:1 FPGA computer system with a replica of the OG case, keyboard and mouse, speakers and an OLED 4:3 monitor replica using an iPad 4:3 OLED panel, also with a proper Yamaha OPL3 ASIC and a nice Wolfson DAC, plus a collection or repro X68K game carts/box's/manuals, I hope someone does this one day, as the Amiga 1200 and Sharp X68K are the best way to enjoy retro computer games imo, but unobtainium for the most part (the Sharp X68K especially).

[@vampiregoat69]

I miss my C64

[@alpanchen]

Now all we need is easyflash saving to be added to the mister c64 core 😂

[@AmigaLove]

Honestly, being able to run EasyFlash CRT files (like Curse of the Azure Bonds) would be very cool...

[@alpanchen]

You can run the easyflash carts it just won't save to the file for things like highscore etc

[@AmigaLove]

@@alpanchen Oh, now this is really cool to learn. I had no idea! Many of my favorite EF3 carts are SSI D&D adventures. What's cool about them is when you load them they ask which drive you want to save to. Since I have the IEC adapter, I should be able to set the external to 9 and save games to disk that way. I'll give that a shot later today. That would be cool!

[@AmigaLove]

@@alpanchen So check this out. If you use the EF3 ports created by s!r, he has coded ways for you to save your games via floppy disk, or 3 slots on the EF cart! I've created a party in Curse of the Azure Bonds and saved the characters/game to floppy, all while playing off the cartridge. It's great!

[@alpanchen]

​@AmigaLove not the same as it retaining the info in the cart like real ez or even u64 or kungfu flash.... a dump of the file back to sd on exit to the osd would solve the issue on mister

[@miniitxdotcom]

Awesome build Eric!

[@AmigaLove]

Thank you!!!

[@rs.matr1x]

surprised the ironclad board doesn't have a microSD extension option. Also you could probably mount a 2.5" hard drive in the DVD slot using a 2.5 to laptop DVD drive adapter.

[@GreenTeaViewer]

that is...awesome

[@AmigaLove]

Thanks!! I totally dig it, too.

[@MadsterV]

wow this is awesome! I wish there was a keyboard in the style of the Atari 800XL I wouldn't stick a MiSTer in it, but put an USB port instead, so I can take the same keyboard from Altirra to MiSTer when I feel like it.

[@AmigaLove]

That would be cool! Have you seen the clear 800xl case?

[@ThemeParksAndAttractions]

I used to love my commodore 64 as a kid - Chuckie Egg all the way for me

[@AmigaLove]

:)

[@TarikA]

Very nice project. I like the "Super MiSTer Entertainment System + Super TapTo Boy" project by Phoenix a little more but if it wouldn't exist, I'd consider yours to be the best. :P Especially since I owned a C64 when I was young.

[@AmigaLove]

Hey, thanks for watching and the kind words. I'm not familiar with the TapTo Boy project - I'll check it out, thanks

[@st3ddyman]

I bought the C64x two years ago with the intention of turning it into a MiSTer. I lost interest part way through trying to get the perfect mix of ports and connectors. Still got the keyboard though

[@AmigaLove]

If you want to use what I used in the video, you can find the entire list of stuff (including optional parts) here: www.amigalove.com/viewtopic.php?t=2765

[@cpaek72]

Did I miss the power supply? Where does this plug in?

[@cpaek72]

Just realized he using the ironclad lite board that has dc out.

[@samuelbanya]

Does anyone know if the Taki Udon Mister Pi clone is compatible?

[@philipgolia9803]

Any idea where I can get one of these machines?

[@AmigaLove]

@@philipgolia9803 which machine specifically? Happy to help

[@milow-cl9kt]

Just a word of warning to anyone attempting this with the 'big daddy' version of the Ironclad (the Ironclad+). The DC input isn't exposed on the backplate for the DE-10 Nano so you'll have to use a PicoPSU with a 5v power supply, which will require drilling the case. I suppose it would be cheaper and more convenient to just get the Ironclad Lite board, but... then I'm stuck with two boards.

[@Woodwerker]

Nice build...Hmmm..pay the mortgage or build one of these ?😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@AmigaLove]

Hah! 😂 It's non-trivial, that's for sure.

[@f1lupo]

so how much was it to make? heck the MEGA65 has a ton of cores and used the MISTER core for an awesome C64 too and in my opinion the MEGA65 case and keyboard is much cooler than this C64 PC case

[@AmigaLove]

At the end of the day, it's about the same price as a Mega, maybe a touch higher. I had a 1st-batch Mega, but finally sold it (broke even on it) earlier this year and went all-in on this instead.

[@f1lupo]

@@AmigaLove ah ok I guess it’s a cool project too and of course personal preference

[@AmigaLove]

@@f1lupo If I were based in the UK or EU I might have kept the Mega65. But it was so PAL-focused and fragmented about what the machine should actually *be* I honestly felt kind cast to the side from a user standpoint. And I feel like I kept wanting the machine to be something, or become something, that it wasn't. If you're a programmer and want to program on the machine you're the perfect target audience. If, like me, you're just a user... well, it's a bit more wild west. And there's a bit of a philosophical split between core Mega65 development and other cores, like the Commodore 64. Plus, I'm not a programmer. So, I solved my own issues and let someone else buy my machine (he was a programmer!). ;) It's a very cool machine and one of my good friends is now on the steering committee so I get monthly updates on the progress from the top. I definitely still "stay connected" to the scene. Some very smart people involved.

[@DanSanderson]

"enough games to fill a Tardis" Really enjoyed this line, great voice writing! 💫

[@AmigaLove]

Haha thanks, Dan! You'd think this machine would help me "exterminate" some of my collection and yet it still seems to grow. I'm doing something wrong!

[@RetroGG-74]

Damn it ! You just made me spend half a grand lol 😂

[@AmigaLove]

Haha! I don’t think you’ll regret it. Have fun!!

[@RetroGG-74]

Well I’ve got all but the de10 for this but are waiting on the Taki board. Would you mind sharing what power supply you used for the MiSTer SNAC-IEC ?

[@AmigaLove]

@@RetroGG-74 The add-on to use external C= drives? It doesn't use a separate power supply.

[@RetroGG-74]

@@AmigaLove Thanks for your reply, it has a barrel jack and I didn’t see in your video a separate power supply. I know the drives have their own power so it made no sense to me.

[@lilluminatoalternativo3926]

I don't understand the point of that fan in that position Quella ventola in quella posizione non capisco il senso

[@speedbird737]

UPDATE: you will just get an email when posted - so don't worry if you don't hear back for a week :-) WARNING: DO NOT BUY the MiSTer Mini-ITX Ironclad Lite - I ordered it from d3fmod weeks ago and have had no reply from my chaser emails/tweets to the company or Roberto the owner. Don't know if hes been in germany for weeks watching spain but I was stupid to order and pay immediately after watching this video and had no response.

[@AmigaLove]

He has a very long backlog. Mine took 2 months.

[@speedbird737]

@@AmigaLove ok will wait rather than chargeback

[@speedbird737]

@@AmigaLove ignore me received email this morning from Robert/ d3fmod to confirm its been posted!

[@speedbird737]

ITX mini arrived from Spain so all is good in the world 🙂thanks for great video - I'm now up and runing with the C64X - I went for clear/ RGB lighting keys in the breadbin

[@andre0000000007]

the c64x is way too expensive. try the 8bitdo c64 keyboard, comes with joystick and also 2 separate massive fire buttons. i'm hoping there's space inside to fit the nano or the raspi : )

[@edoneill6701]

sucks that they MUTILATED the keyboard layout. :( wtf is so hard about getting us a mechanical c64 keyboard or some f*****g KEYCAPS

[@konradschaubert5520]

wrong. its not the „real deal“ but close

[@BrianLamtman]

I built a mame arcade. Why would I want to build this. And I have the Commodore 64 and 48 other game systems.

[@CantankerousDave]

A.I. voiceover = downvote, regardless of content.

[@AmigaLove]

AI voiceover? What the heck are you talking about? That's all me from beginning to end.

[@gklinger]

Uh, that's Eric's actual voice.

[@DanSanderson]

lol, that's Eric speaking. I don't blame anyone for having a hair trigger on sensing AI these days, but you're incorrect in this case. :)

[@mark12358]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣