Editing Atari ST (section)

== Later systems ==
=== 1040ST ===
[[File:Atari ST 1040.jpg|thumb|Atari 1040ST<sup>F</sup>]]

Atari upgraded the basic design in 1986 with the 1040STF, stylized as 1040ST<sup>F</sup>: essentially a 520ST with twice the RAM and with the power supply and a double-sided [[floppy drive]] with twice the capacity, and built-in instead of external. This adds to the size of the machine, but reduces cable clutter. The joystick and mouse ports, formerly on the right side of the machine, are in a recess underneath the keyboard. An "FM" variant includes an [[RF modulator]] allowing a television to be used instead of a monitor.

The trailing "F" and "FM" were often dropped in common usage.<ref name="byte198603" /> In ''[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]]'' magazine's March 1986 cover photo of the system, the name plate reads 1040ST<sup>FM</sup> but in the headline and article it's simply "1040ST".<ref name="byte198603" /> 
 
The 1040ST is one of the earliest personal computers shipped with a base RAM configuration of 1&nbsp;MB.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Atari 1040STFM - Computer - Computing History|url=http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/50511/Atari-1040STFM/|access-date=2021-05-25|website=www.computinghistory.org.uk}}</ref> With a list price of {{US$|999|1986|about=yes|round=-2}} in the US, ''[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]]'' hailed it as the first computer to break the $1000 per megabyte price barrier.<ref name="byte198603">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1986-03/1986_03_BYTE_11-03_Homebound_Computing#page/n91/mode/2up | title=The Atari 1040ST | work=BYTE | date=March 1986 | access-date=4 July 2014 |author1=Robinson, Philip |author2=Edwards, Jon R. | pages=84}}</ref><ref name="3years"/> ''[[Compute!]]'' noted that the 1040ST is the first computer with one megabyte of RAM to sell for less than $2,500.<ref name="halfhilll198604">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1986-04-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_071_1986_Apr#page/n31/mode/2up | title=A Turning Point For Atari? | work=Compute! | date=April 1986 | access-date=8 November 2013 | author=Halfhill, Tom R. | pages=30}}</ref>

A limited number of 1040STFs shipped with a single-sided floppy drive of 360KB storage capacity verses 720KB in the double sided version.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/11983/Atari-1040STF/|title = Atari 1040STF - Computer - Computing History}}</ref>

We can find also lot of 520 STF versions in Europe, early models are dated 1986, December and have also a single-sided floppy drive of 360KB storage capacity.

=== Mega ===
Initial sales were strong, especially in Europe, where Atari sold 75% of its computers. [[West Germany]] became Atari's strongest market,<ref name="3years"/> with small business owners using them for desktop publishing and CAD.

To address this growing market segment,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rumberger |first1=Russell W. |last2=Levin |first2=Henry M. |title=Computers in Small Business |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED328670 |website=ERIC |publisher=Institute of Education Sciences |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202175347/https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED328670 |archive-date=2023-12-02 |language=en |date=1986 |url-status=live}}</ref> Atari introduced the ST1 at Comdex in 1986. Renamed to Mega, it includes a high-quality detached keyboard, a stronger case to support the weight of a monitor, and an internal bus expansion connector. An optional 20&nbsp;MB hard drive can be placed below or above the main case. Initially equipped with 2 or 4&nbsp;MB of RAM (a 1&nbsp;MB version, the Mega 1, followed), the Mega machines can be combined with Atari's laser printer for a low-cost desktop publishing package.

A custom [[blitter]] coprocessor improved some graphics performance, but was not included in all models. Developers wanting to use it had to detect its presence in their programs. Properly written applications using the GEM [[API]] automatically make use of the blitter.

=== STE ===
In late 1989, [[Atari Corporation]] released the 520ST<sup>E</sup> and 1040ST<sup>E</sup> (also written STE), enhanced version of the ST with improvements to the multimedia hardware and operating system. It features an increased color palette of 4,096 colors from the ST's 512 (though the maximum displayable palette without programming tricks is still limited to 16 in the lowest 320 × 200 resolution, and even fewer in higher resolutions), [[genlock]] support, and a [[blitter]] coprocessor (stylized as "BLiTTER") which can quickly move large blocks of data (particularly, graphics data) around in RAM. The STE is the first Atari with PCM audio; using a new chip, it added the ability to play back 8-bit (signed) samples at 6258&nbsp;Hz, 12,517&nbsp;Hz, 25,033&nbsp;Hz, and even 50,066&nbsp;Hz, via [[direct memory access]] (DMA). The channels are arranged as either a mono track or a track of LRLRLRLR... bytes. RAM is now much more simply upgradable via [[SIMM]]s.

Two enhanced joystick ports were added (two normal joysticks can be plugged into each port with an adapter), with the new connectors placed in more easily accessed locations on the side of the case. The enhanced joystick ports were re-used in the [[Atari Jaguar]] console and are compatible.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

The STE models initially had software and hardware conflicts resulting in some [[Application software|applications]] and video games written for the ST line being unstable or even completely unusable, primarily caused by programming direct hardware calls which bypassed the operating system. Furthermore, even having a joystick plugged in would sometimes cause strange behavior with a few applications (such as the [[WYSIWYG]] word-processor application [[1st Word/1st Word Plus|1st Word Plus]]). ''[[Sleepwalker (video game)|Sleepwalker]]'' was the only STE-only game from a major publisher, but there were STe enhancements in games such as ''[[Another World (video game)|Another World]]'', ''[[Zool]]'' and ''[[The Chaos Engine]]'', as well as exclusives from smaller companies.

The last STE machine, the [[Atari MEGA STE|Mega STE]], is an STE in a grey [[Atari TT030|Atari TT]] case that had a switchable 16&nbsp;MHz, dual-bus design (16-bit external, 32-bit internal), optional [[Motorola 68881]] [[floating-point unit|FPU]], built-in 1.44&nbsp;MB "HD" 3{{frac|1|2}}-inch floppy disk drive, [[VMEbus|VME]] expansion slot, a network port (very similar to that used by Apple's [[LocalTalk]]) and an optional built-in 3{{frac|1|2}}" hard drive. It also shipped with TOS 2.00 (better support for hard drives, enhanced desktop interface, memory test, 1.44&nbsp;MB floppy support, bug fixes). It was marketed as more affordable than a TT but more powerful than an ordinary ST.

=== Atari TT ===
{{Main|Atari TT030}}
In 1990, Atari released the high-end workstation-oriented Atari TT030, based on a 32&nbsp;MHz [[Motorola 68030]] processor. The "TT" name ("Thirty-two/Thirty-two") continued the nomenclature because the 68030 chip has 32-bit buses both internally and externally. Originally planned with a 68020 CPU, the TT has improved graphics and more powerful support chips. The case has a new design with an integrated hard-drive enclosure.

=== Falcon ===
{{Main|Atari Falcon}}
[[File:Atari Falcon 030 (white bg).jpg|thumb|right|The Falcon case closely resembles that of the ST<sup>F</sup> and ST<sup>E</sup>, with a slightly altered color scheme.]]
The final model of ST computer is the Falcon030. Like the TT, it is 68030-based, at 16&nbsp;MHz, but with improved video modes and an on-board [[Motorola 56000|Motorola 56001]] audio [[digital signal processor]]. Like the [[#STE|Atari STE]], it supports sampling frequencies above 44.1&nbsp;kHz; the sampling master clock is 98340&nbsp;Hz (which can be divided by a number between 2 and 16 to get the actual sampling frequencies). It can play the STE sample frequencies (up to 50066&nbsp;Hz) in 8 or 16 bit, mono or stereo, all by using the same DMA interface as the STE, with a few additions. It can both play back and record samples, with 8 mono channels and 4 stereo channels, allowing musicians to use it for recording to hard drive. Although the 68030 microprocessor can use 32-bit memory, the Falcon uses a 16-bit bus, which reduces performance and cost. In another cost-reduction measure, Atari shipped the Falcon in an inexpensive case much like that of the ST<sup>F</sup> and ST<sup>E</sup>. Aftermarket upgrade kits allow it to be put in a desktop or rack-mount case, with the keyboard separate.

Released in 1992, the Falcon was discontinued by Atari the following year. In Europe, C-Lab licensed the Falcon design from Atari and released the C-Lab Falcon Mk I, identical to Atari's Falcon except for slight modifications to the audio circuitry. The Mk II added an internal 500&nbsp;MB SCSI hard disk; and the Mk X further added a desktop case. C-Lab Falcons were also imported to the US by some Atari dealers.