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Gideon Zweijtzer, the mastermind who first blew minds with the 1541 Ultimate back in 2008 (evolving into the Ultimate-II+ cartridge by 2016), took things to the next level in 2017 by announcing the Ultimate 64: a full FPGA-based C64 motherboard replacement using Xilinx (now AMD) hardware for gate-level accurate recreation of the classic chips. The original boards shipped around 2018, with the refined Elite series following, and the latest Elite-II variant (short-board form factor, rocker power switch, improved layout for easier case swaps) hitting prototypes in mid-2024 and becoming the go-to for serious builders by 2025. These bare boards pack everything: HDMI, Ethernet/WiFi options, USB mass storage, built-in Ultimate-II+ emulation for virtual drives/tapes, turbo CPU up to 64MHz these days, dual SID sockets for real chips, massive RAM expansions, and near-perfect compatibility with original hardware—no more hunting dead PLAs or leaky caps.
Unlike the polished, officially branded Commodore 64 Ultimate that hit the scene in late 2025/early 2026 (using a customized take on Gideon’s Elite-II), these pure Gideon boards are the raw, DIY heart of the scene: perfect for Frankenstein projects, dropping into salvaged breadbins, slim C64Cs, 3D-printed customs, or even wild non-C64 shells. They’re the choice for tinkerers who want full control—adding their own cases, dual real SIDs for that gritty analog sound, custom firmware tweaks, or pushing the limits of what’s possible on FPGA.
This is your dedicated spot to post about your Gideon-powered machines: build logs and progress pics, case mods (show off those breadbin revivals or transparent glow-ups!), firmware flashing tips and gotchas, compatibility deep-dives (what runs buttery at max turbo?), SID socket experiments, USB/WiFi file loading setups, or just screenshots of your latest high-speed gaming session. Got a bare Elite-II waiting for a home? A completed beast with real 6581s and/or 8580s? Drop it here!
Share away!
-Sutehk
This topic was modified 7 months ago 2 times by Sutehk
Topic starter
Posted : 15/02/2026 3:43 pm
My Aldi 64 Ultimate!
For my Ultimate 64 I wanted it to have a little bit of unique appeal like so many others have done and continue to do with theirs. But I did not go down the path of a fancy colored 64c case or RGB in a translucent breadbin case, I went the route of what I always thought was less common and has a little history to go with it. That is what my Aldi 64 Ultimate is to me. The Aldi story interested me when I learn of it many years ago, maybe in part that where I live there are no Aldi stores let alone the idea of a grocery store selling a Commodore 64 back in the day. I guess that is no stranger than a super Wal-Mart today, where you can go and pick up some milk, cookies and a computer all in one location, but to think of that as an option decades ago is just foreign to me. The other appeal of the Aldi 64's history is the use of leftovers from the breadbin case to the c64c wedge keyboard and its special serial number that is just for those units sold in the Aldi stores. That brings me to the biggest fact/interest point for me, they were assembled in the US shipped overseas and only sold in Aldi grocery stores located in Europe, that is just a fun little bit of history, I think.
So, I found my Aldi 64 case with its original keyboard from a seller in eastern Europe and it was in great shape and being an empty case, my Ultimate 64 board would bring it back to life! Once I received the case and keyboard it got a deep cleaning, some light retrobrite treatment as it was not too bad. The Commodore 64 badge along with the serial number sticker on the bottom of the case were in perfect shape, plus the serial number does indeed trace back to this case is indeed a legit Aldi 64.
That is the brief story of my Aldi 64 Ultimate computer running Gideons Ultimate 64 bard, I would like to do this for another machine in the future as I have another semi unique original Commodore breadbin case I would like to use for that future build.
If you would like to see a quick video of my completed Aldi 64 Ultimate, you can watch one of the videos on it showing it completely assembled and ready for use here:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TVZbhyenwuA
Your Turn!
Now that I shared my Ultimate 64 (Aldi 64 Ultimate), what is the story behind yours? Don't be shy, share your Ultimate 64 pictures, details and what you use yours for! Lets keep this ball rolling...
This post was modified 7 months ago 3 times by Shane - "PalKat"
Commodore 64 BBS -=[ commodore64bbs.com:6464 ]=- ....1st Commodore 64 Ultimate to run Image BBS 3.0!
The Kats Alley BBS -=[ tka.8bitboyz.com:6400 ]=- ....Running Image 3.0 for the C64
8-Bit Boyz BBS -=[ bbs.8bitboyz.com:6502 ]=- ....Running Mystic on Windows
Best Retro Web Resource -=[ www.8bitboyz.com ]=- ....Running a whole lotta PHP, Javascript, SQL and so much more!
Posted : 15/02/2026 9:49 pm
Sutehk reacted