Retro electronics are cool, but usually don't have much to offer in terms of modern day technologies. Well aware of this, Commodore USA will start shipping their modern day Commodore 64 replicas next week.

On the surface, the Commodore 64 shares the same PC-in-a-keyboard physique that it did when it was originally released. Inside, however, the hardware is all new. While the bottom end $250 model is built for basic functionality, the top-end $895 C64x Ultimate version will come equipped with an Intel Atom D525 1.8GHz Dual-Core processor, NVIDIA ION2 GPU, 4GBs of memory, Wi-Fi support, Blu-ray drive, a 1TB hard drive, and 1080p output via HDMI.The C64 will come loaded with Ubuntu 10.10, with Commodore OS 1.0 being delivered once available. If you prefer to go the traditional route, feel free to use Windows 7 as your operating system.The Commodore 64 has gone beyond just a novelty item and can be pre-ordered now from Commodore USA