It's not a PC, it's a proper computer!.
A modern computer inspired by the golden age of hardware creativity.
Ant64 is a brand-new computer designed from the ground up for games, music, demos, and creative computing — inspired by classic systems like the Amiga, Atari, arcade boards, and early workstations, but built with modern silicon.
It combines a powerful RISC-V CPU, a large FPGA-based custom chipset, and multiple dedicated microcontrollers — each doing what it does best.
This is not an emulator box.
This is a real machine with real hardware personality.
Core Philosophy
- Hardware-accelerated graphics and audio
- Deterministic, low-latency behaviour
- Immediate, tactile interaction
- No GPU drivers, no shader compilers, no OS overhead
- Built to last, repair, and recover
- If the Amiga, Atari, and arcade engineers were designing a system today — this is what they’d build.
The Ant64 Architecture (at a Glance)
SG2000 - Main CPU
- High-performance RISC-V processor
- Runs the operating system, games, tools, simulates other processors
- Cached DDR3 system memory
- Treats the custom chipset as a memory-mapped device
- Fast internal SD storage (like a built-in hard drive)
Razz - The heart and soul of Ant64.
Razz is a large FPGA acting as a modern custom chipset — handling graphics, audio, DMA, and timing-critical operations entirely in hardware.
Graphics highlights:
- Up to 16 hardware layers
- Tilemaps, sprites, vectors, text, command lists
- Hardware scaling, rotation, perspective
- Per-layer pixel formats (3-bit, 6-bit, 9-bit palette, 12-bit, 18-bit)
- Copper-style display lists for raster effects
- Z-buffered layering (optional per layer)
- Hardware blitter for fast memory moves and clears
- Special effects for classic and modern 2D games
Audio highlights:
- Hardware-mixed multi-voice audio
- Sample playback from DDR3 or flash
- Live synthesis and DSP-style effects
- Pitch-shifting without time-stretch
- Designed for tracker, synth, and game audio workflows
Razz is fast, predictable, and always under your control.
Input, Control & Music
Jazz (RP2350) – Music & Input Controller
- MIDI (IN / OUT/ THRU + USB)
- Mouse support
- Six analogue control dials
- Dedicated round TFT display
- Aggregates human input with ultra-low latency
- Appears as a device to the main CPU
Perfect for music, games, and creative tools.
Sticky (AVR) – Safe 5V I/O
- Handles classic controllers safely:
- Atari / C64
- Sega pads
- Paddles and analogue controls
- Electrically isolates the FPGA and main CPU
- Cheap, replaceable, and robust
Your vintage controllers are safe — and so is the system.
DeMon – The Supervisor Brain
DeMon is the silent guardian of Ant64.
- Owns the keyboard and touch screen
- Can reprogram:
- Razz (FPGA)
- SG2000
- Jazz
- Sticky
- Can recover a completely broken system
- Network-enabled via ESP32-C5
- Cartridge port for recovery, expansion, and personalities
- JTAG access to both FPGA and CPU
- NFC reader for instant system switching
If anything goes wrong — Ant64 can heal itself.
Personality Cartridges
Ant64 supports plug-in cartridges that can:
- Load a new FPGA “chipset”
- Install a different OS
- Simulate a classic computer or console
- Provide game or ROM libraries
- Reconfigure the system at boot
- JTAG access to both FPGA and CPU
- NFC reader for instant system switching
One machine.
Many personalities.
Display and Output
- HDMI output (up to 1080p, HDR-capable)
- VGA output with classic timing support
- Line-doubled / tripled rendering for pixel-perfect scaling
- Raster effects, split screens, and layer reveals
- Optional per-layer Z-buffer ignore for classic ordering tricks
rom CRT-style visuals to modern flat panels — Ant64 does both.
Built for Creators
- Ideal for:
- Games
- Demos
- Music
- Retro development
- Hardware-accelerated tools
- Immediate response
- No driver hell
- No GPU black boxes
- Everything is inspectable and controllable
You don’t fight the machine.
You collaborate with it.
Why Ant64 Is Different
| Ant64 | Modern PCs | |
|---|---|---|
| Modern 64-bit RISC-V | x86/x64 | |
| Custom FPGA-based chipset | Fixed-function GPU and drivers | |
| Deterministic, predictable timing | Variable latency and scheduling | |
| Memory-mapped hardware devices | Abstracted driver stacks | |
| Hardware layers, blitter, and audio mixing | Software pipelines and shaders | |
| Designed for instant input response | Input lag hidden behind OS layers | |
| Recoverable and reprogrammable system | Reinstall when things break | |
| Built to be explored and understood | Built to be opaque and managed |
Ant64 gives creators direct access to hardware again. No driver hell. No black boxes. Not an appliance.