Atari 1040ST
A 68000-based computer with an SC1224 color monitor.
This record groups the Atari computer with its period display. The ST’s graphical desktop and built-in interfaces made it useful for applications beyond games.
All photographs of this object
Atari 1040ST with SC1224 colour monitor
| Maker | Atari |
|---|---|
| Model | 1040ST, with 1 MB RAM and an integrated floppy |
| Introduced | ST line 1985, 1040ST 1986 |
| Processor | Motorola 68000 |
| Notable | MIDI in and out fitted as standard |
| Shown with | Atari SC1224 colour monitor |
MIDI in and out, on the motherboard, on a computer sold for home use in 1985. No other machine of the period did that, and it is the whole reason the ST became studio equipment: a musician could drive a rack of synthesisers without buying an interface card. Cubase and Notator were written for it, and the ST stayed in professional studios long after it stopped being competitive as a computer.
Record & provenance
This record groups the Atari computer with its period display. The ST’s graphical desktop and built-in interfaces made it useful for applications beyond games.
Reference: ATX-OBJ-ATARI-1040ST
Source: collection inventory, photographs, and notes accompanying Serious Machines (Amir Husain, 2024).