Color RAM

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The chip of the color RAM (MM2114N-3 4Kb Static RAM) on a C64 motherboard.

The color RAM or color memory of the C64 starts in the memory address 55296 ($D800) and ends in 56295 ($DBE7).

For each character in every row (40 chars per row; 0-39) and column (25 columns; 0-24) one of 16 colors (see color table) can be assigned. The color values ​​0-15 are only used in the lower nibbles. The upper nibbles are undefined and are purely random values​​.

The BASIC command POKE is used for coloring, for example: POKE 55296,1 sets the 8x8 pixel block in the upper left corner to white.

Addresses

Hex Address	Dec Address	Type	Purpose
$D800-$DBE7	55296-56295		1/2 kB (1000 nibbles) of color memory.
$DBE8-$DBFF	56296-56319		Unused

See also

• Screen RAM for printing chars

Hardware internals of the C64 · Hardware portal
Components of the C64: CPU · VIC · SID · CIA · PLA · RAM · ROM · Color RAM

Interfaces of the C64: Control Port · Expansion Port · Userport · Cassette Port · Power Supply Connector · A/V Jack · RF Jack · Serial Port