This Tiny 3D-Printable Commodore Amiga 2000 Hides a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 Inside

Matching, though larger-scale, monitor completes a miniature desktop throwback to the pinnacle of 1980s home computing.

Pseudonymous maker and vintage computing enthusiast "tw_designs" has released 3D print files and a bill of materials for anyone interested in turning a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 into a functional scale replica of a Commodore Amiga 2000 — complete with working Commodore 1084-inspired monitor.

"I have many fond memories of my Amiga 2000 computer in the late '80s. In an effort to relive its glory days with a retro vibe, I have created a 36% scale-ish Amiga 2000," tw_designs explains. "So it would have something to hold it down, I made a 50% scale 1084-like monitor for it. Why isn't everything the same scale? Didn't really care, just made things as small as I could. Either way, you get to make a cute little computer with an SVGA resolution, 4:3 aspect ratio, sweet stereo speakers, and a display just large enough to actually use it for some light general purpose computer needs like web browsing, watching movies, or even word processing."

Inside the 3D-printed desktop case, which is designed to mimic the second-generation "big box" Amiga 2000 desktop computer released by Commodore in 1987, is a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 — a computer-on-module version of the popular Raspberry Pi 5 single-board computer, which when paired with a suitable carrier board can have its ports in a more convenient location for a project like this. There's a heatsink, with additional cooling provided by a pulse-width modulated (PWM) fan, and a 1TB NVMe SSD for storage.

On top of the Amiga-like case is a larger-scale Commodore 1084-style monitor — though while the case is as bulky as the classic cathode-ray tube monitor that inspired its design, the actual display is a modern 8" flat-panel in a classic 4:3 aspect ratio. At that size, it's around half-scale compared to the original — but not that much smaller than the original Apple Macintosh family, which shipped with 9" CRTs.

For software, tw_designs recommends running Raspberry Pi OS, the official Debian-derived Linux distribution from Raspberry Pi — but it's worth mentioning that there are a range of emulators, like Amiberry, which will happily turn the model into a "real" Amiga.

The bill of materials, 3D print files, and full instructions for building your own tiny Amiga are all available on Instructables.

Gareth Halfacree
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.
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