Hoxs64 vs VirtualC64

Hoxs64 is a free Commodore 64 emulator for Microsoft Windows, written by David Horrocks. Its documentation describes cycle-exact emulation and pixel-exact VIC emulation of a C64C, without emulating the grey dot bug. A simulated 1541 floppy drive supports reading and writing, while the tape player is read-only. The emulator handles D64, G64, P64, FDI, TAP, PRG, P00, T64, and CRT files, and includes state saving, a debugger, full-screen mode, and configurable keyboard and joystick controls. Cartridge support covers Action Reply, Easy Flash, Ocean, Magic Desk, and Commodore REU 1750 options in 512K or 16MB configurations. Multiple cartridges are unsupported, and mounting one disables the REU option. Listed downloads are 32-bit and 64-bit version 1.1.2.9. Requirements include Windows 10 or 11, DirectX 11.1, the Microsoft Visual C++ 2022 runtime, 4 GB RAM, and a DirectX 11 graphics card with pixel shader 4.0. Installation requires the runtime and copying ZIP contents into one directory.

VirtualC64 turns an Apple Macintosh into a Commodore 64 emulator, supporting PAL and NTSC systems with emphasis on PAL accuracy and cycle-accurate emulation. It includes a built-in debugger and supports the PAL C64, NTSC C64, C64 II PAL, and C64 II NTSC variants. Media formats include D64, T64, PRG, P00, G64, TAP, and CRT. Joystick input can come from the keyboard or an external USB device; named options include Sony DualShock 4 controllers and the RetroFun! USB adapter for original Commodore joysticks. VirtualC64 is free and open source under the GNU General Public License, while its CPU core uses the MIT license. The core is designed for WebAssembly and can run in a browser, although macOS is the listed supported platform. On first launch, users are prompted to add four ROM images, which are not pre-installed because their copyright status is unclear. Recent versions include free ROM replacements from the Mega65 project, installable through the ROM configuration panel.