Nintendo Game Boy Advance vs Nintendo Game Boy Color
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| NintendoGame Boy Advance | NintendoGame Boy Color | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | June 2001 | November 1998 |
| Performance | ||
| Type | Handheld | Handheld |
| CPU | ARM7TDMI (32-bit), 16.78 MHz | Sharp SM83 (8-bit), 4.19 or 8.39 MHz |
| GPU | Nintendo CPU AGB (built-in 2D graphics) | Nintendo CPU CGB (built-in picture processing) |
| Memory | 384 KB (better) | 48 KB |
| Disc drive | No | No |
| CPU | ARM7TDMI (32-bit) at 16.78 MHz, plus an integrated 8-bit CPU for Game Boy and Game Boy Color games (Nintendo programming manual) | Sharp SM83 (8-bit) at 4.194304 MHz or 8.388608 MHz in double-speed mode, in the Nintendo CPU CGB (mGBA documentation) |
| GPU | 2D graphics built into the AGB chip, with tile, sprite and bitmap modes (Nintendo programming manual) | LCD picture processing in the Nintendo CPU CGB; 40 sprites, up to 10 per line (Nintendo programming manual and mGBA documentation) |
| Memory detail | 32 KB internal work RAM and 256 KB external work RAM, plus 96 KB video RAM, 1 KB object attribute memory and 1 KB palette RAM (Nintendo programming manual) | 32 KB work RAM and 16 KB video RAM; compatible game cartridges can add up to 128 KB RAM (Nintendo programming manual) |
| Storage detail | Game Boy Advance Game Paks (cartridges); saves on the cartridge | Game Boy and Game Boy Color Game Paks (cartridges); saves on the cartridge |
| Display and video | ||
| Built-in screen | 2.9″ LCD, 240 × 160 | 2.3″ LCD, 160 × 144 |
| Built-in screen | 2.9-inch reflective TFT colour LCD, no backlight; 240 × 160 (3:2); 32,768 colours (Nintendo) | 2.3-inch reflective TFT colour LCD, no backlight; 160 × 144; 32,768 colours, up to 56 at once |
| Audio | Two 8-bit Direct Sound channels plus four Game Boy sound channels; mono speaker and stereo headphone jack (Nintendo) | Mono speaker and stereo headphone jack |
| Design and power | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 15 hours | Up to 10 hours |
| Weight | 140 g | 138 g (better) |
| Battery life detail | 2 × AA batteries, up to 15 hours (Nintendo) | 2 × AA batteries, up to 10 hours |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | Game Link Cable port, Game Pak slot, headphone jack (Nintendo) | Game Link Cable port, infrared port, Game Pak slot, headphone jack, 3 V DC input (Nintendo) |
| Controller | Built-in D-pad, A, B, L, R, Start and Select buttons | Built-in D-pad, A, B, Start and Select buttons |
| Backward compatibility | Game Boy and Game Boy Color games | Original Game Boy games |
