# ZX Spectrum

31 Hacker News commenters recommended ZX Spectrum and 8 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** A 1980s home computer many people learned BASIC programming and games on, praised for its quirks and repairable boards. Critics point to rubber keys and colour clash.

## Why people recommend it

- Learned BASIC programming on it (5 comments): "the Sinclair BASIC interpreter was a work of minimalist art, as was the hardware" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46263777)) "I'd already been "forced" to play with BASIC and I never really stopped" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48946069)) "a fantastic system for recreational programming" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49895224))
- First computer that launched careers (4 comments): "my entire life/career changed the day I plugged it in" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49536050)) "these beauties that launched me into computer science" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49614471)) "I had fun times around 1985 with zx81, ZX spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amiga 500." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48257376))
- Classic games and fun sessions (3 comments): "the Speccie is one of the greatest ways to spend an afternoon" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47179385)) "it was incredible to play them and see them "for real"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50282465)) "Knight Lore on the ZX Spectrum (the tiny rubber one)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50235030))
- Repairable through-hole circuit boards (2 comments): "They are quite repairable and even upgradable machines." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49499644)) "Their through-hole circuit boards are very repairable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49162119))

## What people warn about

- Rubber keyboards were poor (2 comments): "man did they have crappy keyboards" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46132126)) "The rubber keys were an abomination." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50183177))
- Colour clash and palette limits (2 comments): "you will see color-bleeding artifacts where two sprites overlap" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45922777)) "The only thing I hate about the Speccy is the color palette." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49165592))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Commodore 64](https://hackerapproved.com/p/commodore-64.md): 121 recommend
- [Commodore Amiga](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amiga.md): 60 recommend
- [TI-99/4A](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ti-99-4a.md): 26 recommend
- [Commodore Amiga 500](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amiga-500.md): 20 recommend
- [Sinclair ZX81](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sinclair-zx81.md): 18 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Sinclair+ZX+Spectrum+retro+computer&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "ZX Spectrum", https://hackerapproved.com/p/zx-spectrum/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).