Atari PC3
 | |
| Atari PC3 system unit and keyboard | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Atari Corporation (Atari Taiwan Manufacturing) |
| Type | IBM PC compatible (XT class) |
| Released | Shown 2 November 1987 (Fall COMDEX); on sale in Western Europe from summer 1988[1] |
| Discontinued | 1990[1] |
| Intro price | PC3-DD with PCM124 £649.99, PC3-HD with PCM124 £949.99 (November 1988); £599.99 and £799.99 (May 1989)[1] |
| CPU | Intel 8088-2 at 4.77 MHz or 8 MHz, switched from the keyboard or by software |
| Memory | 512 KB in Atari's 1988 manual, 640 KB with four extra DRAMs; 32 KB ROM |
| Storage | PC3-DD one 5.25-inch 360 KB drive; PC3-HD the same and a Seagate ST238R 30 MB RLL hard disk |
| Display | — |
| Sound | PC speaker |
| Graphics | Onboard EGA, CGA, MDA and Hercules; 256 KB video RAM |
| FPU / coprocessor | Socket for an Intel 8087, 8087-2 or 8087-1 |
| Ports / interface | Keyboard (5-pin DIN), Atari mouse (9-pin D), serial (25-pin D), parallel (25-pin D), digital monitor (9-pin D), external floppy (14-pin DIN), IEC C14 mains inlet and IEC C13 monitor outlet |
| Expansion | Five XT (8-bit ISA) slots on the main board |
| Power | Internal 130 W supply; 200 W maximum consumption[2] |
| Dimensions | 152 × 381 × 413 mm (H × W × D)[2] |
| Weight | 10.5 kg[1] |
| OS / Firmware | MS-DOS 3.2 with GW-BASIC and GEM Desktop, Write and Paint |
| Predecessor | Atari PC2 |
| Successor | Atari PC4 |
The Atari PC3 is an XT-class PC compatible with five expansion slots on its main board. It was shown at the Fall COMDEX on 2 November 1987, sold in Western Europe from the summer of 1988 and built until 1990. atari-computermuseum.de describes it as the best-selling of Atari's desktop PCs.[1]
Its case was new with this model and was reused for the PC4 and PC5 and for the developer version of the ATW800 transputer machine. Early units have a dark grey plinth, later ones a lighter one.[1]
Specifications
[edit | edit source]| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Processor | 8088; 4.77 MHz PC mode or 8.0 MHz turbo mode, switched from the keyboard or by software |
| Memory | 512 KB standard; 640 KB with four extra 64K × 4 DRAMs (41464-15, 41464-12 or equivalent); 32 KB ROM |
| Power | 130 W internal supply; 200 W maximum consumption |
| Expansion | Five vertical XT-type slots; socket for an 8087 (5 MHz), 8087-2 (8 MHz) or 8087-1 (10 MHz) |
| Interfaces | XT keyboard, quadrature mouse port, video monitor, RS-232C serial, parallel printer, floppy disk port, two internal drive connectors |
| Video | EGA 640 × 350 in 16 of 64 colours; CGA; MDA; Hercules 720 × 348 |
| Floppy drive | 5.25-inch, 40 tracks, 360 KB, 300 rpm; controller supports two internal and two external drives |
| Dimensions | 15.2 cm high, 38.1 cm wide, 41.3 cm deep |
atari-computermuseum.de gives 640 KB as fitted and 256 KB of video RAM.[1]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]Board revisions recorded by ataripc.net are C100812 Rev B and Rev B1 (1988), and C103272 with no revision letter and Rev B (1989). The later boards use an STMicroelectronics EGA device in place of the NSI Logic EVC315-S.[3]
The five XT slots are on the main board itself, not on a riser as in the PC2. A factory hard disk was normally a Seagate ST238R 30 MB RLL drive.[1]
The back panel carries an IEC C14 mains inlet and an IEC C13 outlet for the monitor. The monitor connector is a 9-pin D for digital CGA, EGA and MDA monitors; there is no analogue VGA output. The mouse port is a 9-pin male D without screw locks, for an Atari mouse.[1]
Speed, memory and coprocessor
[edit | edit source]The PC3 starts in turbo mode, shown by the "CPU" light on the front, unless an 8087 is fitted. Ctrl+Alt+keypad + selects turbo mode and Ctrl+Alt+keypad − returns to 4.77 MHz. A 5 MHz 8087 cannot run in turbo mode.[4] Extra memory is four 64K × 4 DRAMs rated 150 ns or faster, labelled 41464-15 or 41464-12.[5]
Monitor switches
[edit | edit source]The "Config" switches on the back panel are numbered 4, 3, 2, 1 from left to right, and on them up is on and down is off. With SMART on, an Atari EGA monitor can also be used in the MDA and Hercules modes; SMART must be off if a separate monochrome display adapter is fitted in a slot.[6]
| Monitor | Switch 4 | Switch 3 | Switch 2 | Switch 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EGA, SMART on | Off | On | Off | Off |
| EGA, SMART off | Off | On | On | Off |
| Colour | On | Off | Off | On |
| Monochrome | On | Off | On | On |
Real-time clock
[edit | edit source]The PC3 has a battery-backed real-time clock. Its lithium battery pack is held on a Velcro strip inside the case and connected by a wire; to replace it, remove the cover, disconnect the wire, and fit a new pack of the same type on the strip. A "CMOS RAM Error" message at start-up means the pack needs replacing, or that a newly fitted pack has not yet been recognised; press F1 to continue. A "Real-Time Clock Error" means the clock needs setting again with Atari's RTC utility.[7] See Battery Refurbishment.
Faults and diagnostics
[edit | edit source]| Beeps | Problem area |
|---|---|
| One short beep | Normal |
| No beep, continuous beep, or short repeating beeps | Power supply |
| One long and one short beep | System board |
| One long and two short beeps | Monitor cable, display or video circuit |
| One short beep, drive light stays on | Disk drive or floppy controller |
The error-code ranges are the same as on the PC1, with 401–432 described as the monochrome video subsystem, 601–626 as the floppy drive or controller, and the 1400 series as printers.[7]
The supply is mains-powered and also feeds the monitor outlet.
Documentation
[edit | edit source]- Atari Atari PC3 Owner's Manual (1988): setting up, monitor switches, system speed, the clock and its battery, beep and error codes, fitting memory, the 8087, expansion cards and drives, preparing a hard disk, specifications and pinouts. It has no schematic or parts list.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Atari PC3", atari-computermuseum.de, revised 14 July 2024, https://www.atari-computermuseum.de/pc3.htm. Secondary source for the show and release dates, the end of production, the best-selling description, the case and plinth colours, the slots, the 640 KB and 256 KB video RAM figures, the Seagate ST238R, the port list, the weight and the UK prices.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Atari Corporation, Atari PC3 Owner's Manual, 1988, appendix F, "Atari PC3 specifications", pp. 93–95. Hosted as File:Atari PC3 Owner's Manual (1988).pdf.
- ↑ "Atari PC3 8088" and its motherboard pages, ataripc.net, https://www.ataripc.net/pc3-8088/. Secondary source for the board numbers and revisions and the later EGA device.
- ↑ Atari Corporation, Atari PC3 Owner's Manual, 1988, chapter 2: key functions and "Changing system speed", pp. 14 and 30. Hosted as File:Atari PC3 Owner's Manual (1988).pdf.
- ↑ Atari Corporation, Atari PC3 Owner's Manual, 1988, appendix B, "Installing extra RAM and the numeric data processor", p. 65 onwards. Hosted as File:Atari PC3 Owner's Manual (1988).pdf.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Atari Corporation, Atari PC3 Owner's Manual, 1988, chapter 1, "Setting up", pp. 8–9, and the monitor display mode commands, pp. 52–53. Hosted as File:Atari PC3 Owner's Manual (1988).pdf.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Atari Corporation, Atari PC3 Owner's Manual, 1988, "Setting the real-time clock", p. 29, and appendix A, "System maintenance", pp. 61–63. Hosted as File:Atari PC3 Owner's Manual (1988).pdf.