Atari PC4
 | |
| Atari PC4 with monitor and keyboard (Atari product photograph, 1989) | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Atari Corporation (Atari Taiwan Manufacturing) |
| Type | IBM PC/AT compatible |
| Released | Announced 16 September 1987 (Milan); shown 2 November 1987 (Fall COMDEX); on sale May 1989[1] |
| Discontinued | 1990[1] |
| Intro price | PC4H with PCM124 £1,399.99, PC4R £1,499.99 (May 1989); PC4H US$2,295 and PC4R US$2,495 planned (April 1989)[1] |
| CPU | 80286 (AMD Am286) at 8 or 12 MHz; 16 MHz versions listed by atari-computermuseum.de |
| Memory | 1 MB, expandable to 8 MB with memory modules in pairs; 96 KB ROM[2] |
| Storage | 5.25-inch 360 KB or 1.2 MB, or 3.5-inch 1.44 MB drive; PC4H with an RLL hard disk; PC4R with a SyQuest SQ555 44 MB removable-cartridge drive |
| Display | — |
| Sound | PC speaker |
| Graphics | Onboard VGA, EGA, CGA, MDA and Hercules; analogue and digital monitor ports |
| FPU / coprocessor | Socket for an 80287-12 |
| Ports / interface | Keyboard (5-pin DIN), Atari mouse (9-pin D), serial (9-pin D), parallel (25-pin D), analogue monitor (15-pin high-density D), digital monitor (9-pin D), external floppy (14-pin DIN) |
| Expansion | Four 16-bit ISA slots and one 8-bit XT slot |
| Power | Internal 145 W supply[2] |
| Dimensions | 150 × 380 × 410 mm (H × W × D)[2] |
| OS / Firmware | MS-DOS 3.21 |
| Predecessor | Atari PC3 |
| Successor | Atari ABC 286 |
The Atari PC4 is Atari's AT-class PC compatible and its first computer with an AMD processor, the Am286. It was announced at an office equipment show in Milan on 16 September 1987 and shown at the Fall COMDEX that November, but did not go on sale until May 1989, a few months after the PC5. Production ended in 1990; its successor, the ABC 286, is essentially a PC4 in a new case.[1]
Specifications
[edit | edit source]| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Processor | 80286, 8 MHz standard or 12 MHz turbo, selected from the keyboard or by software; 12 MHz by default |
| Memory | 1 MB standard, expandable to 8 MB; 96 KB ROM |
| Power | 145 W internal supply |
| Interfaces | AT keyboard; external floppy drives; two serial ports (one through an adapter); one parallel port; analogue and digital video ports; internal connector for two floppy drives; ST-506 controller for two hard disks, or an optional SCSI controller |
| Expansion | Four AT/XT slots and one XT slot; 80287-12 coprocessor socket |
| Floppy drives | 5.25-inch 360 KB (300 rpm, 250 kbit/s) or 1.2 MB (360 rpm, 500 kbit/s) |
| Dimensions | 15 cm high, 38 cm wide, 41 cm deep |
atari-computermuseum.de gives the processor as an AMD Am286 at 8, 12 or 16 MHz depending on the version ordered, the VGA mode as 640 × 480 in up to 16 colours, and the memory as 30-pin SIP modules, which are fragile to fit and remove.[1] Atari's manual installs the memory modules in pairs, from right to left in the four banks at the front right of the board.[3]
Configurations
[edit | edit source]The PC4H has an RLL hard disk and the PC4R a SyQuest SQ555 44 MB removable-cartridge drive on SCSI; the primary floppy drive could be a 5.25-inch or a 3.5-inch 1.44 MB unit.[1] The PC4 kept the Atari mouse port of the earlier models.[1]
The Mitac PC4
[edit | edit source]A second machine was sold as the Atari PC4 in Western Europe. Because Atari's own PC4 was late and not available in quantity, Atari's German subsidiary bought in an OEM machine, Mitac's Paragon 286VE. Its board is 360 × 340 mm, with eight SIPP memory sockets, five 16-bit ISA slots and one 8-bit XT slot, and a NEAT chipset with most settings made in the BIOS. The processor is an Intel N80286 at 8 MHz, with 12 or 16 MHz turbo depending on the version, switched with Ctrl+Alt+\. It shipped with 512 KB, a 1.2 MB drive, a Western Digital WD1003-WA2 hard disk controller and MS-DOS 3.30A, and has no connector for Atari's external floppy drives. Few were sold.[4]
A "PC4" with five 16-bit slots and a NEAT BIOS set-up is therefore the Mitac machine. ataripc.net's PC4 motherboard page documents the Mitac board, and its German manual is for the Mitac machine.[5]
Clock battery
[edit | edit source]The CMOS clock battery sits in a holder screwed to the chassis and is connected by a cable. The message "CMOS battery state low" at start-up means it needs replacing: unplug the cable, remove the holder's screw, fit a new battery, refit the holder and cable, then set the date and time in the SETUP program. The manual's maintenance appendix also lists the start-up error messages and describes Atari's DIAGS diagnostic program.[6] See Battery Refurbishment.
The supply is mains-powered and stores charge after disconnection.
Documentation
[edit | edit source]- Atari Atari PC4 Manuel d'Utilisation (1988), in French: setting up, memory and coprocessor, specifications, the SETUP program, maintenance and error messages, and connector 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 "Atari PC4", atari-computermuseum.de, last edited 25 July 2024, https://www.atari-computermuseum.de/pc4.htm. Secondary source for the announcement, show and release dates, the Am286 and clock options, the VGA mode, the SIP memory, the drive and hard disk options, the port list, the prices and the ABC 286.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Atari Corporation, Atari PC4 Manuel d'Utilisation, 1988, section 1.7, "Caractéristiques techniques", pp. 22–24. Hosted as File:Atari PC4 Manuel d'Utilisation (1988).pdf.
- ↑ Atari Corporation, Atari PC4 Manuel d'Utilisation, 1988, section 1.6.2, "Installation d'une extension mémoire et d'un coprocesseur arithmétique", pp. 8–9. Hosted as File:Atari PC4 Manuel d'Utilisation (1988).pdf.
- ↑ "Interimsmodell: Der Atari PC4 von Mitac", atari-computermuseum.de, https://www.atari-computermuseum.de/pc4m.htm. Secondary source for the Mitac machine.
- ↑ "Atari PC4 286-12/16", its motherboard page and its documentation pages, ataripc.net, https://www.ataripc.net/pc4-286/. Secondary source.
- ↑ Atari Corporation, Atari PC4 Manuel d'Utilisation, 1988, appendix B, "Entretien du système", pp. 109–122, including the clock battery (pp. 110–111). Hosted as File:Atari PC4 Manuel d'Utilisation (1988).pdf.