Editing Acorn Archimedes A4000 (section)

== Overview ==

The A4000 represented Acorn's response to market demands for an affordable machine with built-in mass storage. Unlike the A3010 and A3020 which targeted home and education markets respectively, the A4000 aimed at users requiring a complete system without the expense of the ARM3-based A5000. The inclusion of an 80 MB IDE hard drive as standard distinguished it from its contemporaries, providing sufficient storage for RISC OS 3, applications, and user data without external additions.

Acorn designed the A4000 using the same fundamental architecture as the A3010 and A3020, sharing the ARM250 system-on-chip that integrated the ARM2 core, MEMC memory controller, VIDC video controller, and IOC input/output controller into a single package. This integration reduced manufacturing costs while improving reliability through fewer interconnections.