Josh: /* Relationship to the Risc PC 600 */

2026-06-17T20:37:44Z

Relationship to the Risc PC 600

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	The Risc PC 700 shares the Risc PC architecture and slice case with the 600: the same IOMD memory-and-I/O controller, VIDC20 video-and-sound controller, SMC FDC37C665 'Combo' peripheral controller, plug-in CPU card with a second processor socket, 72-pin DRAM SIMMs, VRAM, on-board IDE and floppy, two podule slots plus a network slot, and a PC-AT keyboard.<ref name="4corn">[https://www.4corn.co.uk/rpca7000.php "The Acorn Risc PC and A7000"], 4corn Computers. Source for the 40 MHz ARM710, the VRAM/16-bit-sound-as-standard change, and the shared Risc PC architecture; also the later StrongARM CPU card (RISC OS 3.70).</ref> The visible differences are the faster CPU card, the RISC OS 3.60 ROMs, VRAM fitted as standard, on-board 16-bit sound, and larger hard discs.		The Risc PC 700 shares the Risc PC architecture and slice case with the 600: the same IOMD memory-and-I/O controller, VIDC20 video-and-sound controller, SMC FDC37C665 'Combo' peripheral controller, plug-in CPU card with a second processor socket, 72-pin DRAM SIMMs, VRAM, on-board IDE and floppy, two podule slots plus a network slot, and a PC-AT keyboard.<ref name="4corn">[https://www.4corn.co.uk/rpca7000.php "The Acorn Risc PC and A7000"], 4corn Computers. Source for the 40 MHz ARM710, the VRAM/16-bit-sound-as-standard change, and the shared Risc PC architecture; also the later StrongARM CPU card (RISC OS 3.70).</ref> The visible differences are the faster CPU card, the RISC OS 3.60 ROMs, VRAM fitted as standard, on-board 16-bit sound, and larger hard discs.

	{\| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:90%; text-align:center;"		{\| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:70%; text-align:center;"
	\|+'''Risc PC 700 key chips'''		\|+'''Risc PC 700 key chips'''
	! Function !! Device		! Function !! Device

Josh: Create Risc PC 700 product page (infobox image, cited)

2026-06-17T20:37:01Z

Create Risc PC 700 product page (infobox image, cited)

New page

{{Infobox computer
| name = Acorn Risc PC 700
| image = [[File:Acorn Risc PC.jpg|260px]]
| caption = Acorn Risc PC (slice case; the 700 is externally identical to the 600)
| manufacturer = Acorn Computers Ltd
| type = Personal computer
| release date = July 1995
| cpu = ARM710 @ 40 MHz
| memory = DRAM via 72-pin SIMMs (up to 256 MB) + 1–2 MB VRAM (standard)
| storage = On-board IDE hard disc, 3.5" floppy, optional CD-ROM
| display = VIDC20, up to 16.7 million colours
| sound = 8-channel 16-bit (standard)
| os = RISC OS 3.60
| predecessor = [[Acorn Risc PC 600]]
| successor = StrongARM Risc PC
| model = ACB70, ACB75, ACB76, ACB77 (and variants)
}}

The '''Acorn Risc PC 700''' was launched in July 1995 as an iterative upgrade of the [[Acorn Risc PC 600]]. It fitted the faster 40 MHz ARM710 processor, made VRAM and 16-bit sound standard, and shipped with RISC OS 3.60. The ARM710 gives roughly a 40% improvement over the original 30 MHz ARM610 of the 600.<ref name="chris700">Whytehead, Chris. [https://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/Computers/RiscPC700.html "Acorn Risc PC 700"], Chris's Acorns / The Centre for Computing History. Source for the launch date, the 40 MHz ARM710, RISC OS 3.60, VRAM/16-bit sound as standard, the ~40% performance gain, the model list (ACB70–ACB96), and the board part number (1208,000).</ref>

== Relationship to the Risc PC 600 ==

The Risc PC 700 shares the Risc PC architecture and slice case with the 600: the same IOMD memory-and-I/O controller, VIDC20 video-and-sound controller, SMC FDC37C665 'Combo' peripheral controller, plug-in CPU card with a second processor socket, 72-pin DRAM SIMMs, VRAM, on-board IDE and floppy, two podule slots plus a network slot, and a PC-AT keyboard.<ref name="4corn">[https://www.4corn.co.uk/rpca7000.php "The Acorn Risc PC and A7000"], 4corn Computers. Source for the 40 MHz ARM710, the VRAM/16-bit-sound-as-standard change, and the shared Risc PC architecture; also the later StrongARM CPU card (RISC OS 3.70).</ref> The visible differences are the faster CPU card, the RISC OS 3.60 ROMs, VRAM fitted as standard, on-board 16-bit sound, and larger hard discs.

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:90%; text-align:center;"
|+'''Risc PC 700 key chips'''
! Function !! Device
|-
| CPU || ARM710 @ 40 MHz (on a plug-in CPU card)
|-
| Memory + I/O controller || IOMD
|-
| Video and sound || VIDC20 (16-bit sound standard)
|-
| Peripheral 'Combo' controller || SMC FDC37C665 (floppy, IDE, serial, parallel)
|}

== Board ==

The Risc PC 700 main PCB is part '''1208,000''', a revision of the 600's 0197,000 board that incorporates the 16-bit sound circuitry. As on the 600, the board carries on-board SMD fuses and a NiMH backup battery for the CMOS configuration, and accepts later StrongARM CPU cards (RISC OS 3.70) and x86 PC cards.<ref name="chris700" /><ref name="trm">[[Acorn Risc PC Technical Reference Manual]] (Issue 1, September 1994; part 0497,057), Acorn Computers — hosted on this wiki. Covers the shared Risc PC architecture, the main-PCB parts list, the on-board fuses and NiMH battery, and the Power On Self Test. The TRM documents the original (0197,000) board; the 700's 1208,000 board is a revision.</ref>

== Models ==

The 700 range included the ACB70/ACB71 (4 MB, 1 MB VRAM), the ACB75/ACB76 series (8 MB, 2 MB VRAM, 850 MB–1 GB discs, with and without CD-ROM), the ACB77/ACB78 (4 MB, 1 MB VRAM, 540 MB) and the ACB96 X-system. Later machines were fitted with StrongARM CPU cards and RISC OS 3.70/3.71.<ref name="chris700" />

== Maintenance and repair ==

The Risc PC 700 shares the Risc PC's surface-mount electrolytic-capacitor problem (leakage and board corrosion). See the dedicated pages:

* [[Acorn Risc PC 700 Maintenance Guide]]
* [[Acorn Risc PC 700 Troubleshooting Guide]]
* [[Acorn Risc PC 700 Capacitor Guide]]

== See also ==

* [[Acorn Risc PC 600]]
* [[Acorn Risc PC Technical Reference Manual]]

== References ==

<references />

{{Navbox-AcornComputers}}

[[Category:Acorn Computers]]

Acorn Risc PC 700 - Revision history

Josh: /* Relationship to the Risc PC 600 */

Josh: Create Risc PC 700 product page (infobox image, cited)