Amstrad PC3386SX
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| PC3386SX with monitor and keyboard, from Amstrad's 1990 leaflet | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Amstrad plc |
| Type | Desktop personal computer (IBM PC/AT compatible) |
| Released | 1990 |
| Intro price | DM 4,699 with 14-inch VGA monitor (Germany, 1991) |
| CPU | Intel 80386SX at 20 MHz on a plug-in processor board; 80387SX socket |
| Memory | 1 MB, expandable to 4 or 16 MB with four identical SIMMs; optional 64 KB cache |
| Storage | 3.5-inch 1.44 MB floppy drive; 40 MB AT-IDE hard disk, 100 MB optional |
| Display | — |
| Sound | — |
| Graphics | Built-in Paradise VGA with 256 KB, up to 800 × 600 on a multi-frequency monitor |
| Ports / interface | Parallel (25-way), RS232 serial (25-way), Amstrad mouse, VGA, monitor power outlet |
| Expansion | Two full-length and one half-length 16-bit ISA slots, one full-length and one half-length 8-bit |
| Power | 145 W internal supply with 100–120 / 200–240 V selector |
| Dimensions | 425 × 135 × 390 mm (W × H × D) |
| OS / Firmware | MS-DOS 3.30A |
The Amstrad PC3386SX is the top model of Amstrad's "Generation 3" desktop PCs of 1990, alongside the Amstrad PC3086 and Amstrad PC3286. It uses the PC3286's main board and case with a 20 MHz 80386SX on its own processor daughterboard, and was sold with a 40 MB hard disk as standard.[1][2][3] Amstrad PC International tested one with the optional 100 MB Conner drive in 1991 and called it the flagship of the range.[4]
Specifications
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Processor | 80386SX at 20 MHz, slowed to 10, 7, 5 or 4 MHz by software; 80387SX socket |
| Memory | 1 MB parity-checked, 32 bits wide, expandable to 4 or 16 MB; built-in LIM expanded memory |
| Cache | 64 KB of 35 ns cache RAM, optionally fitted |
| Floppy drive | 3.5-inch 1.44 MB |
| Hard disk | 40 MB IDE, 28 ms; 100 MB Conner as an option |
| Expansion | Two full-length and one half-length 16-bit ISA slots, one full-length and one half-length 8-bit; expansion bus at 8 MHz |
| Video | Paradise VGA with 256 KB on the main board; 640 × 480, or 800 × 600 with a multi-frequency monitor |
| Power supply | 145 W |
| Size | 425 × 135 × 390 mm; keyboard 475 × 35 × 200 mm |
| Software | MS-DOS 3.30A |
Sources: Amstrad's leaflet and manual, and Amstrad PC Internationals test.[1][5][3][4] The specification page of Amstrad's manual gives the processor as 16 MHz, but the leaflet, the magazine and the manual's own DEVICE example all give 20 MHz.[5][6]
Hardware
The main board, links, SIMM sockets, cache, video and drive interfaces are those of the PC3286 and are described in the Amstrad PC3286 Maintenance Guide.[3] The differences are on and around the processor board:
- The 80386SX and the 80387SX co-processor socket are on a daughterboard that plugs into the main board. Link LK720 on that board enables or disables pipelining.[2][3]
- The 386SX reads memory 32 bits wide, so the four SIMM sockets must hold four identical modules, giving 1, 4 or 16 MB.[7]
- Links LK500 and LK501, where present, sit on pins 1 and 2, not on pins 2 and 3 as on the PC3286.[3]
Amstrad PC International listed the standard drive as a 40 MB Miniscribe AT-bus disk with a 28 ms average access time and the power supply as 145 W, and noted the speaker volume control and the mixture of horizontal and vertical slots.[4] The clock data is kept in a CMOS RAM with a built-in lithium battery, which Amstrad's leaflet quotes for a 10-year life.[8][1]
Software and configuration
The PC3386SX shipped with MS-DOS 3.3 on two 5.25-inch disks and one 3.5-inch disk. Amstrad's automatic hard disk installation did not work on the magazine's machine with the optional 100 MB drive, because the routines were not written for a disk of that size, and the drive had to be prepared by hand.[4] SETUP, DEVICE and the memory managers are the same as on the PC3286; on the 386SX the manual also describes MEMM.SYS /E as a "LIMulator" that turns extended memory into LIM expanded memory, at some cost in speed, loaded after HIMEM.SYS.[9][6][10]
Known faults
Faults shared with the PC3286 board, and the 386SX specifics, are in the Amstrad PC3386SX Troubleshooting Guide; maintenance is in the Amstrad PC3386SX Maintenance Guide. No capacitor list has been published: Amstrad's service manual for the range (SM-PC3000) has not been scanned.[11][12]
Documentation
- Amstrad PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX User Manual
- PC3386SX leaflet (1990) – Amstrad's specification sheet
- Amstrad PC3000, PC4386SX and PC5000 Sales Leaflets – all six Amstrad leaflets and brochures
Related pages
- Amstrad PC3286 · Amstrad PC3086
- Amstrad PC4386SX – Amstrad's compact 386SX of 1991
- Hard Drive Maintenance and Repair · Floppy Drive Repair
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Amstrad plc, PC3386SX leaflet, © August 1990, p. 2 (specification). Hosted as File:Amstrad PC3386SX leaflet (1990).pdf.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 7-1 to 7-7. Processor speeds, fitting an 8087, 80287 or 80387SX co-processor, and opening the system unit.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 11-1 to 11-10. Expansion slots, opening the lid, and the option link tables for the PC3086 and for the PC3286 and PC3386SX.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Thomas Kallay, "Big Brother: AMSTRADs Flaggschiff der Generation 3: der PC3386 SX", Amstrad PC International, February/March 1991, pp. 41–42. Internet Archive. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Specification table and test of a PC3386SX with a 100 MB Conner disk.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 1-2 to 1-4. Specifications of the three models and memory configuration.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 4-2 to 4-18. The DEVICE command: display, floppy drive, cache, memory map and processor speed settings.
- ↑ Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 8-6 to 8-10. Memory cache, SIMM upgrades, memory size and DRAM speed links, cache speed links.
- ↑ Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 13-2 to 13-4. Transporting a hard disk PC, PARK.COM, and replacing the CMOS RAM.
- ↑ Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 3-7 to 3-15. Voltage selector, power switch, the "Please wait." self-test dots, start-up messages and BIOS versions, and the SETUP program for the PC3286 and PC3386SX.
- ↑ Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 8-2 to 8-5. Base, expanded and extended memory, HIMEM, and LIMulators (MEMM.SYS /E) on the PC3386SX.
- ↑ Centre for Computing History, "Amstrad PC3086 PC3286 PC3386SX Colour Personal Computers Service Manual" (CH27476): 53-page service manual with schematics and wiring diagrams, reference SM-PC3000. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ↑ acpc.me (ACME) archive, Amstrad PC section, directory DOCUMENTS_TECHNIQUES/SERVICE_MANUALS. Retrieved 2026-10-02. The PC3086/PC3286/PC3386SX, PC4386SX and PC5086/PC5286 service manuals are listed with placeholder images only, marked missing.