Atari PC4
The Atari PC4 is Atari's AT-class machine and the first Atari computer built around an AMD processor, the Am286.[1] It was announced in Milan on 16 September 1987 and shown at the Fall COMDEX that November, but it did not actually reach the shops until May 1989 — by which time the PC5 had already been on sale for six months.[1] Production ended in 1990 and its direct successor, the ABC 286, is essentially a PC4 in a new case.[1]
 | |
| Atari's 286, and the last Atari PC on an Atari-designed board | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Atari Corporation |
| Type | IBM PC/AT compatible |
| Released | Announced 16 September 1987 (Milan); shown 2 November 1987 (Fall COMDEX '87); on sale May 1989 |
| Discontinued | 1990 |
| Intro price | PC4H US$2,295 and PC4R US$2,495 planned (April 1989); PC4H with PCM124 GBP 1,399.99 (May 1989) |
| CPU | AMD Am286 at 8, 12 or 16 MHz |
| Memory | 1 MB on 30-pin SIP modules, to 8 MB |
| Storage | 5.25-inch 360 KB or 3.5-inch 1.44 MB drive; PC4H with a 60 MB RLL hard disk; PC4R with a SyQuest SQ555 44 MB removable cartridge drive |
| Display | — |
| Sound | PC speaker |
| Graphics | Onboard VGA — 640x480 in 16 colours — plus EGA, CGA and MDA/Hercules |
| FPU / coprocessor | Socket for an Intel 80287 |
| Ports / interface | Keyboard (5-pin DIN), mouse (9-pin D-sub male, Atari mouse), RS-232 (9-pin), Centronics (25-pin), analogue monitor (15-pin HD VGA), digital monitor (9-pin), external floppy (14-pin DIN) |
| Expansion | Four 16-bit ISA slots and one 8-bit XT slot |
| Dimensions | 380 x 150 x 410 mm |
| OS / Firmware | MS-DOS 3.21; Microsoft Windows/286 2.1 was bundled |
| Predecessor | Atari PC3 |
| Successor | Atari ABC 286 |
Specification points that are often reported wrongly
edit- The VGA is 16 colours at 640x480, not 256.[1] 256 colours on a VGA of this generation is a 320x200 mode, not a 640x480 one.
- Four 16-bit ISA slots and one 8-bit XT slot, not six 16-bit slots.[1]
- It kept the Atari mouse port. The 9-pin male D-sub Atari mouse connector is on the back panel of the Atari-built PC4 exactly as on the PC1 to PC3.[1] The claim that the PC4 dropped it describes the Mitac machine — see below.
- The clock is 8, 12 or 16 MHz depending on how the machine was ordered.[1]
- Memory is on 30-pin SIP modules, which are fragile in and out of their sockets; 1 MB fitted, 8 MB maximum.[1]
The two different PC4s
editThere are two machines sold as the Atari PC4 and they are not the same computer.
The Atari PC4 is Atari's own design on an Atari board, as above.
The Mitac PC4 is an OEM machine bought in by Atari's German subsidiary because Atari's own PC4 was late and could not be supplied in quantity. It is Mitac's Paragon 286VE. Its board is 360 x 340 mm, carries eight SIPP memory sockets, five 16-bit ISA slots and one 8-bit XT slot, and uses the NEAT chipset with most settings made in the BIOS rather than by jumper. Its processor is an Intel N80286 at 8 MHz, with 12 or 16 MHz turbo selected by Ctrl+Alt+\. Few were made.[2]
If a "PC4" has five 16-bit slots, a NEAT BIOS setup and no Atari mouse port, it is the Mitac machine. ataripc.net's PC4 pages describe a Mitac board, which is the likeliest origin of the mouse-port and slot-count confusion.[3]
The machine was also sold in Scandinavia under the Atari ABC 286 name; that line continued after the PC4 was discontinued.
Servicing notes
editThe supply is mains-powered and stores charge after disconnection.
No capacitor list, schematic or service manual for any Atari PC model is known to be in public circulation. ataripc.net hosts French and German user manuals — the German one for the Mitac machine — but no service documentation; nothing was found on the Internet Archive, on bitsavers or in this wiki's own holdings.[3] Read values off the parts if you recap one.
The PC4R's SyQuest SQ555 is a SCSI removable-cartridge drive and its cartridges are now the limiting factor on these machines.
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Atari PC4, atari-computermuseum.de, revised 25 July 2024. Secondary source, used here for the announcement, show and release dates, the May 1989 availability after the PC5, the Am286 and its clock options, the slot count, the VGA mode, the SIP memory, the drive and hard disk options and the PC4H/PC4R designations, the port list including the Atari mouse connector, the prices, and the ABC 286 succession. https://www.atari-computermuseum.de/pc4.htm
- ↑ Atari PC4 (Mitac), atari-computermuseum.de. Secondary source, used here for the Mitac Paragon 286VE origin, the reason for the OEM purchase, the board size, the eight SIPP sockets, the five 16-bit plus one 8-bit slot arrangement, the NEAT chipset, the N80286 clocking and the Ctrl+Alt+backslash turbo toggle. https://www.atari-computermuseum.de/pc4m.htm
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Atari PC4 286-12/16 and its motherboard and documentation pages, ataripc.net. Secondary source; the site's PC4 motherboard page identifies the board it documents as the Mitac one, and its documentation list shows user manuals but no service manual or schematic. https://www.ataripc.net/pc4-286/