Acorn Archimedes A410

Acorn Archimedes A410/1
	Acorn Archimedes A410/1
Specifications
Manufacturer	Acorn Computers Ltd
Type	Personal Computer
Released	May-June 1989
Discontinued	1991
Intro price	£1,199 (excluding VAT, 1989)
CPU	ARM2 @ 8 MHz
Memory	1 MB RAM (expandable to 4 MB, 8 MB with third-party upgrades)
Storage	3.5" floppy drive (800 KB), no hard drive standard
Display	—
Sound	8-channel stereo, 8-bit
OS / Firmware	RISC OS 2.00
Successor	Acorn A5000

The Acorn Archimedes A410/1 was introduced in 1989 as part of the updated 400/1 series, replacing the earlier 400 series models. It served as the entry-level machine in the range alongside the A420/1 and A440/1.

Overview

The Archimedes A410/1 was launched in June 1989 and was the entry level machine in the newly updated 400/1 series with the other two machines in the series being the A420/1 and A440/1 . Some sources indicate May 1989 as the launch date. The A410/1 was priced at £1,199 excluding VAT .

The only differences between the three machines in the series was the level of expansion fitted at the time of manufacture and the A410/1 could be expanded to the full A440/1 specification using official upgrade packages .

Hardware Specifications

Processor and Memory

The A410/1 featured an ARM2 processor running at 8 MHz. The A410/1 had 1 MB memory and no hard disc, shipping with RISC OS 2.00 . The machine could be upgraded from 1MB to 4MB RAM , and third-party solutions like the Simtec 4-8MB RAM upgrade could extend this to 8MB total .

Storage

The A410/1 was hard disc-less, although a hard drive interface was provided on the motherboard . Users could add ST506 hard drives or, more commonly, upgrade to SCSI or IDE controllers via podule expansions.

Expansion

All the A4xx/1 machines were provided with a four-slot backplane , allowing for significant expansion capabilities through podules (Acorn's proprietary expansion cards).

Operating System

RISC OS 2 was released in April 1989 . RISC OS 2 was a vast improvement over Arthur, allowing multitasking of programs with certain limitations . The application suite provided with Arthur was completely rewritten, with Draw, Edit and Paint applications introduced, along with an upgraded version of Maestro .

RISC OS was the first operating system to provide scalable anti-aliased fonts , a feature that distinguished it from contemporary operating systems.

Common Upgrades

The A410/1 was frequently upgraded by users:

Processor Upgrades

ARM3 CPU upgrades could improve the Archimedes raw throughput from 4.85 to 12.71 MIPS . The IFEL 36MHz ARM3 CPU upgrade could increase performance to 17.44 MIPS .

Storage Solutions

Common storage upgrades included: - ST506 hard drives (20-40 MB typical) - SCSI controllers like the Oak or Acorn AKA31/32 - IDE controllers from companies like Simtec or Baildon Electronics - Modern solutions using CompactFlash or SD card adapters

Memory Expansion

Memory could be upgraded to 4MB , with third-party solutions like the Simtec upgrade allowing up to 8MB total, effectively doubling the maximum memory that the Archimedes architecture typically supported .

Notable Uses

The A410/1 could be employed as a Level 4 Econet Fileserver providing a network filing system for connected Acorn computers . Many educational institutions used A410/1 machines in this capacity, serving BBC Micros and other Archimedes computers.

Market Context

In May 1989, a number of new machines were introduced along with RISC OS 2: the 300 series was phased out in favour of the new BBC A3000, and the 400 series were replaced by the improved 400/1 series models .

When introduced, the A410/1 cost £1,199, the A420/1 £1,699, and the A440/1 £2,499, all excluding VAT .

Legacy

The A410/1 served as an affordable entry point into the Archimedes range with RISC OS 2. Its expandability meant that many machines were upgraded over their lifetime, with some still in service as late as 1999, a full 10 years after manufacture .

The machine's four expansion slots and upgradeable architecture allowed it to remain viable well into the 1990s, particularly when upgraded with ARM3 processors and additional memory.

External Links