Atari PC2
 | |
| The expandable Atari PC — one XT slot on the board, four on a riser card | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Atari Corporation |
| Type | IBM PC compatible (XT class) |
| Released | Shown 24 April 1987 (Atari Computer Show, London) as the "Atari Business PC"; on sale March 1988 |
| Discontinued | about 1989 |
| Intro price | PC2-SD GBP 599.99, PC2-DD GBP 649.99, PC2-HD GBP 949.99 (March 1988) |
| CPU | Intel P8088-2 at 4.77 MHz, 8 MHz in turbo mode |
| Memory | 512 KB, to 640 KB by fitting four more DRAMs |
| Storage | PC2-SD one 360 KB drive; PC2-DD two; PC2-HD one drive plus a 20 MB RLL hard disk on an Adaptec ACB-2072 |
| Display | — |
| Sound | PC speaker |
| Graphics | NSI Logic EVC315-S — EGA, CGA, MDA/Hercules |
| FPU / coprocessor | Socket U68 for an Intel 8087; enabled by moving the associated jumper to pins 2–3 |
| Ports / interface | Mouse (Atari), external floppy, monitor, RS-232, Centronics |
| Expansion | One XT slot on the board, carrying a riser card with four XT slots |
| OS / Firmware | MS-DOS 3.21, GW-BASIC, GEM Desktop, GEM Write, GEM Paint |
| Predecessor | Atari PC1 |
| Successor | Atari PC3 |
The Atari PC2 is the PC1 rebuilt in a case with room to expand. It was shown at the Atari Computer Show in London on 24 April 1987 as the "Atari Business PC", shown again under the PC2 name that September, and reached the shops in March 1988.[1] Electrically it is the same XT-class machine: the same P8088-2, the same 512 KB, the same EVC315-S graphics.
Expansion: a riser, not a row of slots
[edit | edit source]The PC2 is usually credited with five ISA slots. What it actually has is one XT slot on the mainboard, into which a riser card carrying four XT slots is fitted, so cards lie horizontally in the case rather than standing vertically.[1] That gives four usable slots, not five, and it is worth knowing before ordering a full-height card: the physical arrangement constrains what will fit as much as the slot count does.
The mainboard is Atari's own design and is slightly larger than a standard AT board.[1] ataripc.net records the board only as "Atari part number unknown, revision 1.1".[2]
The XT bus itself is clocked at 4.77 MHz, has 62 contacts and a theoretical throughput of about 0.96 MB/s.[1]
Configurations
[edit | edit source]- PC2-SD — one Chinon FZ-502 5.25-inch 360 KB drive
- PC2-DD — two of them
- PC2-HD — one drive plus a 20 MB RLL hard disk with an Adaptec ACB-2072 controller[1]
Chip set
[edit | edit source]Identical in the essentials to the PC1: Intel P8272 floppy controller (up to three drives on the PC2), WD8250 UART, P8259 interrupt controller, P8253 timer, P8237 DMA controller, and the Atari C101683 glue chip. The PC2 board also carries an SSI 441 CP; that part is not well documented.[1] The 8087 socket is U68, and its jumper is at the front edge of the board.[1]
The Monitor Select DIP switches on the back panel work exactly as on the PC1; see Atari PC1 for the settings.[1]
Servicing notes
[edit | edit source]The case is galvanised and powder-coated steel and holds the board, supply, two 5.25-inch drives and the riser.[1] The 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 the PC2 owner's manual but no service documentation.[2] Read values off the parts if you recap one.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Atari PC2, atari-computermuseum.de, revised 1 July 2024. Secondary source, used here for the show appearances and release date, the model suffixes and UK prices, the case and board construction, the riser-card expansion arrangement and the XT bus figures, the U68 coprocessor socket and its jumper, the support chip list including the SSI 441 CP, and the PC2-HD drive and controller. https://www.atari-computermuseum.de/pc2.htm
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Atari PC2 8088, ataripc.net. Secondary source, used here for the board revision, the bundled software and for what documentation exists — an owner's manual, but no service manual or schematic. https://www.ataripc.net/pc2-8088/