Amstrad PC9486
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| PC9486 with its 14-inch SVGA monitor (press photograph, PC Review, March 1994) | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Amstrad plc |
| Type | Desktop personal computer |
| Released | 1994 |
| Intro price | From £849.99; multimedia model from £1,249.99 (1994) |
| CPU | Intel 486SX at 25 MHz, 486DX2 at 50 or 66 MHz, in a ZIF socket |
| Memory | 4 MB as standard; maximum given as 64 MB or 48 MB |
| Storage | 130, 214 or 340 MB IDE hard disc; 3.5-inch 1.44 MB floppy drive |
| Display | — |
| Sound | None as standard; 16-bit sound card in the multimedia model |
| Graphics | Cirrus Logic 5426 local bus SVGA on the main board, 1 MB |
| Expansion | Five 16-bit ISA slots |
| OS / Firmware | MS-DOS 6, Windows 3.1, Amstrad Desktop |
The Amstrad PC9486 is a range of 486 desktop PCs that Amstrad launched in early 1994 as its PC9000 series. Every model used the same case and main board, with a 25 MHz 486SX, a 50 MHz 486DX2 or a 66 MHz 486DX2 in a zero insertion force socket that would take Intel's Pentium OverDrive, 4 MB of RAM, local bus Super VGA with 1 MB of video RAM on the main board, and a 130, 214 or 340 MB hard disc. Prices started at £849.99, and a multimedia version with a CD-ROM drive and sound card started at £1,249.99.[1][2]
History
[edit | edit source]Amstrad's director of international marketing, David Hennell, told PC Review that the PC9000 series was designed for upgrading and for first-time buyers, after earlier Amstrad PCs had been criticised for limited expansion.[2] The magazine ran a competition for a PC9486 multimedia system in March 1994, describing the range as built around "ease of use and future-proofing", with room for extra drives and memory, a processor in a ZIF socket and as much as possible built into the main board.[3] In France, Joystick reviewed a PC9486 DX2-50 in March 1994 and Science & Vie Micro tested the SX-25 and DX2-50 models in June and September 1994.[4][5]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]Case and front panel
[edit | edit source]All the PC9000 models share one case, distinguished only by the model number on the front. The front has three buttons (power, turbo and reset), three lamps, the 1.44 MB floppy drive and two free 5.25-inch bays.[4] PC Review found the reset and turbo buttons fiddly and noted two free drive bays.[2] Expansion cards fit horizontally, on a riser.[4]
Main board
[edit | edit source]| Item | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Processor socket | ZIF socket (version 3) with the P24T pin-out for the Pentium OverDrive; processor fitted with a heatsink | PC Review,[2] Joystick[4] |
| Coprocessor | No separate socket; a 486SX is upgraded by replacing it with a DX | Joystick[4] |
| Memory | 4 MB fitted, four SIMM sockets; Joystick says the banks take either four standard SIMMs or a single 72-pin SIMM | PC Review,[2] Joystick[4] |
| Cache | User-installable, up to 256 KB; the DX2-50 tested by Joystick and by SVM had none | Joystick,[4] SVM[5] |
| Video | Cirrus Logic 5426 local bus SVGA with 1 MB of video RAM, built into the main board | Joystick,[4] PC Review[2] |
| Drives | IDE and floppy interfaces on the main board; Seagate IDE hard discs of 130, 214 or 340 MB | Joystick,[4] PC Review,[2] BYTE[1] |
| Ports | Serial, parallel, SVGA, and PS/2 keyboard and mouse sockets on the main board | Joystick[4] |
| Expansion | Five 16-bit ISA slots, no VESA local bus slot | Joystick,[4] PC Review[2] |
The sources disagree on the memory limit. PC Review gives 64 MB on the board; Joystick and Science & Vie Micro give 48 MB.[2][4][5] Science & Vie Micro also reported that the SX-25 board it tested had no local bus, while the DX2-50 it tested had local-bus display; the other reviews describe local bus graphics on every model.[5][1]
Multimedia model
[edit | edit source]The multimedia PC9000 added a Sony double-speed multisession CD-ROM drive and a Sound Power Pro 16 card, which PC Review described as a proprietary card compatible with the Sound Blaster Pro, with Amstrad speakers. The review machine had a 25 MHz 486SX, 4 MB of RAM, a 130 MB hard disc and a 14-inch colour monitor, and was priced at £1,249.99 including VAT.[2]
Monitors
[edit | edit source]The PC9000 series was sold with 14-inch Super VGA colour monitors; PC Review gives a maximum of 1024 × 768 in 256 colours, and Joystick mentions a high-resolution model and an ultra-high-resolution model with a 0.28 mm dot pitch.[2][4] PC Review and Science & Vie Micro both criticised the monitor supplied with the machines they tested.[2][5]
Servicing notes
[edit | edit source]- The four SIMM sockets are awkwardly placed; PC Review found that the disc drives may have to be disconnected to reach them. Untidy drive cabling also covered one of the five slots and made another hard to reach.[2]
- The processor socket takes 486SX and 486DX2 chips and the P24T Pentium OverDrive. There is no 487 coprocessor socket.[4] Owners have fitted faster parts: one Vogons member runs a PC9486 with an AMD 486DX2-80 at 100 MHz and 16 MB of RAM.[6]
- The CMOS battery is not on the main board. A reply on Vogons places it at the back right near the power supply, mounted on the case with a cable to the board.[6] Check the battery and its lead for leakage; see Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.
- For the hard disc and floppy drive, see Hard Drive Maintenance and Repair and Floppy Drive Repair.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Pentium OverDrive-ready PCs", BYTE, May 1994, international edition news. Scan at archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1994-05_OCR. Retrieved 2026-10-02. PC9486 series: SX or DX2 CPUs at 25, 50 or 66 MHz, local-bus SVGA with Windows accelerator, 130, 214 or 340 MB discs, 4 MB RAM, 1 MB VRAM, 14-inch SVGA monitors, MS-DOS 6, Windows 3.1, PFS:WindowWorks 2.0 and Amstrad DeskTop, from £849.99; multimedia PC9000 from £1,249.99 with a double-speed multisession CD-ROM drive.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Christina Erskine and Dean Evans, reviews of the Amstrad PC9000 Multimedia and the Amstrad 9486 (66 MHz 486DX2), PC Review issue 30, April 1994. Scan at archive.org/details/pc-review-030. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ↑ "Win an Amstrad 486 multimedia PC", competition page, PC Review issue 29, March 1994, p. 24. Scan at archive.org/details/pc-review-29. Retrieved 2026-10-02. PC9486 multimedia prize: 25 MHz 486SX, 4 MB RAM, 130 MB hard disc, local bus graphics, double-speed CD-ROM, 16-bit sound card.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 "Les PC 9000 d'Amstrad", Joystick no. 47, March 1994. Scan at archive.org/details/joystick047. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Single case for all models; front controls; Cirrus Logic 5426 local bus SVGA with 1 MB; five free 16-bit slots; ZIF socket for 486SX-25 to 486DX2-66 and the P24T OverDrive; user-installable cache up to 256 KB (none on the tested DX2-50); 4 MB RAM expandable to 48 MB; four standard SIMMs or one 72-pin SIMM; no coprocessor socket.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Amstrad PC 9486 SX-25", Science & Vie Micro no. 117, June 1994, desktop computer tests. Scan at archive.org/details/science-et-vie-micro-117. Retrieved 2026-10-02. SX-25 model about 7,500 F; no local bus on the tested board; RAM limited to 48 MB; 130 MB Seagate hard disc. DX2-50 model: well-designed board with local-bus display, no cache memory, slow hard disc, poor screen.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Vogons forum, "Amstrad pc9486 manual.", 2024. Retrieved 2026-10-02. An owner's upgraded PC9486, and a reply placing the CMOS battery on the case near the power supply with a cable to the main board.