"Atari's Line of Personal Computers"

Atari PC1

Introduced in January 1987 and discontinued in 1990, the Atari PC line of computers was an attempt by Atari to enter the IBM PC-compatible market. Later in 1987, the first Atari PC became known as the Atari PC1, and in the same year, Atari released the PC2 with a larger case and 5 expansion slots. There were 3 more Atari PC models. The PC3 again with 8088, the PC4 with the 80286, and the PC5 with the 80386.

  • The Atari PC1 was initially sold for $699 ($1,900 in today's money)

 

ATARI PC1 AT A GLANCE

The Atari PC line of personal computers includes the PC1, PC2, PC3, PC4, and PC5 models.

These are the features of PC1:

  • The Atari PC1 reused the small Atari Megafile 44 Chassis without any ISA expansion slots
  • 8088-2 Processor running at 8.0 MHz or 4.77 Mhz
  • 512K RAM (upgraded to 640K)
  • EGA Graphics (Onboard NSI Logic EVC315-S), compatible with CGA and Hercules
  • Chinon FZ-502 5.25 Floppy Drive (360K)
  • It came with an 83-key keyboard and a PCM1 mouse

 

Later Models: PC2, PC3, PC4, PC5, and Atari ABC 386

Atari PC3Atari PC2

  • New larger case (more expandable)
  • Intel 8088-2 Processor running at 8.0 MHz or 4.77 Mhz
  • 512K RAM (upgraded to 640K)
  • EGA Graphics
  • Adaptec ACB-2072 RLL Controller Card
  • 5 x 8-bit ISA expansion slots
  • 2 x 5.25″ Floppy Drives Chinon FZ-502 360k
  • Atari 83-Key Keyboard & Atari PCM1 Mouse

Atari PC3

  • Intel 8088-2 Processor running at 8.0 MHz or 4.77 Mhz
  • 640K RAM
  • EGA Graphics
  • Adaptec ACB-2072 RLL Controller Card
  • 5 x 8-bit ISA expansion slots
  • 2 x 5.25″ Floppy Drives Chinon FZ-502 360k
  • Optional Epson SMD-380 3.5″ 720k Floppy Drive
  • 30MB RLL Hard Disk (Seagate ST-238R)
  • Atari 83-Key Keyboard & Atari PCM1 Mouse

Atari PC4

  • AMD 286 Processor running at 16MHz, 12MHz or 8MHz
  • 1 MB RAM (30-pin DIPP) and up to 8 MB
  • VGA graphics onboard (Paradise PVGA1A-JK)
  • Data Technology Corporation DTC7187 RLL Controller
  • 5 x 16-bit and 1 x 8-bit ISA expansion slots
  • 1.2MB Epson 5.25″ Floppy Drive (SD-680L)
  • 1.44MB Floppy Drive (Optional)
  • Hard Drive 66 MB RLL (Seagate ST-277R)
  • Mitsumi AT Keyboard (KPQ-E99YC) & Mitsumi Serial Mouse

Atari PC4Atari PC5

  • Intel 386 CPU running at 20MHz, 16MHz or 8MHz
  • 2 MB or 4 MB RAM
  • VGA graphics card (WD VGA Plus 16 256K)
  • Adaptec ACB-2372B Floppy/Hard Drive Controller
  • Kouwell KW-524F Multi I/O Card
  • PS/2 expansion slots
  • 1.2MB Epson 5.25″ Floppy Drive (SD-680L)
  • 1.44MB Floppy Drive (Optional)
  • Hard Drive 66 MB RLL (Seagate ST-277R)
  • Mitsumi AT Keyboard (KPQ-E99YC) & Mitsumi Serial Mouse

Atari ABC 386

Atari ABC 386

  • The Atari ABC or 'Atari Basic Computer' was Atari's last IBM-compatible computer
  • Came with 386SX at 20 MHz or 386DX at 40 MHz
  • 1 MB or 2 MB RAM
  • Super-VGA graphics
  • 40 MB or 80 MB Hard Disk
  • 1.44MB Floppy Drive
  • There were two versions of the Atari ABC 386 desktop (SX/DX) and even an ABC N386SX Laptop
  • ABC 386 PCs shipped with Ms-Dos 5.0 and Microsoft Windows 3.0

 

Operating System

The Atari PC line of computers offered the classic MS-DOS plus a mouse-driven GEM.

  • Microsoft MS-DOS 3.21
  • GW-BASIC 3.2
  • GEM Desktop EGA v2.1
  • GEM Write v1.0 and GEM Paint v2.0

 

Graphics and Cards

The Atari PC line of computers was initially based on EGA, and later, on VGA graphics.

EGA for Atari PC1/PC2/PC3

  • EGA Onboard NSI Logic EVC315-S
  • EGA can show 16 colors on the screen (64-color palette)
  • EGA (640×350 pixels) with 16 colors
  • CGA (640×200 pixels) with 4 colors
  • Hercules (720×348 pixels) monochrome

VGA for Atari PC4/PC5

  • VGA graphics onboard (Paradise PVGA1A-JK) for PC4
  • VGA graphics card (WD VGA Plus 16 256K) for PC5

 

Sound Capabilities

The Atari PC line of computers had no extra sound hardware than the classic PC speaker.

 

I/O Ports

  • Mouse port (compatible with Atari ST mice)
  • External Floppy Drive Port (compatible with Atari ST drives)
  • Monitor port
  • RS-232 serial port
  • Centronics parallel port
  • Real-time clock

 

Monitors

The PC1, PC2, and PC3 came with an EGA monochrome monitor supporting CGA and Hercules modes:

  • Atari PCM-124 12″ EGA Monochrome Monitor

 

Expansions & Upgrades

PC1 Upgrades

  • NEC V20 CPU upgrade (requires desoldering the 8088 processor)
  • Memory upgrade to 640K
  • 8087 co-processor (socket is provided)
  • Atari PCH204 20MB Hard Drive Unit
  • External Floppy Disk Drive (Atari ST compatible)

ADDITIONAL PC2/PC3/PC4/PC5 Upgrades

  • 5 x 8-bit internal expansion slots on PC2 and PC3
  • 5 x 16-bit and 1 x 8-bit ISA expansion slots on PC4
  • PS/2 expansion slots on PC5
  • 2nd internal Floppy Disk Drive
  • Internal Hard Disk

 

Atari PC Line of Computers

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