Atari PCs

"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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