Amstrad Mega PC

Last updated

Amstrad Mega PC
Amstrad Mega PC (5058669424) (retouched).jpg
Close up of the front of the unit
Manufacturer Amstrad (licensed by Sega)
Type Video game console / Personal computer
Generation Fourth generation (16-bit era)
Release date1993;31 years ago (1993)
LifespanEurope 1993
Australia 1993
Media Cartridge, Diskette
Operating system MS-DOS 5.0 with Amstrad Desktop
CPU 32-bit Intel 80386SX @ 25 MHz
Motorola 68000 @ 7.14 MHz
Memory1MB SIMM RAM (expandable to 16MB)
Storage40MB Hard Drive, 3.5" Floppy Disk
Graphics SVGA Graphics with 256KB RAM
Power≈50W
Dimensions325 mm(w) x 78 mm(h) x 292 mm(d)

The Mega PC is a computer manufactured and released by Amstrad in 1993 under license from Sega. It was similar but unrelated to the Sega TeraDrive. It is a standard Amstrad PC with Sega Mega Drive hardware bundled inside; the system was wired to share the dual-sync monitor and speakers with the Mega Drive on a separate circuit board. [1]

Contents

Initially released in PAL areas such as Europe and Australia in 1993, [2] its success was short-lived due to its high price of £999.99 (later reduced to £599) and a CPU that was outdated by the time of its release. It was slightly easier to acquire an Amstrad Mega PC than the Sega TeraDrive system due to higher manufacturing volumes. Both systems have become collector's items.

Technical specifications

advert promoting the Amstrad Mega PC AmstradMegaPC Advert.jpg
advert promoting the Amstrad Mega PC

The Mega PC was as a more robust unit than Sega's TeraDrive and had more efficient air circulation. [3] The Mega PC was IBM-compatible and had a Mega Drive ISA card, a Mega Drive controller, keyboard, mouse, monitor, joystick and internal speakers.

Mega PC motherboard, code VSC386SXD Amstrad VSC386SXD V2.01.jpg
Mega PC motherboard, code VSC386SXD

The machine shipped with 1MB of RAM, provided by 4× 256KB 30-pin SIMM sticks. This was expandable to 16MB by using 4× 4MB memory modules. [4]

Although it boasted a higher specification than the Sega TeraDrive (having more RAM and a faster processor), the specification of the Mega PC's CPU was a generation old. The newer Intel 80486 was on the market and the first Pentium processors were released the same year as the Mega PC. The system was unable to act as a Software Development Kit due to its inability to simultaneously use the PC and the Mega Drive hardware. A cover on the front of the unit prevented the insertion of a Mega Drive game cartridge while using the PC hardware. [5]

Input/Output

Close up of the rear of the unit, showing ports and their positions MegaPC Rear.jpg
Close up of the rear of the unit, showing ports and their positions

The machine's rear houses multiple I/O ports. These include two serial ports, a 25-pin parallel port, a VGA port with combined signals for a standard VGA monitor and sound (Amstrad monitor only), a speaker/headphone jack, and a 15-pin game port for a joystick.

View of the ISA card inside the Mega PC, showing the free ISA slot MegaPC ISAcard.jpg
View of the ISA card inside the Mega PC, showing the free ISA slot

The motherboard includes a 16-bit ISA slot connected to a riser card, providing a total of two 16-bit ISA slots. One of these slots is populated with an ISA card, which provides connections for sound at the rear of the machine and a connection for the Mega Drive cartridge at the front. The other slot was left free for expansion (such as the addition of a modem or Network Interface Card). [4]

The Sega TeraDrive includes stereo RCA jacks and composite NTSC video output for connection to a TV, whereas the Mega PC lacks this feature, but could be connected to a PAL TV through SCART. [5] Outputs from both the PC and Mega Drive units are available from a shared VGA connector, but since video output from the Mega Drive is still 15 kHz RGB it works fine when connected to a TV using SCART. When using the PC hardware, only a Multisync or VGA monitor can be used, as the unit outputs video at 31 kHz. [1]

Compatibility

The system shipped with an Amstrad-branded controller that is internally identical to Sega's, allowing the controllers to be used on either system.

Peripherals

Amstrad bundled several peripherals with its Mega PC, including:

Sales

The machine launched in 1993, selling in Australia with a retail price in February of AU$1999 (equivalent to $4,200in 2022), although small discounts were offered [6] and had fallen to AU$1499 (equivalent to $3,100in 2022) by June. [7] In the United Kingdom, the unit was selling for between £550 [8] and £600 (equivalent to £1,100in 2023), with variable pricing depending upon what came bundled. [9]

Mega Plus

Amstrad advertised, but never released, a successor to the Mega PC named the Amstrad Mega Plus. It boasted slightly higher specifications, with the processor upgraded to a Cyrix Cx486SLC running at 33 MHz and a RAM upgrade of 4× 1MB SIMM modules (4MB). [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amstrad CPC</span> Home computers produced by Amstrad

The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and the German-speaking parts of Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industry Standard Architecture</span> Internal expansion bus in early PC compatibles

Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) is the 16-bit internal bus of IBM PC/AT and similar computers based on the Intel 80286 and its immediate successors during the 1980s. The bus was (largely) backward compatible with the 8-bit bus of the 8088-based IBM PC, including the IBM PC/XT as well as IBM PC compatibles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tandy 1000</span> IBM PC compatible home computer system

The Tandy 1000 is the first in a line of IBM PC compatible home computer systems produced by the Tandy Corporation for sale in its Radio Shack and Radio Shack Computer Center chains of stores. Introduced in 1984, the product line was aimed at providing affordable but capable systems for home computing or education, with some of its Tandy specific features like graphics, sound and joystick port making it more appealing for home use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amiga 3000</span> Personal computer by Commodore

The Amiga 3000, or A3000, is a personal computer released by Commodore in June 1990. It is the successor to the Amiga 2000 and its upgraded model Amiga 2500 with more processing speed, improved graphics, and a new revision of the operating system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amiga 2000</span> Personal computer from Commodore, 1987

The Amiga 2000 (A2000) is a personal computer released by Commodore in March 1987. It was introduced as a "big box" expandable variant of the Amiga 1000 but quickly redesigned to share most of its electronic components with the contemporary Amiga 500 for cost reduction. Expansion capabilities include two 3.5" drive bays and one 5.25" bay that could be used by a 5.25" floppy drive, a hard drive, or CD-ROM once they became available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sound Blaster</span> Family of sound cards by Creative Technology

Sound Blaster is a family of sound cards and audio peripherals designed by Singaporean technology company Creative Technology. The first Sound Blaster card was introduced in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM PS/2</span> Second generation of personal computers by IBM

The Personal System/2 or PS/2 is IBM's second generation of personal computers. Released in 1987, it officially replaced the IBM PC, XT, AT, and PC Convertible in IBM's lineup. Many of the PS/2's innovations, such as the 16550 UART, 1440 KB 3.5-inch floppy disk format, 72-pin SIMMs, PS/2 port, and VGA video standard, went on to become standards in the broader PC market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D-subminiature</span> Type of electrical connector

The D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector. They are named for their characteristic D-shaped metal shield. When they were introduced, D-subs were among the smallest connectors used on computer systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PC1512</span> 1986 PC-compatible microcomputer

The Amstrad PC1512 was Amstrad's mostly IBM PC-compatible computer system, launched in 1986, and advertised with prices from £399 plus VAT. The system was also marketed in the US by Texas-based Vidco Inc. from the start of 1987. Later in 1987, a slightly updated version called the PC1640 was introduced, also marketed as the PC6400 and Sinclair PC500. Schneider branded machines for the German market were also sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari Falcon</span> 1992 personal computer

The Atari Falcon030, released in 1992, is the final personal computer from Atari Corporation. A high-end model of the Atari ST line, the machine is based on a Motorola 68030 CPU and a Motorola 56001 digital signal processor, which distinguishes it from most other microcomputers of the era. It includes a new VIDEL programmable graphics system which greatly improves graphics capabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM Monochrome Display Adapter</span> IBM PC graphic adapter and display standard

The Monochrome Display Adapter is IBM's standard video display card and computer display standard for the IBM PC introduced in 1981. The MDA does not have any pixel-addressable graphics modes, only a single monochrome text mode which can display 80 columns by 25 lines of high-resolution text characters or symbols useful for drawing forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X68000</span> 1987 home computer

The X68000 is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FM Towns Marty</span> Japanese video game console

The FM Towns Marty is a home video game console released in 1993 by Fujitsu, exclusively for the Japanese market. It uses the AMD 386SX, a CPU that is internally 32-bit but with a 16-bit data bus. The console comes with a built-in CD-ROM drive and disk drive. It was based on the earlier FM Towns computer system Fujitsu had released in 1989. The Marty was backward-compatible with older FM Towns games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amstrad GX4000</span> Video game console

The GX4000 is a video game console that was manufactured by Amstrad. It was the company's short-lived attempt to enter the games console market. The console was released in Europe in 1990 and was an upgraded design based on the then still-popular CPC technology. The GX4000 shared hardware architecture with Amstrad's CPC Plus computer line, which was released concurrently. This allowed the system to be compatible with the majority of CPC Plus software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TeraDrive</span> Home video game console

The TeraDrive is an IBM PC compatible system with an integrated Mega Drive, developed by Sega and manufactured by IBM in 1991. The TeraDrive allowed for Mega Drive games to be played the same time as the PC section is being used, as it is possible for the Mega Drive and PC hardware to interact with each other.

The Commodore PC compatible systems are a range of IBM PC compatible personal computers introduced in 1984 by home computer manufacturer Commodore Business Machines.

GameCube accessories include first-party releases from Nintendo, and third-party devices, since the GameCube's launch in 2001.

The ATI Wonder is a series of video cards for the IBM Personal Computer and compatibles, introduced by ATI Technologies in the mid to late 1980s. These cards were unique at the time as they offered the end user a considerable amount of value by combining support for multiple graphics standards into a single card. The VGA Wonder series added additional value with the inclusion of a bus mouse port, which normally required the installation of a dedicated Microsoft Mouse adapter.

Various accessories for the PlayStation 2 video game console have been produced by Sony, as well as third parties. These include controllers, audio and video input devices such as microphones and video cameras, and cables for better sound and picture quality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sega Gopher</span>

Sega Gopher is a portable version of the Sega Genesis manufactured by AtGames. Initially released in Taiwan in 2007, sales distribution of the portable console has since expanded to Europe and the United States as well. It was released in Russia as the Sega Gopher Wireless, bundled with FireJoy controllers, a set of wireless joysticks.

References

  1. 1 2 "Amstrad MegaPC @". Everything2.com. 29 October 2000. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  2. ↑ "Sega Retro: Amstrad Mega PC". SegaRetro.org. Archived from the original on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "Assembler: Page 3 (via Archive.org)". Web.archive.org. 23 May 2008. Archived from the original on 23 May 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Amstrad Mega PC Service manual" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Assembler: Page 1 (via Archive.org)". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 14 June 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Amstrad Mega PC Computer". The Age. 4 February 1993. p. 16.
  7. ↑ "Amstrad Mega PC: Australia June 93 Retail Price". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 June 1993. p. 55.
  8. ↑ "Amstrad Mega PC". The Observer. 10 October 1993. p. 33.
  9. ↑ "Amstrad Mega PC+". The Guardian. 23 October 1993. p. 113.
  10. ↑ "1000 BiT +- Computer's description". 1000bit.net. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.