yann64andClaude Opus 5.5
b274874139
1,289 discussions, 9,527 archived comments; pages no longer carry the comments themselves. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
101 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
101 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Amstrad PC 1640
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categories:
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- Computers
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types:
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- Professional Computer
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origins:
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- United Kingdom
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years:
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- '1986'
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cpus:
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- Intel 8086
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params:
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name: PC 1640
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image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_pc1640.jpg
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company: /companies/amstrad
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company_name: Amstrad
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specs:
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- label: NAME
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value: PC 1640
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- label: MANUFACTURER
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value: Amstrad
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- label: TYPE
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value: Professional Computer
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- label: ORIGIN
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value: United Kingdom
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- label: YEAR
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value: '1986'
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- label: CPU
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value: Intel 8086
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- label: SPEED
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value: 8 mHz
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- label: RAM
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value: 640 KB
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- label: VRAM
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value: 256 KB ?
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- label: ROM
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value: 64 KB
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- label: TEXT MODES
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value: 40 x 25 / 80 x 25
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- label: GRAPHIC MODES
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value: |-
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All EGA graphic modes (maximum : 640 x 350)\
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Hercules mode for monochrome versions (maximum 720 by 350)
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- label: COLORS
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value: 16 among 64
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- label: SOUND
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value: Beeper
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- label: I/O PORTS
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value: Four 8-bit ISA slots (one being reserved of the internal HD controller), Centronics, RS232c, Mouse port (proprietary)
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- label: BUILT IN MEDIA
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value: one or two 5.25'' disk-drives, 20 or 30 MB HDD
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- label: OS
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value: MS DOS 3.2
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- label: POWER SUPPLY
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value: PSU built-in
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- label: PERIPHERALS
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value: Most of the standard IBM/PC cards
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tabs:
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- links
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forum_thread: 39
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links:
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- title: Intel GEM page
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url: http://www.seasip.demon.co.uk/Gem/index.html
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text: a page dedicated to the GEM graphical user interface
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related:
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- /museum/amstrad-pc-1512
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- /museum/amstrad-ppc-512-640
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- /museum/ibm-pc-at
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- /museum/ibm-pc-model-5150
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- /museum/ibm-pc-portable-model-5155
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- /museum/ibm-pc-xt-286
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- /museum/ibm-pc-xt-model-5160
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- /museum/ibm-ps-1
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- /museum/micronique-hector-xt
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oc_id: 19
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source:
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url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230520105232/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=19
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date: '2023-05-20'
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---
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The Amstrad PC 1640 was the successor to the [Amstrad PC 1512](/museum/amstrad-pc-1512/). It had the same characteristics as its predecessor except for added memory (640 KB instead of 512 KB) and the EGA graphics standard.
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It also had great success, but to a lesser extent than the PC 1512. As the PC 1512, the Amstrad PC 1640 came with the GEM graphical user interface, from Digital Research, an alternative to Windows.
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The PC-1640 was marketed under the name PC-6400 in the USA. It was also sold in Germany and maybe some other European countries under the name Schneider.
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Three different kinds of monitors where supported, monochrome (-> Hercules), low-res (max 640 x 200) and hi-res (max 640 x 350). The hi-res monitor had a fan for the power supply as opposed to the other monitors which where fan-less. With the low-res monitor you could choose between a full CGA compatible mode (required for many CGA games) and an EGA mode (used for 640 x 200 x 16 eg. for GEM or 320 x 200 x 16 for several games).
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---
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Contributors: André Janz
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**Charles Da Silva** adds:\
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The 1640 was first introduced in the US and after a few months in Europe (which infuriated the British media, some of them having already been harsh critics on the 1512 : fan problems - forgetting that since the PSU was in the monitor, it was not needed - not 'fully' compatible as it was then thought. All of this proved to come from IBM itself, which made Alan Sugar really angry).\
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You can find all this info in 'Alan Sugar' from late D. Thomas.
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**Ex Cathedra's** memories:\
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I did a large amount of development on these machines in the late 80s. They were surprisingly good, with only a few bugs and incompatibilities with the IBM PC standard. Bearing in mind the price differential, we had no problems living with these.\
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The RTC and BIOS settings were preserved by 4xAA batteries under the monitor - a configuration I wish we still had today! There was a minor (patchable) bug in the BIOS which caused a div/0 error at midnight each night if you'd left it running a long compilation...
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