Commodore PC compatible systems

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

A Commodore PC20
Close-up of a Commodore PC 20-III

Incompatible with Commodore's prior Commodore 64 and Amiga architectures, they were generally regarded as good, serviceable workhorse PCs with nothing spectacular about them, but the well-established Commodore name was seen as a competitive asset.[1]

History

In 1984 Commodore signed a deal with Intel to second source manufacture the Intel 8088 CPU used in the IBM PC, along with a license to manufacture a computer based on the Dynalogic Hyperion. It is unknown whether any of these systems were produced or sold.

In 1987 the first model released, the PC-10, sold for $559 without monitor ($1258 in 2019).[2] They were sold alongside Commodore's Amiga and Commodore 64c/128 lines of home and graphics computers. The PC10 was comparable in the market to the Blue Chip PC, Leading Edge Model D and Tandy 1000 line of PC compatibles.[3][4]

Models

The line consists of the following models:

  • PC-I (a.k.a. PC1): A small-form-factor low-end non-expandable system. It has a 4.77 MHz 8088 processor, combined Hercules/CGA graphics, one 5.25-inch floppy disk drive. It came standard with 512 kB RAM.
  • PC-5: A full-size PC/XT-clone, with a standard monochrome text card and 512k of memory on the motherboard. It is expandable with up to five 8-bit ISA cards.[5]
  • PC-10: A full AT-sized model with 8088, combined Hercules/CGA/Plantronics Colorplus graphics provided by an ATI Graphics Solution card. Two variations were produced: the PC10-1, with one floppy drive and 512 kB RAM; and the PC10-2 with two floppy drives and the full complement of 640 kB RAM. The systems can be upgraded with the 8087 FPU.[6]
  • PC-20: A PC-10 with a 20 MB hard disk
  • Colt: A rebranded PC10-III
  • PC-30: A PC-AT compatible with a 12 MHz 80286 CPU and a 20MB hard disk.
  • PC-40: 12 MHz PC-AT system. 1 MB RAM, on-board VGA/EGA/CGA and Hercules video, and hard disk options from 20–80 MB.[7]
  • PC-50: Based on the 386SX running at 16 MHz. 40MB to 100MB hard disk.
  • PC-60: 25 MHz 386 system with FPU. Came in a tower case with 60 MB to 200 MB hard disk.
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References

  1. "RUN Magazine issue 42".
  2. "TCP ad, Run magazine Sep. 1987".
  3. "The PC10 has Landed". Two of the PC10-2's most visible competitors for the home and school markets are the Leading Edge Model D and the Tandy 1000SX.
  4. "Run Magazine Issue 42 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". Internet Archive. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  5. "Impressions of the Commodore PC-5". Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  6. "RUN Magazine Issue 42".
  7. "Original Commodore PC-40 Brochure". Classic Computer Brochures. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
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