System Information: Amstrad PcW16

Development, History, Games, Internals, Additional Information, Photos

 

Specifications Table
Manufacturer: Amstrad
Year Released: 1995
 		Year Discontinued: 1997 
Size & Weight: Unconfirmed at this time
Storage: 1Mb Flash RAM / 3.5" 1.44Mb Floppy Disk
CPU: Zilog Z80A
Speed: 16Mhz (Quad speed)
Additional Processors: Winbond 83787 I/O chipset
System Memory: 1Mb DRAM
Graphics Modes: Standard VGA 640px X 480px
Max Colours: 2. Black and White monochrome display
Sound: 1 channel beeper
Ports: Serial / Parallel / AT Keyboard / Serial Mouse
Power Rating: Power Supply built into monitor.
Original Cost £299



 

 

6 out of 10

Retro-Zone.Org - Retrospective Review:

While this PcW is not compatible with the others in the range it does represent a significant upgrade to the previous machines. While the operating system has it's disadvantages (no multitasking) it is still a vast improvement over the CP/M text based systems used by the 8xxx and 9xxx series. The problem with this machine was that the PCW's time had passed. IBM compatible PC's were now relatively cheap and accessible to everyone. Companies now relied more on the internet and internal networks to shift information around - and the PcW 16 could not go online.

Do I have one in my Collection?

 

NO

Now this is one machine that I would really like to get my hands on. It is perfect for the collector as it is an oddity. A custom operating which can't be found anywhere else and a unique boot option (at the time - this machine booted from Flash RAM!) I would love to see what this baby could do!


 Additional Links:





 

Development:

The development process behind the PcW16 is not very well documented. It was designed as a stand alone system like the previous PCW incarnations but was not at all compatible with the ealier systems. The PcW16 has more in common with an IBM PC than a 8xxx series PCW machine.
It's almost as if the PcW was designed by someone else and then the idea sold to Amstrad to stuck a PcW badge on the machine.
The PcW16 uses a Graphical Guided User Interface (GUI) rather than the text based CP/M. The operating system is known as "Roseanne" and was not capable of multitasking at all. Only one application could run at any one time. The screen now operated at a LOWER resolution than that of the previous PCW machines and now looked a lot like an early PC VGA display. The case design was simple moulded plastic which housed the monitor, computer circuitry, power pack and disk drives. The PcW16 did not come with a printer - another first for the PCW range. The keyboard was brightly coloured and gave the PcW16 a "toy" like feel.

(back to Top)

 

History:

The PcW 16 had a very short shelf life and was pulled from stores less than 2 years after being released. The system was considered to be underpowered compared to the IBM PC's of the time. The unforgivable move by Amstrad to make this machine incompatible with the previous PCW range cemented the PcW16's fate. Existing PCW owners now had nowhere to go - even if they upgraded to the latest PcW machine they were still left with the predicament of learning to use new software - IBM PC's began to look a lot more attractive.

(back to Top)

 

Games:

The software for the PcW was included in the machines internal "Flash RAM". Programs could not be run from the floppy disk. As a result very few third party programs were produced for the PcW16 and Amstrad never made any other software for the machine.
Due to being completely incompatible with the previous PCW's the 16's range of software was severely limited.

(back to Top)

 

Internals:

Still based on the 8-bit Zilog Z80 processor (although this time running at 16Mhz instead of 4Mhz) the PcW16 was underpowered when compared to other systems available at the time. Amstrad chose not to include a Hard Disk drive (to reduce costs I suppose) and instead included 1Mb of "Flash RAM" which would hold the operating system and any software. This amount of storage space for programs limited what could be done with the PcW16 - it effectively eliminated any future software upgrades.
The internal circuitry was more like a cheap IBM clone than a PCW. The PcW16 even had a VGA display! The only real upgrades to the machine were to processor speed and the amount of RAM - which had been increased to 1Mb (double that of the PCW9512.)

(back to Top)

 

Additional Information:

The PcW16, although the most powerful PCW produced was also the cheapest (but you had to buy your own printer!)

(back to Top)

 

Photos

Gallery (click on a thumbnail to enlarge)


















(back to Top)

 

References:

 

 

 

All Site Contents are Copyright (c)2008-2010 Retro-Zone.Org unless stated otherwise.

The copyright contents of this site MAY NOT be copied by anyone without the express written permission of the copyright holder.

Certain aspects of this site are used with the copyright holders permission.  These sections may not be copied without the content owners express permission (not retro-zone.org.) Look for information in the section.

Other Sections of this site may be "Public Domain" and may be copied by anyone and hosted on their own sites,

these sections will be clearly marked with the text 'NOTE: This Document is "Public Domain"' in GREEN.

Retro-Zone.Org or the Author cannot accept responsibility for items uploaded with the permission of others in error. If you find anything on this site which contravenes copyright please inform me at

ask@retro-zone.org and the offending content will be removed as soon as possible.