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System
Information: Acorn Computers RISC PC
Development,
History, Games, Internals, Additional Information, Photos
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| Specifications Table |
| Manufacturer: |
Acorn Computers
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| Year
Released: |
1994
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Year
Discontinued: |
0000 |
| Size
& Weight: |
Varies
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| Storage: |
ROM, Hard Disk, CD, DVD, Floppy Disk
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| CPU: |
ARM6, 7 & StrongARM
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Speed: |
30Mhz - 300Mhz
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| Additional
Processors: |
VIDC20 Video Controller, optional X86 Co-Processor
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| System
Memory: |
256Mb MAX
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| Graphics
Modes: |
VGA
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| Max
Colours: |
Unknown at this time
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| Sound: |
Unknown at this time
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| Ports: |
PS/2 Serial, Parallel, Acorn Mouse, Audio Out, VGA Out, Network
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| Power
Rating: |
Unknown at this time
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| Original
Cost |
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7 out of 10
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Retro-Zone.Org
- Retrospective Review:
Ahead of their time and little appreciated the Risc PC's were the underdogs of computing. But I had to give it a 7 just because of the pizza oven!
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Do
I have one in my Collection?
NO  I don't know as much as I should about the RISC PC. I will investigate further and update this article.
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Additional Links:
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 Development:
 The RISC PC (which was called Medusa in the developmental stage) was Acorns direct successor to the Archimedes line of computers. The RISC PC differed from the IBM PC's of the time as it loaded
A RISC PC With Built in Pizza Oven!
it's operating system (RISC OS) from an on board ROM chip (much faster than loading from a disk.)
During the later stages in it's life - newer and much faster ARM Processors were being produced which could not perform in the RISC PC as they should due to the slow 16Mhz front side bus speed. This was considered the worst limitation in the machine.
The case of the RISC PC was designed to be stackable and additional modules called "Slices" could be added to give your computer more functionality such as additional disk drives, hard disks, CD ROMs, and later on even a pizza oven!
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History:
Production of the RISC PC continued after the break up of Acorn Computers with the last being released in 2003. The technology established by Acorn still continues today and is used in many embedded systems. Castle Technology bought the rights to produce the RISC PC from acorn before their break up.
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Games:
At this moment I am not aware how many games were written specifically for the RISC PC. If anyone has more information on this system then please contact me.
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Internals:
 The RISC PC was based on Acorn's own ARM Processor - which followed on from the Archimedes line. The RISC architecture processor was still among the fastest for home and business computing. Later models featured the StrongARM Processor which increased processing power by a factor of 7!
The Main limitation of the RISC PC was it's slow Front Side Bus - which was clocked at 16Mhz and slowed down the speed at which the processor could access the internal RAM.
The RISC PC could be fitted with up to 256Mbs of RAM. Modern storage formats were also in use on the RISC PC including the DVD ROM.
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Additional
Information:
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Photos
| Gallery (click on a thumbnail to
enlarge) |
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References:
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