Amstrad User Group
Amstrad User Group
The Amstrad PC2386/65.
A desk top computer with an Intel 80386DX processor with a clock speed of 20 megahertz. The year of production is stated as 1989, although I have some doubts here. It is an early model for an 80386 machine, I do agree with that. The computer has little memory for a 80386: 640 kilobytes and another 32 kilobytes as cache memory. The latter is probably the cause of the fast benchmark result of the hard disc of 65 megabytes. According to the various test programs that I have used, the average access time would be around 9.8 milliseconds. And, although the performance is not bad, this is unbelievably high... But Norton System Info, Microsoft Diagnostics and various other benchmark and test programs cannot really cope with this computer. One is reporting ghost memory, the other additional video RAM!
The PC2386 is, as can be seen from the photograph, a bulky computer. The weight of the machine is not that heavy, though. Most remarkable about this computer are the noisy hard disc and the vibrations produced. This is caused by a combination of the plastic system case and the hard disc.
The machine is equipped with a 14 inch VGA colour screen and a standard Paradise graphics cards. So far nothing out of the ordinary and average for it's age and class. This does not include the fact that the Basic Input Output (BIOS) parameters are not stored in ROM but are set by a program supplied with the machine. Most 80386 computer have these parameters stored in BIOS ROM.
The system housing is the aspect where the Amstrad label fits in. It really is an Amstrad from the time when Amstrad still designed computers rather than assembled (as they do nowadays with Viglen) them. Four Penlight AA batteries, in an easily accessible (from the outside) compartment in the system unit under the monitor, take care of the back-up power supply, instead of the usual Varta battery on the main board. This also comes in handy for those who do not want to open the system unit and exchange a battery that may be welded to the main board. On the other hand: it is annoying that these AA batteries run dry quite often and then you do have to parameterise the PC once more. Without this the PC will not even know that it has a hard disc fitted.
You can download a copy of this program on Amstrad's Home Page (the unofficial pages by Cliff Lawson - opens in a new window). Use type 1 for the 65 megabytes hard disc. The system unit is also designed by Amstrad and, instead of the usual concept of a box that can be opened to place expansion cards, this system unit has a lid that you can slide off the top. This will allow you to access the expansion section of the computer without actually disassembling the system unit: you can partly see the (green) graphics card in the computer. The compartment can accommodate four (one of these already in use by the graphics card) 16-bits and 8-bits ISA slots. You can slide away a panel on the right side of the system unit to allow access to expansion cards that require external access.
You can see a Centronics look-alike connector on the extreme left in the picture: this connector is used to connect an external floppy disc drive, along with a typical connector for the power supply and a selector for internal/external use. Besides the strange connectors for both data cable and power supply, I also have doubt as to why you would want to connect an external drive to this computer. I believe you would be able to fit two floppy drives into the machine itself. The front (although there are no bays provided in the housing) would allow for at least two more internal (disc) drives of half-height dimensions.
The left side of the system unit houses the connections for keyboard and mouse, plus a key that 'locks' the computer. As you may expect, this lock will not keep a hacker from accessing and using the computer: it is not a reliable protection at all.. The control with the text "volume" printed beneath it does indeed control just that. But do not get your hopes up: it is the volume of the system beeper.
Although a useful device you would mistake the control for the control of a sound card - this computer unfortunately has no such feature, however! The back of the machine features a serial and parallel port, the connector for the monitor and a panel with dip switches for selecting the required graphics mode.
Questions about the PC2386/65 via the contact form
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