Photos: BBC Micro, Spectrum, Amstrad CPC 464 and more - the machines that defined British computing

Hardware

Acorn BBC Micro

Launched: 1981

Specs: 2MHz 8-bit\r\nprocessor MOS Technology 6502 processor, and came with 16KB to 32KB\r\nof memory. In most instances loaded programs from tape, floppy disc.\r\nSupport for 640\u00d7256, two colour display.

Price: Model A\r\n\u00a3235

Image: Stuart Brady
Sinclair ZX Spectrum

Launched:1982

Specs: 8-bit\r\nZilog Z80 processor, 16KB or 48KB of RAM and 16KB of ROM. 256 x 192\r\nresolution display of up to eight colours. Software ran from tapes or\r\nfloppy discs.

Price: \u00a3125

Image: Gamespot
Grundy NewBrain

Launched:1982

Specs:4MHz Zilog\r\n80A, 24KB RAM. Output display to TV or monitor. Model AD had a one\r\nline 16-character fluorescent display built into the keyboard. Able\r\nto drive 640 x 256 display.

Price:\u00a3199

Image: The National Museum of Computing \/ http:\/\/www.tnmoc.org
Jupiter Ace

Launched: 1982

Specs: 3.85 MHz\r\nZilog Z80, 3KB RAM, up to 256\u00d7192 graphics and storage via external\r\ncassette tape.

Price: \u00a389.95

Image: The Centre for Computing History \/ www.computinghistory.org.uk
Dragon 32 and 64

Launched: 1982

Specs: 0.89 MZ\r\nMotorola MC6809E processor, 8-bit CPU with limited 16-bit\r\ncapabilities, 32KB or 64KB of memory.

Price: From \u00a3199

Image: John Robertson \/ The National Museum of Computing
Camputer Lynx

Launched: End of\r\n1982 / 1983

Specs: 4MHz Z80A\r\nCPU, from 48KB of RAM and a Motorola 6845 as video controller.\r\nOptional 5.25″ floppy disk-drive available for higher specced\r\nmodels.

Price: \u00a3225

Image: The Centre for Computing History \/ www.computinghistory.org.uk
Memotech MTX

Launched: 1983

Specs: 4MHz Zilog\r\nZ80 A CPU, 32KB \u2013 128KB of RAM capable of driving a display with a\r\nresolution of up to 256 x 192 with 16 colours.

Price: From \u00a3275

Image: The Centre for Computing History \/ www.computinghistory.org.uk
Acorn Electron

Launched: 1983

Specs: MOS\r\nTechnology 6502A CPU clocked at 1MHz when accessing ROM and\r\n1MHZ/0.5897Mz when accessing RAM, 32KB of RAM. Support for up to 640\r\nx 200 resolution display with 2 colours. Loaded programs from\r\ncassette with optional floppy disk add-on.

Price:\u00a3175

Image: Rupert Goodwins \/ ZDNet
Oric

Launched: 1983

Specs: 1MHz 6502A processor, up to 48KB of memory. Display capable of two modes, LORES showing 28 rows of 40 characters and HIRES of 200 rows of 240 pixels above three lines of text.

Price: \u00a3129 / \u00a3169

Image: Nick Heath \/ ZDNet
Apricot Portable

Launched: 1984

Specs: 4.77MHz Intel 8086 CPU, 256KB of RAM and a 3.5-inch floppy\r\ndrive. 80-column / 25 line LCD screen, speech recognition able to\r\ndetect 64 words at any one time. Able to output 640 x 256 8-colour\r\ndisplay to monitor.

Price: \u00a31965

Image: The Centre for Computing History \/ www.computinghistory.org.uk
Amstrad Colour Personal Computer

Launched: 1984

Specs: 8-bit 4MHz Zilog Z80A CPU, 64KB or 128KB of memory split\r\nbetween video, ROM and user, integrated tape/disc depending on version. Display resolutions\r\nranging from 160\u00d7200 pixels with 16 colours to 640\u00d7200 pixels with\r\ntwo colours.

Price: From \u00a3249

Image: The Centre for Computing History \/ www.computinghistory.org.uk
Enterprise

Launched: 1985

Specs: 4MHz Zilog Z80 CPU, 64 KB or 128 KB of RAM. Supports\r\ndisplay with maximum resolution of 640\u00d7256 with 2-colours. Keyboard\r\nwith integrated joystick.

Price: \u00a3228
RiscPC

Launched: 1994

Specs: From 30MHz ARM 610 CPU, maximum memory of 256MB DRAM and 2MB of\r\nvideo memory. Supports display with 16-million colours and 8-channel\r\nsound.

Price: \u00a31249

Image: Public Domain