PC-1512

Amstrad PC1512

Amstrad PC-1512 DD (Schneider-badged version)
Manufacturer	Amstrad
Type	Personal computer
Release date	1986
Introductory price	£499
Media	5¼-inch floppy disks
Operating system	MS-DOS 3.2 and DOS Plus
CPU	Intel 8086 @ 8 MHz
Memory	512 KB (expandable to 640 KB)
Storage	10 or 20 MB however HDD was not standard. The 360 KB 5¼-inch floppy drive(s) could be user replaced to HD 1.2 MB drives. A hard drive of 10MB or 20MB could be installed by the user on a self contained card in one of the expansion slots. The basic machine as bought had only 360 KB 5¼-inch floppy drives. There were versions with one or two drives (shown above).
Input	Keyboard, Joystick, Amstrad mouse
Dimensions	372 × 284 × 135
Weight	6.05 kg / 7.75 kg

The Amstrad PC1512 was Amstrad's mostly IBM PC-compatible computer system, first manufactured in 1986. It was later succeeded by the PC1640.

It launched for £499 and sold very well, as it was one of the first cheap PCs in Europe. It significantly helped open up the European PC market to consumers as well as businesses, and Amstrad's advertising of the PC1512 was aimed at homes rather than offices. The 1512's influence was such that the UK PC magazine PC Plus originally targeted itself at the "Amstrad PC 1512 and compatibles", since home ownership of other PCs at the time was rare.

The PC1512 shipped with 512 KB of RAM; it could be upgraded to 640 KB of RAM with an expansion pack commonly known as a "top hat". Video output was compatible with the CGA standard, with an extension allowing all 16 colours to be used in the 640×200 graphics mode. The CPU of both the PC1512 and the later PC1640 was an 8 MHz Intel 8086, which was sufficient for playing The Secret of Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion and Prince of Persia. The power supply was located in the monitor, which made upgrading difficult.

Amstrad licensed both MS-DOS 3.2 and Digital Research DOS Plus, which was largely compatible with MS-DOS and included some features from CP/M and the ability to read CP/M disks. Only one of these operating systems could be used at a time. They also licensed the GEM windowing system, which supported the customized CGA hardware of the 1512.

The PC1512 was followed by the PC1640, which had 640 KB of RAM and an EGA-compatible graphics chipset (though only the ECD model could display all EGA modes). Either model shipped with one or two 5¼-inch floppy drives, and optionally a hard drive (either 10 or 20 MB).