The Acorn Archimedes was Acorn Computers Ltd's first general purpose home computer based on their own 32-bit ARM RISC CPU. The name is also commonly used to describe computers which were based on the same architecture, even where Acorn did not include 'Archimedes' in the official name.
The first models were released in June 1987, as the 300 and 400 series. The 400 series included 4 expansion slots (although a 2 slot backplane could be added to the 300 series as an official upgrade, and third parties produced their own 4 slot backplanes) and an ST506 controller for an internal hard drive. Both models included the Arthur OS (later called RISC OS), BBC BASIC and an emulator for Acorn's earlier BBC Micro, and were mounted in two-part cases with a small central unit, monitor on top, and a separate keyboard and three-button mouse. All models featured onboard 8 channel stereo sound and were capable of displaying 256 colours on screen.
Acorn Archimedes
