Amstrad Mega PC

Hi there all, gonna pick up my Amstrad Mega PC soon. Remember seeing them for sale in Tandy when I was about 15 but couldnt afford one :smt022 Does anyone know of any good sites offering details on the hardware/spftware side of things? Also I heard that the Terradrive was possibly able to be upgraded with a CD, any such thing happening on the Mega PC.

BTW Cool forums,

Cheers

 

a Google search bought up this site here as well as some German, French and Danish sites. English information about that thing seems pretty rare, just like the system itself...

 

AFAIK, it's not possible to add a MegaCD. I've heard that a 32X will work, though I'm not sure how since I doubt the standard MD>32X cable would fit it. (unless you meant adding a standard CD-ROM drive to the PC portion? In that case I'd imagine it's the same as with any other PC of it's era. It'd have to be an external one, though - there's no room in the case).

Sadly, unlike the Terradrive, the MegaPC is literally just a 386/486 PC bolted into the same case as a Megadrive - the Terradrive actually had a link between to two portions, but that's not the case here.

How much are you paying, out of interest? Also, do you know which model it is? (There's both 386/25MHz and 486/33MHz models. They both had either a 40Mb or 130Mb hard drive aswell.)

 

English info: http://www.uk.playright.dk/raretitel.php?id=13883

Danish info http://www.playright.dk/raretitel.php?id=13883

)

 

Cool, thanks for all the info guys, I got it (base unit only) for £25 from ebay, boots up, but wont pass post. Shouldnt be an issue, seeing as how old it is, Im supsecting the CMOS battery. Been fixing PC's for donkeys years so should be no prob (hunts for windows 3.1). Will post an update, with pics and specs if any wants.

Cheers

 

Photo's and details are always a welcome addition!

 

Assemble has a section on it, though as far as i can tell it can only be accessed through a google search http://assembler.roarvgm.com/Amstrad_megadrive_computer_1/amstrad_megadrive_computer_1.html

I cant see any where to get to it within the site??

 

Almost certainly. Practically every one I've seen has had a dead battery.
£25 is a pretty good price for the base unit. Wish I'd seen it on eBay - I've got a MegaPC-branded joypad here that's just waiting for the day I see a cheapish main unit

 

There's also a page about the Master System Compact which I can't find on the main site.

http://assembler.roarvgm.com/Master_System_Compact/master_system_compact.html

[/off topic]

 

Gotta hate Tectoy on that ugly design. :smt082

 

hmmm maybe i should get a mega pc and upgrade the shite bigtime (the pc thing offcourse) with windows 95/98/98se

and then get a better cpu and ram etc because windows 98 and 98 Se plus windows 95 has almost perfect windows 3.1/3.11 compatibility plus the best dos

hmmmmmmmmmmm :smt023 :smt030

 

I dont think it would take a 486, the architecture between 386 and 486 is a bit different ifirc, main difference being a maths co-processor (thats the difference between sx and dx). Im going to keep my eye out for an overdrive processor, that might be an option. Theres also a free isa slot SCSI time!!!

 

Christ, I remember those! aaaah back when I were a lad, I remember when the 486 was just released and thinking "nobody needs a PC THAT fast!"

 

Overdrives are cool... my brother had a 5x86-120 in what must be the most pimped out 486 ever (3 hard discs (400,500 and 1200mb), 40 megs of ram and a 3dfx Voodoo card :smt043 )

I dont know how I signed up, but thru some unintentional subscription I used to receive a free magazine called "Asia computer sources". It had loads of ads for small Taiwanese companies making Pentium2-to-386 adapters and that kinda stuff :smt033

 

There was a 486/33MHz model released alongside the 386/25Mhz one.

 

Been reading round, 386 architecture is quite a bit different to 486, gonna give it a try tho. The 386 to P2 converter sounds a laff tho. Going to China and Japan next month so I will keep my eyes open to see if such a fabled item exists. First time visit to Japan :-D

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3674&item=6707587497&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Boxed as well! but sadly not a 3/486 upgrade version.

 

Yea, saw that this mornin', couldnt resist a bit of early morning E-Baying

 

Uhhm, 386 and 486 hardware is very similar, same socket. I know someone who had a 486 Mega PC. It was still marked up as a 386, which proves 386 and 486 hardware is compatible!

 

I'm sorry, but the socket is not the same. 486 also operates at a different bus speed, in the 386 the multiplier is 0.5x whereas 486s use 1x (up to 486DX50), 2x (486DX2) or 3x (486DX4). I have seem 386 mainboards with 486 sockets on them though.