This article is about 1980s IBM PC compatible systems manufactured by Commodore Business Machines. For the 2010s series of x86 computers, see Commodore USA.
Incompatible with Commodore 64 and Amiga architectures, they were generally regarded as good, serviceable workhorse PCs with nothing spectacular about them, but the well-established Commodore name was seen as a competitive asset.[1]
History
In 1984, Commodore signed a deal with Intel to second source manufacture the Intel 8088 CPU[2] used in the IBM PC, along with a license to manufacture a computer based on the Dynalogic Hyperion.[3] It is unknown whether any of these systems were produced or sold.
The line consists of the following models:
Series 1
First generation – Series I
Commodore PC 5
Introduced in 1984, at $1395, the Commodore PC 5 is the low-budget option with a Hercules monochrome video card. It has a Intel 8088 running at 4.77 MHz and 256 KB RAM on-board (expandable to 640 KB). RS232 serial and Centronics parallel printer ports are on the motherboard rather than on separate cards thereby making more slots available. It has one 5.25-inch floppy drive and no hard disk (can be installed). The PC 5 was released with MS-DOS 2.11 and GW Basic 3.2. The PC 5 had 5× 8-bit PC BUS Slots. It has two motherboards. One contains the CPU, RAM and ROM v. 2.01, an NPU socket and some VLSI chips. The second mainboard is connected by gold pin connectors, it is an "I/O board" containing serial and parallel port, ISA slots and all I/O chips. Some tracks from ISA slots are factory cut by drilling. The early PC5 has no RTC, HDD controller or reset switch, in front it has DIN keyboard connector
Commodore PC 10
The Commodore PC 10 is a same as a PC 5, but with added color ATI video card and two 5.25-inch floppy drives
Commodore PC 10-1
a 512 KB RAM and single floppy drive version. Price: $519
Commodore PC 10-2
640 KB RAM and dual floppy Drives. Price: $619
Commodore PC 10-S
a PC 10 with a single floppy drive. (PC 10 have two floppy drives)
Commodore PC 20
The Commodore PC 20 is a PC 10 with a 20 MB hard drive and only one floppy drive.
Commodore PC 40
PC 40 is the top model of the first generation Commodore PC’s with improved 16-bit "AT" hardware compared to 8-bit XT in the others. It had a Intel 80286 that runs at either 6 or 10 MHz choosable by the user. Standard RAM was 1 MB and the video card was the same as in the PC 10 and 20. It had one 1.2 MB HD 5.25-inch drive and a 20 MB hard drive. The cabinet had a key lock switch added Notes: The "PC AT" is a "PC 40" with a "AT" added to the name.
Commodore PC AT
The "PC AT" is a "PC 40" with a "AT" added to the name.
Commodore PC 40-40
The Commodore PC 40-40 is a PC 40 with a 40 MB hard drive and two 5.25-inch floppy drives.
Second generation – Series II
Commodore PC 10-II
The Commodore PC 10-II is a minor revision of the original PC 10. It have mainly the same specifications and casing, but the main difference is that it has a new revised single motherboard opposed to the original PC 10 that have two motherboards combined. As the original PC 10, it comes with dual floppy drives and no hard drive.
Commodore PC 20-II
The Commodore PC 20-II is a PC 10-II with one floppy drive and one hard drive.
Third generation – Series III
Commodore PC I
The Commodore PC 1 is a special small form factor PC inspired by the design of the Commodore 128, meant for budget homes or office use. The PC 1 has no internal room for Harddisk, the "PC 1-20" Harddrive came with a 3.5-inch 20 MB hard drive and can be connected to the expansion port. The machine can also be expanded with the "PC 1-NET" which added a NovellEthernet 10-bit card connected to the expansion port. There is no internal sound, but an 8 ohm speaker can be added. There was also an expansion box for connection 3 ISA cards.
Expansion slots: Commodore "PCEXP1" is a special expansion cabinet made for PC1. this gives 3 additional ISA Slots plus an extra 5.25-inch drive
Commodore PC 10-III
The Commodore PC 10-III is a complete revision of the PC 10 and 10-II machine. it have a new sleeker cabinet and better specifications. while the two generations before only went at 4.77 MHz, the new III series uses an 8088-1 CPU capable of 10 MHz speeds. The PC 10-III/Colt Faraday FE2010 chipset allows the CPU speed to be adjustable via a SPEED.EXE utility via DOS or through keyboard commands. The default is the standard 4.77 MHz but the speed is adjustable to 7.16 MHz and 9.54 MHz. It also had more standard ram and a better video card. It is still a 8-bit machine. It came with two floppy drives.
Commodore COLT
An American version of the PC 10-III with slightly different front design. The front is a white variant of the PC 30-III front with the COLT logo on.
Commodore PC 10-III SD
a PC 10-III with one floppy drive. (PC 10-III have two floppy drives.)
Commodore PC 20-III
Same as PC 10-III but with a 20 MB HDD added.
Commodore PC 30-III (also sold as Select Edition 286)
The commodore PC 30-III is a new generation AT machine with a EGA video card, a 3.5-inch floppy drive and a 20 MB hard disk. The PC-30-III motherboard is the same as the PC40-III MB but with the VGA hardware missing from the Motherboard (it is empty space on the motherboard for the VGA hardware).
Commodore PC 35-III
PC-35-III is a PC 30-III but with VGA hardware added to the mainboard and the same 20 MB hard disk as PC 30-III.
Commodore PC 40-III
PC 40-III is same as PC35-III, but with a 40 MB Hard disk.
Commodore PC 45-III
Same as PC-40-III but with an AMD equipped CPU instead of Intel in the PC-40-III.
Commodore PC 50-II
The Commodore budget 386 machine. it could be delivered with 40 or 100 MB Hard disk or a 3.5-inch floppy. Comes with SVGA.
3D Microcomputers, a Canadian computer manufacturer whom Commodore Canada authorized to produce PC clones bearing the Commodore label shortly before Commodore International's bankruptcy in 1994
^"The PC10 has Landed". June 1987. Two of the PC10-2's most visible competitors for the home and school markets are the Leading Edge Model D and the Tandy 1000SX.