Olivetti · PCS
Olivetti PCS 11
Compact 1992 desktop with a 16 MHz 386SX, aimed at home and small-business users.
IN DEVELOPMENT: we are working on the PCS 11 emulation. You can create the machine, but it may fail or stop partway. Any result you send us, even if it does not boot, helps us finish it.
History
Olivetti introduced the PCS 11 in November 1992, together with the PCS 33 and PCS 44, as part of a compact series designed to be easy to use. It was the cheapest of the three and took up no more desk space than an A4 sheet. It was aimed at home and small-business users: 16 MHz 386SX, 2 MB of memory, a 40 MB hard disk and a 1.44 MB floppy drive, with MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.0 preinstalled. Inside it uses the BA013/16 board, the same technical base as the M300-02, but with its own BIOS (R2.04 and R2.07).
Hardware
- Processor
- Intel 80386SX 16 MHz
- Memory
- 2 MB standard; up to 10 MB
- Chipset
- VLSI TOPCAT VL82C320/VL82C331
- Video
- Integrated Western Digital WD90C11
- Enclosure
- Compact A4-footprint booksize unit
Catalogue classification
- Form factor
- Desktop
- Mobility
- Stationary
- Processor generation
- 80386SX class
- Graphics standard
- VGA
Research
This page separates documented hardware facts, behavior observed in original firmware, and the current fidelity of BluMach emulation.
Sales and commercial configurations
Evidence: documented or confirmed hardware
- Commercial models
Introduced in November 1992 with 2 MB, a 40 MB hard disk, a 1.44 MB floppy drive, MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.0.
Architecture and memory
Evidence: documentation, reverse engineering and diagnostics
- CPU and bus
16 MHz Intel 386SX on the BA013/16 board, with an i387SX socket. VLSI TOPCAT chipset: VL82C320 system controller and VL82C331 bus controller. Two 16-bit ISA slots on the bus expansion board. Data taken from the BA013 board shared with the M300-02/02F; there is no PCS service guide.
- Memory
Bank 0 with 2 MB soldered and bank 1 with two sockets for 1 M × 9 SIMMs (2 MB in total) or 4 M × 9 SIMMs (8 MB in total): 2, 4 or 10 MB. 80 ns access.
- Video
Integrated VGA: Western Digital WD90C11A, WD90C64 clock generator and Brooktree BT476 DAC. BluMach uses its WD90C11 model with 512 KB.
- Storage
3.5-inch 1.44 MB or 5.25-inch 1.2 MB floppy drive, with an Acer controller and serial and parallel ports in the 87C310. The IDE disk uses a buffered interface on the board. The BIOS table has only four types; the first three are 965/5/17 (40 MB), 975/10/17 (85 MB) and 761/8/39 (120 MB).
BIOS and firmware
Evidence: observed in preserved firmware and boot testing
- Known revisions
BIOS R2.04 (06/03/92) and R2.07 (03/01/93), 128 KB each, are preserved. Their disk table has the same four types as the M300-02 one, with slightly different geometries.
Emulation status
Evidence: current BluMach status; not necessarily a description of the original circuit
- Verified
BIOS R2.04 and R2.07 (128 KB) are identified and can be selected in the machine configuration. Booting has been observed.
- Pending or approximate
Bootable partial emulation. Its BIOS differs from the PCS 33 one only in the memory and bus timings it programs into the TOPCAT chipset, which the emulator does not use. The case is not modelled. Other memory sizes, the hard disk and more software remain to be tested.
Sources
Preserved research material
Evidence: primary sources and research notes