Olivetti · PCS
Olivetti PCS 33
Compact 1992 desktop with a 25 MHz 386SX, for general office use.
History
The PCS 33 came out in November 1992 with the PCS 11 and PCS 44, as the middle model for general office use: 25 MHz 386SX, 2 MB of memory, a 1.44 MB floppy drive and a 40 to 120 MB hard disk, with MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.0 preinstalled. It uses the BA013/25 board, the same technical base as the M300-02F, with its own BIOS (R6.03).
Hardware
- Processor
- Intel 80386SX 25 MHz
- Memory
- 2 MB standard; shared BA013 model supports up to 10 MB
- Chipset
- VLSI TOPCAT VL82C320/VL82C331 (current shared-platform identification)
- Video
- Integrated Western Digital WD90C11
- Storage
- Contemporary configurations list 40–120 MB IDE disks
Catalogue classification
- Form factor
- Desktop
- Mobility
- Stationary
- Processor generation
- 80386SX class
- Graphics standard
- VGA
- Storage interface
- IDE
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 1.44 MB floppy drive, a 40 to 120 MB hard disk, MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.0.
Architecture and memory
Evidence: documentation, reverse engineering and diagnostics
- CPU and bus
25 MHz Intel 386SX on the BA013/25 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 R6.03 (03/01/93), 128 KB, is preserved. Its disk table is the same as in the PCS 11 BIOS images.
Emulation status
Evidence: current BluMach status; not necessarily a description of the original circuit
- Verified
With its own BIOS R6.03, POST, IDE disk detection and booting have been observed, on the same BA013/25 emulation as the M300-02F.
- Pending or approximate
Bootable partial emulation. There is no PCS 33 manual confirming the board, and the case is not modelled. Other memory sizes and more software remain to be tested.
Sources
Preserved research material
Evidence: primary sources and research notes