💾 Archived View for uscoffings.net › retro-computing › systems › Tandy › t › t3knews.txt captured on 2023-01-29 at 05:46:26.
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TANDY UPGRADES 3000 AND 3000HL COMPUTERS Tandy announced that its Tandy 3000 80286-based computer has been upgraded to a clock speed of 12 MHz, software switchable to 6 MHz. Standard memory has been increased to 640K, expandable to 1 MB on the motherboard. Additional memory boards may be added to bring the total memory up to 16 Megabytes. The computer's footprint has been reduced significantly and is now comparable to the 3000HL. A 1.2 megabyte 5.25" disk drive is standard, and there is room for two additional internal storage devices. The new 3000 has nine expansion slots, of which 2 have the 8-bit XT bus. One XT bus slot is taken up by the serial/parallel adapter. The power supply is rated at 192 watts. No video adapter is included in the base configuration, however the user has the option of adding monochrome, CGA, EGA or VGA adapters as he sees fit. The 3000HL has been given a new case and a slightly smaller footprint. It runs its 80286 CPU at 8 MHz, software switchable to 4 MHz. The base machine is supplied with a 360K 5.25" disk drive, with room for two additional internal storage devices. Base memory is 512K on the motherboard, expandable with memory cards to 4 megabytes. There are seven expansion slots, of which three are AT-compatible and four XT- compatible. One of the XT-bus slots is taken up by the serial/parallel adapter. Like the Tandy 3000, no video adapter is included with the base machine. The buyer has the option of selecting monochrome, CGA, EGA, or VGA adapters to suit his purposes. Both the Tandy 3000 and 3000 HL can run MS-DOS, Xenix System V, and OS/2 (when it becomes available). Both can run Tandy's new PROFESSIONAL DESKMATE, which is the latest in its Deskmate series of integrated software. Professional Deskmate has networking capabilities that can allow two computers to network via their RS232 ports, or three or more via networking boards like Tandy's new Tandylink and 3Com's Ethernet. The base Tandy 3000 is priced at $1999, while the Tandy 3000HL is priced at $1599. These machines are clearly aimed at the business user who demands the power of an 80286 machine to handle his tasks. Yet the prices make them also very affordable for small businesses, which have been largely ignored by computer companies seeking to make gigantic sales to equally gigantic corporations. I expect that the Tandy 3000 series of machines will be mainstays of Tandy's computer line for some time to come.