NCR Corp’s answer to the IBM Personal System/2 is a line of 80386 and 80286 personal computers and work-stations applying VLSI applications-specific circuitry and surface mount technology to cram as much as possible onto each board and cut manufacturing costs. And in contrast to the very rigidly-designed IBM boxes, which allow little in the way of expansion or mixing and matching, the NCR machines follow the modular concept of the new Wyse line, enabling users to upgrade by snapping out expansion units and snapping in new ones. NCR has also adopted the Texas Instruments chip set that was commissioned by IBM to create the NCR PC Token Ring System. Headlining the new machines is the PC916, a 16MHz 80386 machine switchable right down to 4.77MHz with 2Mb to 16Mb memory, 5.25 1.2Mb or 3.5 1.44Mb floppy and 30Mb, 44Mb, 70Mb or 115Mb Winchester and enhanced graphics adaptor and eight slots. The processor comes on one AT-size board, with disk controllers, extended memory and ports on a second. The PC810 has 10MHz 80286 slowable to 6MHz, 640Kb to 16Mb memory and the same disk complement and slots as the 916; the PC710 is a workstation version without the slots and with only 20Mb or 40Mb Winchester. The 3392 is a 10MHz 80286-based enhanced version of the 3390 workstation already announced. Prices range from UKP2,000 for an entry workstation to UKP6,500 for a configured 80386 machine. The line is not yet announced in the UK.
