O.K., slowly things are getting exciting. I mean: We're getting close
to a real computer here. This is, mind you, one of the original PS/2s,
announced 1987-04-02 along with the 50 and 60.
It cost $10,895.00.
O.K., slowly things are getting exciting. I mean: We're getting close
to a real computer here. This is, mind you, one of the original PS/2s,
announced 1987-04-02 along with the 50 and 60.
It cost $10,895.00.
First there's the case. The 80 comes in a tower case with two full-height 5.25" slots, one of them accessible (note that modern drives are half-height; you could put two CD drives and two HDDs into this case) and eight expansion slots; the desktop models only have three. Of course, this thing is insanely, inanely heavy. A yellow lable under the handle warns us ! 18kg+ (40lb+). Yes, in the same sense as the average elephant weighs more than 18kg. The full weight of this thing is 52lbs, nearly 24kg. Dragging it home was a real chore.
Than there is the processor: We have a real 386 here! No SX! Pity the motherboard still does not support more than 16MB Ram.
The Personal System/2 Model 80 (IBM 8580) enhances the System/2 family of systems by offering a new level of performance in personal computing for both commercial and compute-intensive environments. This system is highlighted by the new MICRO CHANNEL™ ARCHITECTURE with a 16 MHz 80386 32-bit microprocessor, high density memory technology, and a wide range of integrated features. With the capability of supporting up to 16 Mb of high speed (80 ns) real memory, over 140 Mb of disk storage, advanced graphics, and an optional 16 MHz 80387 Math Co-Processor, this system opens up a wide range of application opportunities. Designed to meet the requirements of the multitasking environment, the IBM 8580 provides a full 32-bit large system architecture and function within an individual workstation. Its increased speed and high reliability coupled with a wide selection of connectivity options provide the function required to support large server, gateway or multiuser applications.
Just like my 55SX, this computer has 1920kB RAM. 1920 is three times 640, seems this was a popular equipment with the PS/2. Unlike the desktop PS/2s this machine does not use 72 pin SIMMs, but planar memory; small adapter cards with a special connector full of small ICs in shiny metal cases. They look very unlike any other type of memory.
When I first started it up, it gave me a 162 and 163 error. 162 means CMOS checksum failed, this usually means you have to boot it from the Reference Disk because something was changed since last use. Along with 163 (date and time not set) it means that the battery is low. Luckily changing batteries in a PS/2 is as easy as changing them in an Apple, no soldering required. And matching batteries can be found cheap in camera stores. Cheap, of course, is relative; they cost more than I paid for this computer.
When I first opened the case, I gasped. Never before had I seen such a huge hard disk, and I mean HUGE: it fills out a complete full-height 5.25" slot! It is an IBM 0699 with a whopping 115MB. It is an ESDI disk, a rare standard used only in PS/2s and some Compaqs, with a performance about similar to SCSI. This is the original disk, the largest ESDI disk you could order with this model, by the way; you could also have a SCSI disk up to 320MB.
Well, I got me one of these batteries, but it seems that something else is the problem. I still get the 162 and 163 errors, whether the reference disk is in the drive or not. So I still cannot say much about this computer.
There are two adapter cards. One is the hard disk controller, what the other is, I have no idea. It is full length, has an external 15-pin male connector, the FCC ID ANO 4AS75X8267 and the internal number 108. For a while I thought this might be some sort of soundcard (you could plug the second connector of a PS/1 monitor into this), but was corrected by a mail from Didier Belhomme:
This card is not a sound card (sorry), but an adapter for the IBM PagePrinter, which was a laser printer but without a postscript interpreter built-in. Rather, that was the PS/2 which was in charge of building the raster image which was sent through the card you have in the 80. I don't remember if the card is used for raster processing or not, too long for my memory.
I do have a second one of these computers, the one I dug out of a junk container two weeks earlier. It was not in a good enough condition for a test run, the speaker/CMOS battery unit missing completely, the floppy cable missing (the PS/2 floppy connectors are non-standard, too: they resemble those of the 5.25" drives, but have the power supply integrated), and, maybe worst of all, the case side panel.
It has a 25MHz processor, 8MB RAM, a SCSI controller and hard drive of unknown size. As with my 70s, I plan to assemble one really good computer out of these two.