First post, by GXL750
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Little over a week ago I received a circa 1988 or 1989 Amstrad PPC640. It's essentially a portable XT clone typical of the era. The CPU, an NEC V30 running at 12mhz puts this computer a little bit ahead of an actual XT or most other 8088/8086 systems in terms of processing speed. Spec-wise, everything else is pretty typical; dual 720kb 3.5" floppy drives, CGA screen, 640kb memory. The LCD is nice in that, unlike most portables from the time, this one here is similar aspect ratio to a CRT so you don't have everything looking squished. Unfortunately, contrast is poor making this screen usable only in direct light or outside on sunny days.
Just like the computer itself, the AC adapter is large and heavy. If I felt compelled to go out and buy ten C-cell batteries, I could run this thing for about an hour away from an outlet.
So far, the only software I've run on this includes the Amstrad organizer software that came with the system and some old games including Commander Keen, Alleycat, ZZT, Tetris and Jeopardy. The only thing really that makes this a less than stellar system for CGA games of the era is that the LCD appears inverted compared to a CRT. However, there is a port for a CGA monitor on the back and the built in keyboard is full size and nice to use so I could easily convert this into an XT class desktop system if I had the time, cash or room.
