Acorn A680 Prototype

The Acorn A680 was an experimental ARM Unix workstation used during development of RISC iX. It combined early Archimedes-class hardware with SCSI storage and networking for operating-system and workstation development.

The A680 led into the commercial R140 and later R225 and R260 RISC iX workstations.

Notable Features

• The main processing arrangement was Acorn ARM2 at 8 MHz.
• Its standard memory provision was 4MB.
• The model’s storage arrangement was 3.5-inch floppy drive and SCSI hard disc.

Historical Significance

• The A680 led into the commercial R140 and later R225 and R260 RISC iX workstations.
• This entry represents a distinct processor, storage or enclosure design rather than a software bundle.

Collector’s Notes

• Surviving examples are scarce, and fitted boards, firmware and storage may differ from announced specifications.
• Original documentation, peripherals and prototype provenance are particularly important for specialist Acorn systems.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Acorn A680 Prototype
Manufacturer	Acorn Computers
Launched	Thursday, January 1, 1987
Country	United Kingdom
CPU	Acorn ARM2 at 8 MHz
Units Sold
Operating System	Early RISC iX development system
I/O	Video, audio, serial, parallel, SCSI, Ethernet and podule expansion
Keyboard	Separate keyboard and three-button mouse
Storage	3.5-inch floppy drive and SCSI hard disc
Sound	Eight-channel, eight-bit stereo sound
Graphics	Acorn VIDC colour and monochrome graphics
Display	External high-resolution monitor
ROM	Development boot ROM
RAM	4MB
CPU Speed	8 MHz