Sirius 1 / Victor 9000

The Sirius 1 was a high-specification 16-bit business computer designed by Chuck Peddle’s team at Sirius Systems Technology. Sold as the Victor 9000 in North America and as the ACT Sirius 1 in Britain, it combined an Intel 8088 processor with unusually capacious variable-speed floppy drives and a high-resolution integrated display.

Although it ran CP/M-86 and MS-DOS, it was not IBM PC compatible. Its strong display, storage and audio hardware made it technically impressive, but the rapid growth of the IBM-compatible market limited its long-term success.

Notable Features

• Variable-speed 5.25-inch drives stored approximately 600KB per single-sided disk or 1.2MB per double-sided disk.
• The display supported 80 by 25 or 132 by 50 text and graphics up to 800 by 400 pixels.
• Memory could be expanded from 128KB or 256KB to 896KB, with an optional Intel 8087 numeric coprocessor.

Historical Significance

• It was one of the earliest sophisticated 8088 business computers and reached the market at roughly the same time as the IBM PC.
• Its European success helped ACT gain the experience and dealer base from which the Apricot computer range emerged.

Collector’s Notes

• The Sirius 1, Victor 9000 and ACT-badged machines are regional forms of the same underlying design.
• Original variable-speed disks, keyboard, documentation and working display electronics are especially valuable because the disk format was non-standard.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Sirius 1 / Victor 9000
Manufacturer	Sirius Systems Technology
Launched	Thursday, January 1, 1981
Discontinued	1984
Country	United States
CPU	Intel 8088 at 5 MHz
Units Sold
Power	90–137V or 190–270V AC, 47–63 Hz; internally selected
Additional CPU	Optional Intel 8087 numeric coprocessor; Intel 8048 keyboard controller
Operating System	CP/M-86 or MS-DOS with Sirius/Victor-specific software
Expansion / I/O	Four internal expansion slots, two RS-232 serial ports, Centronics parallel port and two 8-bit user ports
Keyboard	Detached capacitive keyboard with numeric keypad, programmable function keys and an Intel 8048 controller
Storage	One or two variable-speed 5.25-inch floppy drives; 600KB single-sided or 1.2MB double-sided per drive; optional 10MB or 30MB hard disk
Sound	CVSD voice and audio system with approximately 16 kHz sampling
Colours	Monochrome green
Graphics	Up to 800 x 400 pixels using a Hitachi 46505 display controller
Display	Built-in 12-inch green-phosphor CRT; 80 x 25 or 132 x 50 text
ROM	8KB boot and diagnostic ROM, plus 4KB display RAM
RAM	128KB or 256KB standard; expandable to 896KB
CPU Speed	5 MHz