Torch Triple X

The Torch Triple X was a clean-sheet British Unix workstation built around an 8MHz Motorola 68010. Its compact circular modular chassis combined 1MB of RAM, floppy and hard-disk storage with an unusually broad set of communications interfaces.

Uniplus+ Unix System V, Ethernet and X.25 made the workstation attractive to technical and academic users. A touch-sensitive power control could initiate an orderly software shutdown before switching off the hardware.

Notable Features

• Circular modular enclosure accepted additional drive or VME expansion rings.
• Integrated Ethernet and X.25 networking alongside SCSI and serial interfaces.
• Touch-sensitive soft power button coordinated shutdown through a service processor.

Historical Significance

• Torch’s first major workstation independent of the BBC Micro architecture.
• Approximately 1,200 Triple X and successor systems formed a small but notable British Unix installed base.

Collector’s Notes

• Monitor power and data travelled through a proprietary single-cable arrangement.
• Storage rings, network hardware and original Unix media are important to a complete system.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Torch Triple X
Manufacturer	Torch Computers
Launched	Wednesday, January 1, 1986
Launch Price	£3,995
Country	United Kingdom
CPU	Motorola 68010 at 8 MHz
Units Sold
Operating System	Uniplus+ Unix System V with OpenTop environment
I/O	Ethernet, X.25, RS-423, SCSI, VME and BBC-compatible 1MHz bus
Keyboard	Detached professional keyboard
Storage	720KB floppy and 20MB or 40MB hard disk; SCSI expansion
Sound	System audio; optional telephone voice facilities
Graphics	High-resolution bitmapped colour workstation graphics
Display	10-inch or 13-inch high-resolution colour monitor
ROM	System and Hitachi 6303 service-processor firmware
RAM	1MB standard; expandable to 7MB through VME
CPU Speed	8 MHz