Compupro System 8 16 Computer Portable -

The CompuPro System 8/16 was not a mass-market computer. It was a precision tool for power users who refused to compromise. By marrying the Z80 and 8086 on the versatile S-100 bus, it offered a glimpse of a future where processor architecture was transparent to the user. That future did not come to pass – instead, we got binary compatibility and backward emulation. But for a few glorious years in the early 1980s, the System 8/16 was the undisputed king of the CP/M world, a dual-processor marvel that let you have your 8-bit cake and eat 16-bit performance too.

| Feature | Detail | |---------|--------| | | Z80A (4-6 MHz) + Intel 8086 (8 MHz) | | Bus | S-100 / IEEE 696 | | RAM | 64KB – 16MB (bank-switched) | | Storage | Dual 5.25" floppy + optional MFM/RLL hard drive | | OS | CP/M 2.2/3.0, CP/M-86, Concurrent CP/M-86, MP/M-86 | | I/O | RS-232 serial, Centronics parallel | | Year introduced | 1982 | | Base price | ~$4,000 (without drives/terminal) | compupro system 8 16 computer

DEC was the mini-computer king, but their desktop offerings were proprietary nightmares. The CompuPro used open S-100 standards. You could buy a hard disk controller from Morrow Designs and a video card from Cromemco and stuff them into a CompuPro. That "plug and pray" flexibility was a hacker’s paradise. The CompuPro System 8/16 was not a mass-market computer

128 KB standard, expandable to 1 MB or more using high-speed static RAM. That future did not come to pass –