Draft:Felix PC
Widely used computer system from Romania
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The Felix PC was an IBM PC-compatible microcomputer developed as a laboratory model at the Politehnica University of Bucharest (Computer Science Department) between 1983 and 1984 by Prof. Adrian Petrescu's team,[1] then taken over by ICE Felix for series production from 1985 to 1990.[2][3] It was the first personal computer produced in Romania.[1] A comparable system was the Junior manufactured by FEPER.
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The Felix PC was part of a broader effort across Comecon countries to develop indigenous IBM PC-compatible machines. By the late 1980s, nearly every Eastern Bloc state was producing its own IBM PC clone with little coordination between them.[4][5][4] Adrian Petrescu's team at Politehnica had previously developed the Felix MC (1974) and would go on to design the HC 85 home computer (1985), establishing a sustained university–industry partnership with ICE Felix that spanned more than a decade.[1]
Hardware
The Felix PC had a modular design and could be configured as either an 8-bit or 16-bit system, depending on the microprocessor used (Intel 8088 or Intel 8086).[2] Its modular architecture allowed it to serve both as a general-purpose computer and in specialised applications with appropriate hardware extensions.
The base module included:
- Intel 8086/8088 processor with optional Intel 8087 math coprocessor;
- 256 KB RAM;
- 8–64 KB EPROM;
- disk controller for 5¼- or 8-inch floppy disk drives;
- interfaces for keyboard, serial printer, asynchronous/synchronous communication, cassette recorder, and tone generator;
- real-time clock, programmable counters, interrupt system, DMA channel;
- expansion slots and peripheral connectors.
The system clock ran at 5 MHz (machine cycle 800 ns, I/O cycle 1 μs). The optional Intel 8087 coprocessor accelerated floating-point operations by approximately two orders of magnitude.[2]
Over the course of production, the Felix PC was supplied with CGA, Hercules, and EGA graphics cards. From 1988, configurations with 20 MB Winchester hard drives were also available.[2]
Price: 150,000 lei (1988).
Software
The software platform was based on IBM PC DOS and MS-DOS (versions 3.0–3.3) and included:[2]
- system programs for user interface, file management, and diagnostics;
- execution and debugging tools;
- assembler and BASIC translator;
- BASIC interpreter with graphics functions;
- development environments for Pascal, C, Prolog, Edison, and Modula-2;
- application software for CAD, word processing, databases, data acquisition, graphics, and accounting.
Compatibility with established systems (IBM PC XT, IBM PS/2 Model 30, Sanyo 550, Olivetti M24, and others) ensured access to a wide range of available software.