1.1 --- a/Electron.txt Wed May 17 16:52:59 2023 +0200
1.2 +++ b/Electron.txt Tue Mar 05 18:28:22 2024 +0100
1.3 @@ -158,12 +158,17 @@
1.4 May 1985 $3.94 $3.74 (multiples of 8)
1.5 October 1986 $1.25 $1.15
1.6
1.7 +Volume industry pricing, as opposed to retail pricing, may have been
1.8 +substantially lower still. One source ("High technology international trade
1.9 +and competition") states that mid-1982 prices were $5.50 - $7.00 for 64Kbit
1.10 +parts, but these had fallen to $3.50 - $5.00 by the end of 1982.
1.11 +
1.12 Other contemporary microcomputers offered 64K RAM using 4164 parts, such as
1.13 -the Sony SMC-70 and, more pertinently, the Atari 800XL. The latter of these
1.14 -appears to have employed 150ns-rated parts - eight as indicated above - and
1.15 -may have had a broadly similar production cost to the Electron. Meanwhile, the
1.16 -AT&T Unix PC (featured in Byte, May 1985) employed 64 4164 parts to provide
1.17 -512K RAM.
1.18 +the Sony SMC-70 and, more pertinently, the Oric 1 and the Atari 800XL. The
1.19 +latter of these appears to have employed 150ns-rated parts - eight as
1.20 +indicated above - and may have had a broadly similar production cost to the
1.21 +Electron. Meanwhile, the AT&T Unix PC (featured in Byte, May 1985) employed 64
1.22 +4164 parts to provide 512K RAM.
1.23
1.24 The Acorn Customer Service manual for dealers, "Information Volume 1",
1.25 includes Acorn's pricing for memory for the different computers in their
1.26 @@ -176,6 +181,12 @@
1.27
1.28 http://www.4corn.co.uk/archive/docs/Acorn%20Information%20-%20Volume%201-opt.pdf
1.29
1.30 +Sinclair used the 32-kilobit TMS4532 part in the ZX Spectrum, this being a
1.31 +64-kilobit device with defects that only permit the use of half of the
1.32 +originally intended capacity. Such parts do seem to have been sold, although
1.33 +not particularly widely. Watford Electronics listed the price of a 4532-3 part
1.34 +in April 1983 as being £3.50.
1.35 +
1.36 Support Components and Economic Considerations
1.37 ----------------------------------------------
1.38
1.39 @@ -205,20 +216,33 @@
1.40 Indeed, it is worth investigating anticipated costs and savings given the
1.41 pricing of dynamic RAM at different times:
1.42
1.43 - 4 * 4164 (32K) 8 * 4164 (64K)
1.44 -1981 $200 $400
1.45 -1982/01 $80 $160
1.46 -1982/04 $60 $120
1.47 -1983 $28 $56
1.48 -1985 $10 $20
1.49 + 4 * 4164 (32K) 8 * 4164 (64K)
1.50 + Retail Volume Retail Volume
1.51 +1981 $200/£100 $400/£199
1.52 +1982/01 $80 /£46 $160/£91
1.53 +1982/04 $60 /£34 $120/£69
1.54 +Mid-1982 $28/£16 $56/£32
1.55 +End-1982 $20/£11 $40/£23
1.56 +1983 $28 /£18 $56 /£37
1.57 +1985 $10 /£8 $20 /£16
1.58 +
1.59 +Here, the Wikipedia {{ToUSD|1|GBR|year=...|round=no}} template has been used
1.60 +to generate the following conversion table, used for the UK currency values
1.61 +above:
1.62 +
1.63 +1981 $2.01
1.64 +1982 $1.75
1.65 +1983 $1.52
1.66 +1984 $1.33
1.67 +1985 $1.28
1.68
1.69 Clearly, the Electron would have been an expensive machine in 1981 had it been
1.70 -designed around 64Kbit dynamic RAM. With 1982 pricing, the RAM chips would
1.71 -have accounted for a considerable proportion of the machine's cost even with
1.72 -the use of only 4 memory chips, and it is probable that the design strategy
1.73 -may have been informed by the pricing at this time. With 1983 pricing, even
1.74 -early in the year, it becomes apparent that the cost savings of using 4 memory
1.75 -chips are becoming marginal.
1.76 +designed around 64Kbit dynamic RAM. With early 1982 pricing, the RAM chips
1.77 +would have accounted for a considerable proportion of the machine's cost even
1.78 +with the use of only 4 memory chips, and it is probable that the design
1.79 +strategy may have been informed by the pricing at this time. With 1983
1.80 +pricing, even early in the year, it becomes apparent that the cost savings of
1.81 +using 4 memory chips are becoming much less significant.
1.82
1.83 Indeed, combining the cost of 8 memory chips in 1983 with those of the
1.84 eliminated chips yields costs as much as or less than the 4-chip product at