{"id":19865,"date":"2024-11-07T14:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T19:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/?page_id=19865"},"modified":"2026-06-19T15:22:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T19:22:49","slug":"vin4","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin4\/","title":{"rendered":"Cromenco System Three"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Cromenco System Three\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
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Vintage Computing Collection<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Cromenco System Three<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

[Vin4]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"First<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Cromemco System Three, introduced in 1979, was a high-end, rack-mounted microcomputer featuring a robust S-100 bus architecture with a 21-slot motherboard, allowing substantial expansion. It ran a Z-80A CPU at 4 MHz, with some models optionally including a Motorola 68000, supporting multi-user operation via the UNIX-like CROMIX OS. Its memory expandable up to 4 MB, dual 8-inch floppy drives, and professional usage made it popular in military and broadcast environments. Notably, the System Three supported the Cromemco Dazzler, introduced in 1976, the world’s first colour graphics card for microcomputers. The Dazzler produced composite NTSC video output, enabling color displays on TVs and monitors, which was groundbreaking at the time and helped drive Cromemco systems into television broadcast and other graphical applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cromenco<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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