Acorn A7000

The A7000 and A7000+ were Acorn Computers' entry level computers based somewhat on the Risc PC architecture.

Launched in 1995, the A7000 was considered a successor to the A5000, fitting into Acorn's range between the A4000 and Risc PC600, featuring a 32 MHz ARM7500 system-on-a-chip (SoC) and either 2 MB, 4 MB or 8 MB of RAM soldered to the motherboard, with a single memory slot permitting up to 128 MB of additional RAM. In performance terms, the A7000 was described as being three to four times faster than the A4000 and slightly faster than a Risc PC 600 model without video RAM fitted, also having comparable MIPS and Dhrystone performance ratings to 66 MHz Intel 486DX2 systems.

Unlike the Risc PC, the A7000 had been "designed with the rigours of school life in mind", aiming for "a 7-year classroom lifespan". The machine's case was similar to the Acorn Online Media set-top box design incorporating the same SoC, and the product was considered to have been "created specifically to satisfy the education market".

The A7000+ was launched in 1997 and featured a 48 MHz ARM7500FE SoC, thus being "the first time an ARM-based Acorn has shipped with hardware floating point as standard". On-board RAM was upgraded to a standard 8 MB, with the same single memory slot capable of holding 128 MB of RAM, but with the memory speed doubled to 32 MHz from the 16 MHz of the A7000. This apparently brought the machine's general performance into line with a 40 MHz Risc PC700 with 1 MB of video RAM, permitting various display resolutions and colour depths that were not possible on the earlier model. Despite using a related SoC to the earlier model, the A7000+ was upgraded to the extent that it was apparently almost sold as the A8000.

After the discontinuation of Acorn's computer business in 1998, Castle Technology bought the rights to continue production of the A7000+.