GEEKDEX #0680
Sinclair ZX Spectrum +3
Computers · Amstrad
The only floppy-based Spectrum — a built-in 3-inch drive replaced the cassette deck entirely, on the same black case the +2A/+2B later reused.
The ZX Spectrum +3 (1987) is the odd one out in the family: the only Spectrum with a built-in floppy drive rather than a cassette deck, using the same proprietary 3-inch disc format Amstrad already used on the CPC 6128 and the PCW word processors. It shares the +2A/+2B’s black case and ASIC-based motherboard, running a +3-specific ROM with +3DOS for disk access — the same ROM the +2A/+2B carry, just with a drive actually attached to make use of it. The 3-inch format was already an outlier by 1987, more expensive and less common than 3.5-inch drives, which limited how much disk-based commercial software ever appeared for it.
Reference photo: Wikimedia Commons (“ZX Spectrum Plus3.jpeg” by Frode Tennebø), Public Domain.
- Identity
Category Computers Manufacturer Amstrad Family ZX Spectrum Architecture 8-bit Released 1987 Region United Kingdom - Hardware
CPU Zilog Z80A @ 3.5469 MHz GPU Amstrad ASIC (gate array, shared with the +2A/+2B) RAM 128 KB VRAM 16 KB Storage 64 KB ROM; built-in 3-inch floppy disk drive (Amstrad's proprietary format, shared with the CPC 6128 and PCW) Display 256×192, 15 colours (attribute-based) Audio General Instrument AY-3-8912, 3-channel OS +3 BASIC / +3DOS (in ROM) Controllers 2× Sinclair/SJS joystick ports Expansion Standard Spectrum expansion bus Keyboard 58-key, extra row of BASIC keyword keys
- discovered
- researched
- seen
- wanted
- tested
- owned