Multimedia PCs are a specific class of PCs that meet or exceed the Multimedia PC specification 1.0 (announced at the Microsoft Multimedia Developer's Conference in November, 1990). The “MPC” trademark indicates that the hardware complies with this specification. The minimum hardware requirements in this specification are listed below. (Your system may differ as various machines use more advanced hardware to provide higher quality sound and performance characteristics.)
Summary: CPU
80286 or compatible microprocessor running at 10Mhz
Summary: RAM
2 megabytes (MB) of RAM
Summary: Magnetic Storage
3.5-inch floppy disk drive, 1.44 MB capacity 30 MB hard drive
Summary: Optical Storage
CD-ROM with compact disc digital audio outputs and a data transfer rate of 150 kilobytes (K) per second
Summary: Audio
8-bit DAC (digital-analog converter), 22.05 and 11.025 kHz rate
8-bit ADC (analog-digital converter), 11.025 kHz rate, microphone level input
Music synthesizer capable of four or nine instrument synthesis
On-board analog audio mixing capabilities
Summary: Video
VGA color graphics adapter (16 or 256 color)
Summary: Input
101-key Keyboard Two button mouse
Summary: I/O
MIDI I/O ports
Serial port
Parallel port
Joystick port
A variety of hardware manufacturers provide fully integrated Multimedia PCs with these components already built in, or supply upgrade kits to transform a current 80286 computer into a Multimedia PC. The MPC trademark is one easy way to recognize whether computer hardware or software is compatible with Windows with Multimedia.