The DEUCE was an early British Computer manufactured by the ENGLISH ELECTRIC COMPANY over 50 years ago.

This website has been established for the benefit of those interested in studying computer history of the early 1950's. The full text of the original DEUCE Logical Design Manual and Programming Manuals are presented here together with the memories of those who built, programmed, operated and fixed the DEUCE when it broke down. There are photos of DEUCE program sheets, input media, component parts, of DEUCE itself and the people who worked on, and in, this historic computer.

For a brief description of DEUCE, the R.A.E. Programming Handbook Part I.2 gives an excellent contemporary introduction to the machine, while the E.E. Logical Design Manual, Chapter 1, gives a more detailed technical description.

The table below compares the specifications of a Windows Home Desktop Pentium 4 PC available in the UK in October 2003 with those of the DEUCE of 1955.

Bear in mind that some comparisons are rather difficult to make in view of the vastly different technologies involved. For example, the term BYTE, representing an 8 bit computer word, which is used today as a measurement of both memory size and hard disk capacity, did not exist back in 1955. The DEUCE employed a 32 bit word and for this comparison this is treated as 4 bytes.

John Barrett - May 01, 2004 - Revised November 10, 2004

Pentium 4 Desktop PC Deuce-Floor mounted computer
Active elements 42,000,000 Transistors 1,450 Thermionic Valves
Clock rate 500 MHZ System bus 1 MHZ
Additions per second 600,000,000 30,300
Mode Parallel Serial
Memory 256 MB Semiconductor 1.6 KB Acoustic - Mercury
Backing Store 40 GB Magnetic Hard Disk 32 KB Magnetic Drum
-- Rotation Speed 7200 Revs Per Minute 6510 Revs Per Minute
Monitor 17 inch Colour CRT 2 X 6 inch monochrome CRT
Input - Manual 110 key QWERTY keyboard 32 Input Dynamisiser toggle switches
-- Automatic 48 X - CD /RW 200 CPM Hollerith Card Reader
-- Transfer rate 7.2 MB per second 1,400 9 digit decimal numbers per minute
Output Inkjet colour printer 100 CPM Hollerith Card Punch.
-- Transfer rate 10 pages per minute 700 9 digit numbers per minute
Operating System Windows XP Home NONE
Software Word, MS Works, etc User contributed subroutine library
Case Mini Tower - Beige Steel Massive Cabinet - Battleship Grey Steel
Dimensions
 --- Length ----- Breadth ----- Height
---- 16in ---------- 7in ---------- 13in
--- 406mm -----177mm ----- 330mm		 --- Length ----- Breadth ----- Height
-- 14ft 0in ------ 4ft 6in ------ 6ft 11in
-- 4267mm ----1371mm ---- 2108mm
Weight 70lbs ---- 31.75 Kg 2632 lbs --- (1ton - 3cwt - 2qtr) --- 1193.85 Kg
Power Supply Internal External
-- Voltages +12V +5V –5V –12V DC +300V +200V +100V –100V –200V –300V DC
6.3V AC
-- High Current 5Volts @ 40 Amps 6.3Volts @ 400 Amps
-- Power Consumption 300 Watts 9,000 Watts
-- Power Requirements 240 Volts single phase 50 Hertz AC 440 Volts 3 phase 50 Hertz AC
-- Ventilation Requirements 20 cu. ft. per min. (Internal fan) 2000 cu. ft. per min. (External fan)
-- Space Required 4 sq. ft. desk area 92 sq. ft. floor area
Price 600 UK Pounds 50,000 UK Pounds
Total Sales 1,000,000,000 (PCs April 2000) 33 - From 1955 to 1964

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