Z80 @ 3.5Mhz - 64KB ROM - 128K RAM

The ZX Spectrum +3 was an evolution, rather than a revolution, when it appeared in 1987 priced at £249. In place of the Spectrum +2's cassette drive, was a proprietary diskette drive - based on Amstrad's CPC 664 / 6128 systems. Because of the new diskette drive, the machine was fitted with ports once more for a cassette player - after all there was still a huge catalogue of thousands of games available. The ROM had to be increased by a further 32KB to accommodate the new disk operating system.

The menu system, layout and look resembled the +2. Internally though, with the ROM changes, came increased incompatibility with the original Spectrum, making lots of older 48K games simply not work. Even with the 48K mode, the changes internally were too much in some cases to make any difference.

There were other changes too, most notably the back to "black" look after the grey Spectrum +2. But also, subtly, the RGB port had changed it's configuration, so any monitor leads created to work with the Spectrum 128 or the +2 would be next to useless. Also the power socket had changed to fall in line, again, with the rest of the Amstrad computers. The Spectrum +3 remains one of the most collectable today despite it's problems, due to the fact that it is more likely to be in good condition, and because by plugging a cassette recorder into the side, it is immediately transformed into a Spectrum +2A as well.

Image source: Public Domain