Photo: MCST

Russia’s commitment to “import substitution” has helped domestic computer manufacturers achieve a new feat: the first-ever personal computer built with a Russian processor. The machine, named the ARM Elbrus-401, first went on sale on May 5 for the low price of 200,000 rubles (about $4,000). ARM (Russian: АРМ) stands for “automated workplace”.

The computer’s maker, the Moscow Center of SPARC Technologies (MCST), a microprocessor company established in 1992, told the website TJournal that the device’s price would drop significantly by the end of the year, when mass production begins.

The ARM Elbrus-401 uses a quad Elbrus-4C microprocessor with a clock rate of 800 MHz, capable of a peak vector performance of 50 gigaflops. The computer comes installed with a 1-terabyte SATA 2.0 hard disk and an AMD Radeon 6000 graphics card.

For now, orders are only available to businesses.