IBM Personal Computer
The IBM Personal Computer, more commonly referred to as the IBM PC, is a line of desktop computers developed by Don Estridge and a team of engineers at IBM and first sold on 1981-08-12. Although this wasn't IBM's first foray into the home computer market, it became their first hugely successful home computer line which allowed them to wrest control from companies like Commodore Business Machines, Apple, and Atari who had dominated the American market up until that point. This allowed IBM to become the front-runner of home computers in the USA, despite the fact that their computers were inferior by most metrics. However, upon gaining much of the market, other companies began to produce cloned hardware, and, by the start of the 1990s, the IBM PC was just one of many companies producing essentially the same computer.
IBM PCs were primary designed for business use, and, because of that, the base model lacked graphic capabilities, color monitors, and sound beyond the PC speaker. However, they shipped with an Intel 8088 CPU which was much more powerful than the competitors, but they also cost three times as much!
IBM's Datamaster model was replaced by the IBM Personal Computer, but it was eventually superseded by the PS/2 line.
Contents
Personal
I used a couple of IBM PCs in my youth. The one I remember using most was owned by a friend from middle school. We usually played on his SNES, but, we usually played single-player RPGs, so the other person would get bored and play on the PC at the same time. I think it was an XT model with an EGA card and MS-DOS 5.0. I remember writing simple QBASIC programs on it.
I do not own, nor have I ever owned an IBM PC.
Models
IBM kept a continuous release of new models, all called "PCs," so there is no official demarcation for when the model ends, but I like to group the original PC with the AT and XT models since they are essentially compatible. The JX released for the Japanese and Australian markets was a bit later, but fits with the group. Below are the base models, but each featured a variety of upgrades to the CPU, RAM, drives, and display capabilities.
| Model | Model Number | Released | CPU | RAM | Hard Disk | Drives | Display | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC (Personal Computer) | 5150 | 1981-08-12 | 8088 4.77 MHz | 16 KB | None | None | Monochrome | None |
| XT (Extended Technology) | 5160 | 1983-03-08 | 8088 4.77 MHz | 128 KB | 10 MB | 5.25" floppy disk, 360 KB double-sided | Monochrome | None |
| AT (Advanced Technology) | 5170 | 1984-08-14 | 80286 6 MHz | 256 KB | 20 MB | 5.25" floppy disk, 1.2 MB high density | Monochrome | None |
| JX | 5511 | 1984-10-29 | 8088 4.77 MHz | 64 KB | None | 3.5" floppy disk, 360 KB double-sided | Enhanced Color Graphics Adapter | PCjr 3-Voice |
Hardware
To support the PC, IBM developed an assortment of hardware including:
- Monochrome Display Adapter
- Color Graphics Adapter
- Enhanced Color Graphics Adapter
- Enhanced Graphics Adapter
- PC Music Feature
- Professional Graphics Controller
Media
Manuals
Technical Reference.
Links
- minuszerodegrees.net - IBM PC manuals.
