Difference between revisions of "IBM Personal Computer"
m (TheAlmightyGuru moved page IBM PC to IBM Personal Computer) |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | The '''IBM Personal Computer''', more commonly referred to as the '''IBM PC''', is a line of desktop computers developed by [[Don Estridge]] with a team of engineers at [[IBM]] and introduced on 1981-08-12. Although this wasn't IBM's first foray into the home computer market, it was their first hugely successful home computer which allowed them to wrest control from companies like [[Commodore Business Machines]], [[Apple]], and [[Atari]] who had dominated the market. With its release, IBM was able to capture a huge share of the market and become the front-runner of home computers, despite the fact that their computers were inferior in nearly every conceivable metric. However, upon gaining much of the market, other companies began to produce cloned hardware, by the mid-1990s, the IBM PC was just one of many companies producing essentially the same computer. | + | [[Image:IBM 5150 PC - With 5151 Monitor.jpg|thumb|256x256px|An IBM Personal Computer model 5150.]] |
| + | |||
| + | The '''IBM Personal Computer''', more commonly referred to as the '''IBM PC''', is a line of desktop [[computer model|computers]] developed by [[Don Estridge]] with a team of engineers at [[IBM]] and introduced on 1981-08-12. Although this wasn't IBM's first foray into the home computer market, it was their first hugely successful home computer which allowed them to wrest control from companies like [[Commodore Business Machines]], [[Apple]], and [[Atari]] who had dominated the market. With its release, IBM was able to capture a huge share of the market and become the front-runner of home computers, despite the fact that their computers were inferior in nearly every conceivable metric. However, upon gaining much of the market, other companies began to produce cloned hardware, by the mid-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 faster processors and more memory than their competitors, but they also cost three times as much! | 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 faster processors and more memory than their competitors, but they also cost three times as much! | ||
| Line 10: | Line 12: | ||
==Models== | ==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. | + | 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. Below are the base models, but each featured a variety of upgrades to the CPU, RAM, drives, and video capabilities. |
{| class="wikitable sortable" | {| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| − | ! Model !! Model Number !! Released !! CPU !! RAM !! Hard Disk !! Drives !! | + | ! Model !! Model Number !! Released !! CPU !! RAM !! Hard Disk !! Drives !! Display |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | PC (Personal Computer) || 5150 || 1981-08-12 || 8088 4.77 MHz || 16 KB || None || | + | | PC (Personal Computer) || 5150 || 1981-08-12 || 8088 4.77 MHz || 16 KB || None || 5.25" Floppy or Cassette || [[Monochrome Display Adapter|Monochrome]] |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | XT (Extended Technology) || 5160 || 1983-03-08 || 8088 || 128 KB || 10 MB || 5.25" 360 KB Double-Sided Floppy || | + | | XT (Extended Technology) || 5160 || 1983-03-08 || 8088 4.77 MHz || 128 KB || 10 MB || 5.25" 360 KB Double-Sided Floppy || [[Monochrome Display Adapter|Monochrome]] |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | AT (Advanced Technology) || 5170 || 1984-08-14 || 80286 6 MHz || 256 KB || 20 MB || 5.25" 1.2 MB High Density Floppy || | + | | AT (Advanced Technology) || 5170 || 1984-08-14 || 80286 6 MHz || 256 KB || 20 MB || 5.25" 1.2 MB High Density Floppy || [[Monochrome Display Adapter|Monochrome]] |
|} | |} | ||
Revision as of 13:43, 17 March 2020
The IBM Personal Computer, more commonly referred to as the IBM PC, is a line of desktop computers developed by Don Estridge with a team of engineers at IBM and introduced on 1981-08-12. Although this wasn't IBM's first foray into the home computer market, it was their first hugely successful home computer which allowed them to wrest control from companies like Commodore Business Machines, Apple, and Atari who had dominated the market. With its release, IBM was able to capture a huge share of the market and become the front-runner of home computers, despite the fact that their computers were inferior in nearly every conceivable metric. However, upon gaining much of the market, other companies began to produce cloned hardware, by the mid-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 faster processors and more memory than their competitors, but they also cost three times as much!
Contents
Status
I do not own, nor have I ever owned an IBM PC.
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.
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. Below are the base models, but each featured a variety of upgrades to the CPU, RAM, drives, and video capabilities.
| Model | Model Number | Released | CPU | RAM | Hard Disk | Drives | Display |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC (Personal Computer) | 5150 | 1981-08-12 | 8088 4.77 MHz | 16 KB | None | 5.25" Floppy or Cassette | Monochrome |
| XT (Extended Technology) | 5160 | 1983-03-08 | 8088 4.77 MHz | 128 KB | 10 MB | 5.25" 360 KB Double-Sided Floppy | Monochrome |
| AT (Advanced Technology) | 5170 | 1984-08-14 | 80286 6 MHz | 256 KB | 20 MB | 5.25" 1.2 MB High Density Floppy | Monochrome |
Links
