List of IBM Personal Computer models

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The original IBM Personal Computer, with monitor and keyboard IBM PC-IMG 7271 (transparent).png
The original IBM Personal Computer, with monitor and keyboard

The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, spanned multiple models in its first generation (including the PCjr, the Portable PC, the XT, the AT, the Convertible, and the /370 systems, among others), from 1981 to 1987. It eventually gave way to many splintering product lines after IBM introduced the Personal System/2 in April 1987.

Contents

Notes

Legend
   ISA, 8-bit
   ISA, 16-bit
  Other

Models

Original line

Successor lines

Timeline

Timeline of the IBM Personal Computer
IBM ThinkCentreIBM NetVistaIBM Palm Top PC 110IBM PC SeriesIBM AptivaIBM PS/ValuePointThinkPadEduQuestIBM PS/noteAmbra Computer CorporationIBM PCradioIBM PS/1IBM Industrial SystemIBM PS/55IBM PS/2IBM Personal Computer XT 286IBM PC ConvertibleIBM JXIBM Personal Computer AT/370IBM Personal Computer ATIBM Industrial ComputerIBM PCjrIBM Portable Personal ComputerIBM Personal Computer XT/370IBM 3270 PCIBM Personal Computer XTIBM 5550IBM Personal ComputerIBM System/23 DatamasterIBM 5120IBM 5110IBM 5100List of IBM Personal Computer models
Asterisk (*) denotes a model released in Japan only

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industry Standard Architecture</span> Internal expansion bus in early PC compatibles

Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) is the 16-bit internal bus of IBM PC/AT and similar computers based on the Intel 80286 and its immediate successors during the 1980s. The bus was (largely) backward compatible with the 8-bit bus of the 8088-based IBM PC, including the IBM PC/XT as well as IBM PC compatibles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tandy 1000</span> IBM PC compatible home computer system

The Tandy 1000 is the first in a line of IBM PC compatible home computer systems produced by the Tandy Corporation for sale in its Radio Shack and Radio Shack Computer Center chains of stores. Introduced in 1984, the product line was aimed at providing affordable but capable systems for home computing or education, with some of its Tandy specific features like graphics, sound and joystick port making it more appealing for home use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expansion card</span> Circuit board for connecting to a computer system to add functionality

In computing, an expansion card is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or expansion slot on a computer's motherboard to add functionality to a computer system. Sometimes the design of the computer's case and motherboard involves placing most of these slots onto a separate, removable card. Typically such cards are referred to as a riser card in part because they project upward from the board and allow expansion cards to be placed above and parallel to the motherboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micro Channel architecture</span>

Micro Channel architecture, or the Micro Channel bus, is a proprietary 16- or 32-bit parallel computer bus introduced by IBM in 1987 which was used on PS/2 and other computers until the mid-1990s. Its name is commonly abbreviated as "MCA", although not by IBM. In IBM products, it superseded the ISA bus and was itself subsequently superseded by the PCI bus architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM PS/2</span> Second generation of personal computers by IBM

The Personal System/2 or PS/2 is IBM's second generation of personal computers. Released in 1987, it officially replaced the IBM PC, XT, AT, and PC Convertible in IBM's lineup. Many of the PS/2's innovations, such as the 16550 UART, 1440 KB 3.5-inch floppy disk format, 72-pin SIMMs, the PS/2 port, and the VGA video standard, went on to become standards in the broader PC market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM Personal Computer AT</span> IBM personal computer released in 1984

The IBM Personal Computer AT was released in 1984 as the fourth model in the IBM Personal Computer line, following the IBM PC/XT and its IBM Portable PC variant. It was designed around the Intel 80286 microprocessor.

The System 9000 (S9000) is a family of microcomputers from IBM consisting of the System 9001, 9002, and 9003. The first member of the family, the System 9001 laboratory computer, was introduced in May 1982 as the IBM Instruments Computer System Model 9000. It was renamed to the System 9001 in 1984 when the System 9000 family name and the System 9002 multi-user general-purpose business computer was introduced. The last member of the family, the System 9003 industrial computer, was introduced in 1985. All members of the System 9000 family did not find much commercial success and the entire family was discontinued on 2 December 1986. The System 9000 was based around the Motorola 68000 microprocessor and the Motorola VERSAbus system bus. All members had the IBM CSOS real-time operating system (OS) stored on read-only memory; and the System 9002 could also run the multi-user Microsoft Xenix OS, which was suitable for business use and supported up to four users.

Since the rise of the personal computer in the 1980s, IBM and other vendors have created PC-based IBM-compatible mainframes which are compatible with the larger IBM mainframe computers. For a period of time PC-based mainframe-compatible systems had a lower price and did not require as much electricity or floor space. However, they sacrificed performance and were not as dependable as mainframe-class hardware. These products have been popular with mainframe developers, in education and training settings, for very small companies with non-critical processing, and in certain disaster relief roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compaq Deskpro 386</span> PC compatible computers made by Compaq

The Deskpro 386 is a line of desktop computers in Compaq's Deskpro range of IBM PC compatibles. The computers feature Intel's 32-bit 80386 microprocessor. Introduced in September 1986, the Deskpro 386 is the first implementation of the 80386 processor in a computer system for sale to the public. It also marks the first time that a major component of the IBM Personal Computer de facto standard was updated by a company other than IBM themselves—in this case, upgrading from the 80286 processor of the Personal Computer/AT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reply Corporation</span> American computer company

Reply Corporation, often shortened to Reply Corp., was an American computer company based in San Jose, California. Founded in 1988 by Steve Petracca, the company licensed the Micro Channel architecture from IBM for their own computers released in 1989, competing against IBM's PS/2 line. The company later divested from offering complete systems in favor of marketing motherboard upgrades for older PS/2s. Reply enjoyed a close relationship with IBM, owing to many of its founding employees, including Petracca, having worked for IBM. The company was acquired by Radius in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM PS/2 Model 30</span> 1987 IBM desktop computer

The Personal System/2 Model 30 and Personal System/2 Model 30 286 are IBM's entry-level desktop computers in their Personal System/2 (PS/2) family of personal computers. As opposed to higher-end entries in the PS/2 line which use Micro Channel bus architecture, the Model 30 features an Industry Standard Architecture bus, allowing it to use expansion cards from its direct predecessors, the PC/XT and the PC/AT. The original PS/2 Model 30 is built upon the Intel 8086 microprocessor clocked at 8 MHz; the Model 30 286 features the Intel 80286 clocked at 10 MHz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM PS/2 Model 25</span> Personal computers

The Personal System/2 Model 25 and its later submodels the 25 286 and 25 SX are IBM's lowest-end entries in the Personal System/2 (PS/2) family of personal computers. Like its sibling the Model 30, the Model 25 features an Industry Standard Architecture bus, allowing it to use expansion cards from its direct predecessors, the PC/XT and the PC/AT—but not from higher entries in the PS/2 line, which use Micro Channel. Unlike all other entries in the PS/2 line, the Model 25 and its submodels are built into an all-in-one form factor, with its cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitor and system board occupying the same enclosure. IBM oriented the Model 25 at home office workers and students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aox Inc.</span> American technology corporation

Aox Inc. was a privately run American technology corporation founded by Michael and Linda Aronson in 1978. Over the course of its 22-year lifespan, the company chiefly developed software and hardware for IBM's PC and compatibles, for the Personal System/2, and for the Macintosh. In its twilight years, the company designed multimedia and teleconferencing devices and chip designs. Aox was founded after Michael Aronson graduated from Harvard University with a doctorate in physics; he stayed with the company until 2000, when he incorporated EndPoints Inc. and switched to full-time fabless semiconductor design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumulus Corporation</span> American computer company

Cumulus Corporation was an American computer peripheral and system manufacturer active from 1987 to 1993. Based in Beachwood, Ohio and started by Tecmar founder Martin Alpert, the company set out to exclusively manufacture expansion products for IBM's Personal System/2 (PS/2) family of computers—mainly RAM expansion cards. It later released cross-platform CPU upgrade cards and memory expansion cards for other platforms besides the PS/2. Beginning in 1990, the company began trading as Cumulus Computer Corporation and began releasing complete systems of their own. Initially a success story for the tech industry in Cleveland, a botched stock launch in 1992 proved disastrous for the company's ailing cash flow situation, and in 1993 the company was liquidated amid massive debt to suppliers and lenders.

Intertec Data Systems Corporation, later Wells American Corporation, was an American computer company active from 1973 to 1991 and based in Columbia, South Carolina.

Pronto Computers, Inc., was an American computer company based in Torrance, California, active from 1983 to 1987. During its brief existence, the company released a duo of IBM PC compatible computer systems and a family of high-spec graphics cards. Pronto's first product, the System 16, was widely lauded for its graphical prowess and industrial design; in 1983, I.D. magazine named it the best-designed product in the field of instrumentation and equipment. The System 16 was followed up with the Pronto Transportable Solution, a portable computer. Both it and the Pronto 16 ran the Intel 80186, a microprocessor seldom used in IBM PC compatibles. Pronto Computers went bankrupt shortly after the Black Monday financial crisis of 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonos</span> Defunct American computer systems company

Jonos International, Inc., originally Jonos, Ltd. (JL), later Netcom Research, Inc., was an American computer company active from 1980 to 1992. The company sold a variety of computer hardware products and systems, including STD Bus peripherals, smart terminals, microcomputers, and portable computers. The company's Courier portable computer was the first microcomputer sold with Sony's then-new 3.5-inch floppy disk drives on its release in June 1982. Jonos' systems were widely used in the fields of construction, roadworks, machining, and military.

Innovation Computer Corporation was an American computer company based in the village of Cleveland, Wisconsin, and active from 1979 to the early 1990s. The company produced a number of clones of the IBM PC, as well as several expansions and peripherals, such as the SSI-2001 sound card. Innovation was one of the first American personal computer companies to do business with the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, shortly before its dissolution in 1991.

References

General references

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Hogan, Thom (September 14, 1981). "IBM Announces New Microcomputer System". InfoWorld. IDG Publications. 3 (18): 1, 14 – via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 3 Staff writer (April 25, 1984). "Industrial-strength PC XT". UPI.com. United Press International. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "IBM Announcement Letter Number 185-053: IBM 7531 Industrial Computer". International Business Machines Corporation. May 21, 1985. Archived from the original on June 24, 2007 – via 9999hp.net.
  4. ↑ "IBM unveils entry-level 5531 model". Computerworld. IDG Publications. XIX (17): 48. April 29, 1985 – via Google Books.
  5. 1 2 "IBM 7552 Industrial Computer Model 540 Announcement Letter". Industrial Business Machines. November 3, 1987. Retrieved September 29, 2021– via Ardent Tool.
  6. 1 2 Kono, M. E. (December 1992). Surface Computer System Architecture for the Advanced Unmanned Search System (AUSS) (PDF). Naval Command, Control and Ocean Surveillance Center. p. 3 – via Ardent Tool.
  7. 1 2 Wallace, Bob (October 20, 1986). "IBM uncloaks industrial micro as network gateway". Network World. IDG Publications. 3 (33) – via Google Books.
  8. 1 2 Cleaveland, Peter (April 21, 1987). "Low-cost, flexible microcomputers get jobs in factories". Instrumentation & Control Systems. Reed Business Information Enterprise. 61 (5): 31 – via Gale OneFile. IBM doesn't advertise the PS/2 as a factory-floor machine, yet the PS/2's backplane bus structure, Micro Channel, appeared in a factory-floor computer before the PS/2 itself came on the market. People who examined the IBM 7552 Gearbox, ostensibly a factory-hardened version of the AT, notice something odd about the unit's bus: It had more bus lines than could be accounted for by the AT bus. The extra lines turned out to be the 16-bit Micro Channel. Nobody at IBM said anything about it at the time, because PS/2 hadn't yet been introduced.
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