Definition: IBM PC

A PC that was made by IBM. In 1981, the first IBM PC was introduced. However, the company was not terribly optimistic, projecting that 250,000 machines would be sold in five years. In fact, three million were shipped, and the PC industry, first DOS and later Windows, would become the world's largest computer base.

Good Bye IBM PC
In 2004, IBM exited the desktop and laptop arena when it sold its personal computer division to Lenovo, a major Chinese PC manufacturer. IBM retained its System x servers until 2014, when Lenovo acquired that line as well (see System x).

Names and Numbers
IBM PCs were named PC, XT and AT, while its next-generation PS/2 line was given model numbers. For historical purposes, early IBM models are listed below. See PC, IBM-compatible PC, IBM XT, IBM AT, ThinkPad, IBM and Lenovo.

The Original IBM PC

The first IBM PC had two floppy disks and 16KB of RAM. Today, desktop computers can have 100,000 times as much RAM and more. (Image courtesy of IBM.)

IBM PS/2 Model 50

The PS/2 introduced the Micro Channel bus, VGA graphics and the 3.5" floppy disk. See IBM PS/2. (Image courtesy of IBM.)

IBM ThinkPad

Very popular, IBM's ThinkPads introduced novel features such as the pointing stick and Butterfly keyboard. This model 755CD came out in 1994. See ThinkPad. (Image courtesy of IBM.)

 FIRST GENERATION - IBM PC

             Year
 Model       Intro. CPU   Features

 PC (#1)     1981   8088  floppy disk
 XT          1983   8088  slow HD
 XT 286      1986    286  slow HD
 XT/370      1983   8088  370 emulation
 AT          1984    286  hard disk
 3270 PC     1983   8088  3270 emulation
 PCjr        1983   8088  floppy home use
 PC Portable 1984   8088  floppy portable
 Convertible 1986   8088  floppy laptop


 SECOND GENERATION - IBM PS/2
 Unless otherwise noted, models
 used the Micro Channel bus.

          Year
 Model    Intro. CPU  Features

 25       1987   8086, PC bus
 30       1987   8086, PC bus
 30-286   1988   286, ISA bus
 35 LS    1991   386SX, ISA, diskless
 35 SX    1991   386SX, ISA
 L40 SX   1991   386SX, ISA, laptop
 40 SX    1991   386SX, ISA
 N45 SL          386SL notebook
 50       1987   286
 50 Z     1988   286, faster 50
 N51 SX   1992   386SX, notebook
 N51 SLC  1992   386SLC, notebook
 55 SX    1989   386SX
 55 LS    1990   386SX, diskless
 56 SLC   1992   386SLC
 56 SX    1992   386SX, upgradable
 57 SLC   1992   386SLC
 57 SX    1991   386SX, 2.88MB floppy
 CL57 SX  1992   386SX, notebook
 60       1987   286
 65       1990   386SX
 70       1988   386
 70 486   1989   486
 P70      1989   386 portable
 P75 486  1990   486 portable, 22 lbs.
 76       1994   486SX & DX, OS/2, SCSI
 76i      1994   486SX, OS/2, IDE drive
 77       1994   DX4, OS/2, SCSI, ECC RAM
 77i      1994   DX4, OS/2, IDE, ECC RAM
 80       1987   386, tower
 90       1990   486, XGA, SCSI
 90       1992   486DX2/66
 95       1990   486, tower
 90 SX    1991   486SX
 95 SX    1991   486SX, tower

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Definition: IBM PC