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.
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