IBM Personal Computer
IBM unveils the Model 5150 Personal Computer
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗The $1,565 machine IBM unveiled had 16 KB of memory and no disk drive. Adding a display, two diskette drives and a printer cost nearly $3,000 more.
The Waldorf, 12 August 1981
On 12 August 1981, Don Estridge unveiled IBM's new Personal Computer, model 5150, at New York's Waldorf Hotel, bringing IBM into the mass-market personal-computer business.
The announced entry configuration cost US$1,565 with 16 KB of RAM and no disk drive. A display, two diskette drives and a printer added nearly $3,000.
What was inside, and what was published
The machine ran a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088. Microsoft supplied the operating system IBM marketed as PC DOS.
IBM also published unusually extensive technical information, meant to help outside companies build software and peripherals. That did not put everything in the public domain — compatible makers still had to avoid copying protected BIOS code.
A year from pitch to podium
William C. Lowe had pitched IBM leadership on a roughly $1,500 consumer and small-business computer before development passed to Estridge. Project Chess ran a one-year crash program built around available third-party components.
Apple, Radio Shack and Commodore were already selling personal computers. What was new was IBM's entry, with an official product, price and a dealer strategy spanning IBM outlets, Sears and ComputerLand.
Sources
Researched 23 Aug 2026 4 sources 2 audit passes
How this was checked
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