IBM Introduces the PS/2 Family of Personal Computers in 1987

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1987: IBM Introduces the PS/2 Family of Personal Computers

IBM introduced their Personal System 2 computer line on April 2, 1987 ranging in price from $2595 to $10,895. The initial offering consisted of four models: the PS/2 Model 8530 with a 8 MHz 8086, the Models 8550 and 8560 with 10 MHz 80286 processors, and the Model 8580 with a 20 MHz 80386. At the same time the OS/2 operating system came out, but most buyers continued to use DOS. The PS/2 line came with a mouse, and IBM hoped to regain market share by implementing a proprietary bus architecture called Micro Channel or MCA. The problem was the rest of the PC industry stuck with the existing ISA bus, so IBM never succeeded in getting back the large market share they had in the early years of the PC.

In August 1987 IBM introduced the all-in-one Model 8525 at a price of $2595, which allowing for the plain beige case, 8 MHz 8086 processor, and floppy drive was somewhat similar to Apple's iMac computer released 11 years later.

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