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Influence of the IBM PC on the personal computer market


Following the introduction of the IBM Personal Computer, or IBM PC, many other personal computer architectures became extinct within just a few years.

Before the IBM PC was introduced, the personal computer market was dominated by systems using the 6502 and Z80 8-bit microprocessors, such as the TRS 80, Commodore PET and Apple II series, which used proprietary operating systems, and by computers running CP/M. After IBM introduced the IBM PC, it was not until 1984 that IBM PC and clones became the dominant computers. In 1983, Byte forecast that by 1990, IBM would command only 11% of business computer sales. Commodore was predicted to hold a slim lead in a highly competitive market, at 11.9%.

Around 1978, several 16-bit CPUs became available. Examples included the Data General mN601, Fairchild's 9440, the Ferranti F100-1, the General Instrument CP1600 and CP1610, the National Semiconductor INS8900, Panafacom's MN1610,Texas Instruments' TMS9900, and, most notably, the Intel 8086. These new processors were expensive to incorporate in personal computers, as they used a 16-bit data bus and needed rare (and thus expensive) 16-bit peripheral and support chips.


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