IBM PC compatible

<p>An IBM PC compatible is any <a href="/facts/Personal_computer/koaYfNce">personal computer</a> that is <a href="/facts/Computer_hardware/8jSjsCNv">hardware</a>- and <a href="/facts/Software/RP79lVSW">software</a>-compatible with the <a href="/facts/IBM_Personal_Computer/yhcJGMPL">IBM Personal Computer</a> (IBM PC) and its <a href="/facts/List_of_IBM_Personal_Computer_models/TMbssamV">subsequent models</a>. Like the original IBM PC, an IBM PC–compatible computer uses an <a href="/facts/X86/Kypq5fgu">x86</a>-based <a href="/facts/Central_processing_unit/Jxp1bqMV">central processing unit</a>, sourced either from <a href="/facts/Intel/SMF0gJJX">Intel</a> or a <a href="/facts/Second_source/Ma2HVMbm">second source</a> like <a href="/facts/AMD/CB1G7QTb">AMD</a>, <a href="/facts/Cyrix/zPI6NhTm">Cyrix</a> or <a href="/facts/Intel_8086/sS9dlSdK">other vendors</a> such as <a href="/facts/Texas_Instruments/88NUhuHF">Texas Instruments</a>, <a href="/facts/Fujitsu/6e5gvNSa">Fujitsu</a>, <a href="/facts/OKI_(company)/cw6p0ctX">OKI</a>, <a href="/facts/Mitsubishi/ac1qkNMu">Mitsubishi</a> or <a href="/facts/NEC/YnlUsMBA">NEC</a> and is capable of using interchangeable commodity hardware such as <a href="/facts/Expansion_card/QkWAPnxJ">expansion cards</a>. Initially such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones, but the term "IBM PC compatible" is now a historical description only, as the vast majority of <a href="/facts/Microcomputers/ETW22UTv">microcomputers</a> produced since the 1990s are IBM compatible. <a href="/facts/IBM/QszA7nwd">IBM</a> itself no longer sells personal computers, <a href="/facts/Acquisition_of_the_IBM_PC_business_by_Lenovo/xL38yF8W">having sold its division</a> to <a href="/facts/Lenovo/4UNdKGUU">Lenovo</a> in 2005. "<a href="/facts/Wintel/tlsHpeke">Wintel</a>" is a similar description that is more commonly used for modern computers. 
</p><p>The designation "PC", as used in much of <a href="/facts/History_of_personal_computers/d4CGfyDL">personal computer history</a>, has not meant "personal computer" generally, but rather an x86 computer capable of running the same software that a contemporary IBM or Lenovo PC could. The term was initially in contrast to the variety of <a href="/facts/Home_computer/CDEPVd1T">home computer</a> systems available in the early 1980s, such as the <a href="/facts/Apple_II/se82CNvK">Apple II</a>, <a href="/facts/TRS-80/zNfQKxnQ">TRS-80</a>, and <a href="/facts/Commodore_64/3TPcKDbb">Commodore 64</a>. Later, the term was primarily used in contrast to <a href="/facts/Commodore_International/SlfXKbCN">Commodore</a>'s <a href="/facts/Amiga/60B3A9of">Amiga</a> and <a href="/facts/Apple_Inc./oTJYta3k">Apple</a>'s <a href="/facts/Mac_(computer)/8GhnXTK0">Macintosh</a> computers.
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IBM PC compatible open-in-new

IBM PC compatible