IBM PS/2 Model 80

IBM announced the PS/2 Model 80 in April 1987, alongside the entire Personal System/2 line, which represented IBM's second generation of personal desktop computers after the original IBM PC was launched in 1981. The original PS/2 line-up included the low-end PS/2 Model 30, the midrange PS/2 Model 50, the higher-end PS/2 Model 60, and the highest-end Model 80.{{cite news | last=Hill | first=Tom | date=April 15, 1987 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/239031811/ | title=IBM playing the clone | work=The Ottawa Citizen | page=D10 | via=ProQuest}}{{cite news | last=Sanger | first=David E. | date=April 3, 1987 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/426459839/ | title=I.B.M. Offers a Blitz of New PC's | work=The New York Times | page=D1 | via=ProQuest}} All but the Model 80 were available to buy immediately that April; the first units of the PS/2 Model 80 were slated for a late 1987 release, but owing to delays in shipping the Model 60 in mass volume, the Model 80's release date was moved up{{cite magazine | last=LaPlante | first=Alice | date=May 25, 1987 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA89 | title=IBM's First 386 Machines to Ship Early | magazine=InfoWorld | volume=9 | issue=21 | pages=1, 89 | via=Gale}}{{rp|1}} to early July 1987 to fulfill demand.{{cite journal | last=Scannell | first=Ed | date=October 5, 1987 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FleaLHUel2IC&pg=PP99 | title=PS/2 Jostles PC Standards | work=Computerworld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=XXI | issue=40 | pages=S1, S3 | via=Google Books}}{{cite journal | last=Venditto | first=Gus | date=September 15, 1987 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sc4TnHAYBSUC&pg=PA33 | title=IBM's PS/2 Model 80 Delivers 16-MHz Speed for $6,995 | work=PC Magazine | publisher=Ziff-Davis | volume=6 | issue=15 | pages=33–34 | via=Google Books}}

The chief engineer behind the Model 80 was Mark Dean, who previously headed development of the PC AT and the ISA bus.{{cite web | last=Crothers | first=Brooke | date=August 10, 2011 | url=https://www.cnet.com/science/ibm-executive-says-pc-era-is-in-its-twilight/ | title=IBM executive says PC era is in its twilight | work=CNET | publisher=CBS Interactive | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601102124/https://www.cnet.com/science/ibm-executive-says-pc-era-is-in-its-twilight/ | archivedate=June 1, 2023}} The Model 80 was initially manufactured at IBM's facility in Boca Raton, Florida, along with the Model 30, Model 50, and Model 80. In early 1989, IBM moved manufacturing of PS/2s from Boca Raton to Raleigh, North Carolina, after having shut down their production lines reserved for computer systems in Florida to make way for other products. The new production lines in Raleigh featured a greater degree of factory automation, intended to hasten the production of computers. Significant defects engendered by this new machinery led to shortages of the Model 80 in 1989, however, which was then in high demand amid growing commercial interest in local area networking (LAN).{{cite magazine | last=LaPlante | first=Alice | date=April 24, 1989 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XToEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PP1 | title=Dealers Report Model 80 Shortage | magazine=InfoWorld | volume=11 | issue=17 | pages=1, 93 | via=Google Books}}{{rp|1}}

The PS/2 Model 80 was IBM's first personal computer to feature the 32-bit Intel 80386 processor. It was not, however, the first IBM PC–derived computer system to feature a 386 processor; that distinction belongs to Compaq's Deskpro 386, released in September 1986. The Deskpro 386 was the first implementation of the 80386 processor in a computer system for sale to the public,{{cite news | last=Lewis | first=Peter H. | date=October 22, 1989 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/427393197/ | title=The Race to Market a 486 Machine | work=The New York Times | page=A10 | via=ProQuest}} bringing the PC platform into the 32-bit era and earning Compaq a reputation as a standards-setter for IBM PC compatibility, rather than a follower of IBM's lead.{{cite news | last=Howlett | first=Karen | date=September 10, 1986 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/386252553/ | title=Compaq leapfrogs IBM with 386-model machines | work=The Globe and Mail | page=B14 | via=ProQuest}} InfoWorld ran the headline on the cover page of their September 15, 1986, issue: "Compaq Introduces 386 PC, Challenges IBM to Match It". In the article, Rod Canion, Compaq's CEO, was quoted warning IBM that they had six months to respond with a 386-based machine of their own lest they lose serious market share.{{cite magazine | last=Warner | first=Edward | date=September 15, 1986 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aS8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 | title=Compaq Introduces 386 PC, Challenges IBM to Match It | magazine=InfoWorld | volume=8 | issue=37 | pages=1, 8 | via=Google Books}}{{rp|1}} IBM envisioned the Model 80 as the premier machine for their forthcoming multi-user Operating System/2 (OS/2), co-developed by Microsoft and ultimately a market failure.{{cite magazine | last=Zachmann | first=William F. | date=March 14, 1988 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6j4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56 | title=IBM's 1987 PC Shipments Suggest Serious Problems with Its PS/2 Strategy | magazine=InfoWorld | volume=10 | issue=11 | page=56 | via=Google Books}}{{cite web | last=Edwards | first=Benj | date=July 9, 2012 | url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/465931/the_ibm_ps_2_25_years_of_pc_history.html | title=The IBM PS/2: 25 Years of PC History | work=PC World Online | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501010838/https://www.pcworld.com/article/465931/the_ibm_ps_2_25_years_of_pc_history.html | archivedate=May 1, 2024}}

As well as being IBM's first 386-based PC, the Model 80 was the company's second Intel-powered PC built into a tower case.{{cite news | last=Lewis | first=Peter H. | date=September 15, 1987 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/15/science/personal-computers-ibm-leaps-from-desk-to-floor.html | title=I.B.M. Leaps from Desk to Floor | work=The New York Times | page=C4 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524212854/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/15/science/personal-computers-ibm-leaps-from-desk-to-floor.html | archivedate=May 24, 2015}} The case was identical to the Model 60—IBM's first Intel-based tower computer—down to the carrying handle included on top of the machine, to aid in lifting the relatively heavy computer, at roughly {{convert|40|lb|kg}}.{{cite book | last=Byers | first=T. J. | date=1989 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ie-5ffW7ws8C | title=IBM PS/2: A Reference Guide | publisher=Intertext Publications | page=15 | via=Google Books | isbn=9780070095250}}

The Model 80 features eight Micro Channel expansion slots: four 16-bit slots, one 16-bit slot with an extension exclusively meant for select graphics adapter cards, and three 32-bit slots.{{rp|145}} The Model 80 was the only entry in the initial PS/2 line-up to sport 32-bit Micro Channel slots, until the release of the PS/2 Model 70, which was essentially a compact version of the Model 80 built into the PS/2 Model 50's chassis.{{cite magazine | last=Machrone | first=Bill | date=May 26, 1987 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=25_xnJJJmvgC&pg=PA36 | title=IBM Builds New Plateau with Personal System/2 | magazine=PC Magazine | volume=6 | issue=10 | pages=33, 38 | via=Google Books}}{{rp|38}}{{cite magazine | last=Forbes | first=Jim | author2=Linda Bridges | date=May 24, 1988 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A6697693/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=IBM will enter desktop derby with triple-crown PS/2 line | magazine=PC Week | volume=5 | issue=21 | pages=1 et seq | via=Gale}} Besides the expansion slots, the Model 80 features several drive bays: two accommodating 3.5-inch-width drives (one 3.5-inch floppy drive is included as stock; the 3.5-inch drive bays may also house tape drives and the like); and up to three aftermarket 5.25-inch drives (for floppy drives, optical drives, hard drive, and the like).{{cite magazine | last=Rosch | first=Winn L. | date=April 26, 1988 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_woML1VTJcEC&pg=PA100 | title=IBM's PS/2 Model 80-111: A Dream Deferred | magazine=PC Magazine | volume=7 | issue=8 | pages=93–100 | via=Google Books}}{{rp|96}} Owing to the relatively narrow case of the Model 80, the 5.25-inch drives must be mounted on their sides, 90 degrees counterclockwise.{{cite magazine | last=Rosch | first=Winn L. | date=February 26, 1991 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LIpQYrLA2GIC&pg=PT318 | title=IBM PS/2 Models 90 and 95: True 486 Power at Last | magazine=PC Magazine | volume=10 | issue=4 | pages=287–312 | via=Google Books}}

The original PS/2 Model 80s came in two configurations: the Model 80-041, featuring a ST-506–based 44-MB hard disk drive; and the Model 80-071, featuring a faster, ESDI-based 70-MB hard disk drive.{{cite magazine | last=Armbrust | first=Steven | author2=Caroline Halliday | date=August 1987 | url=https://archive.org/details/PC_Tech_Journal_vol05_n08/page/n141/ | title=Model 80: Performance and Potential | magazine=PC Tech Journal | volume=5 | issue=8 | pages=138–152 | via=the Internet Archive}}{{rp|140}} Both of these submodels ran the 386 at a clock speed of 16 MHz (equivalent to the original Deskpro 386).{{cite book | last=Pappas | first=Chris H. | author2=William H. Murray | date=1988 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RNG7AAAAIAAJ | title=Inside the Model 80 | publisher=Osborne McGraw-Hill | page=387 | isbn=9780078813115 | via=Google Books}} IBM planned to beat Compaq to the punch with a faster, 20-MHz version of the Model 80 in late 1987, with the Model 80-111, also featuring an ESDI-based 115-MB hard drive. Compaq thwarted IBM's plans again by releasing the Deskpro 386/20 in September 1987, ahead of the Model 80-111's November 1987 release date. The Model 80-111 featured a substantially redesigned system board ("planar", in IBM parlance) in order to accommodate a boost in the clock speed as well as the maximum amount of RAM.{{rp|94}} IBM released the follow-up Model 80–311 in January 1988, featuring a 20-MHz 386 processor and a 314 MB ESDI hard drive.

In March 1990, IBM released three new submodels of the PS/2 Model 80, intended as low-cost file servers. These new submodels boosted the clock speed to 25 MHz and included SCSI hard drives and host adapters built-in. At the low-end of the new line-up was the Model 80-121, featuring a 120-MB hard drive and a 25-MHz 386 processor; and the Model 80-A21, with a 120-MB hard drive and a 25-MHz 386. At the high-end was the Model 80-321, which featured a 320-MB hard drive exclusive to the machine. In October 1990, the Model 80 received three final updates, in the form of the Model 80–081 with a 20-MHz 386 and an 80-MB SCSI hard drive; the Model 80–161 with a 20-MHZ 386 and a 160-MB hard drive; and the Model 80-A16 with a 25-MHz 386 and a 160-MB SCSI hard drive.{{cite magazine | last=Marburg | first=Robert | date=November 12, 1990 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A9589507/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=IBM slashes prices of PS/2 Models 70s, 80s | magazine=PC Week |volume=7 | issue=45 | pages=21 et seq | via=Gale}} After extensive price cuts to the remaining models, IBM officially discontinued the Model 80 in 1992. The company named the PS/2 Server 85, introduced that year, as its replacement.{{cite magazine | last=Scheier | first=Robert L. | date=May 11, 1992 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A12131538/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=IBM targets direct market with 3 PS/2s | magazine=PC Week | volume=9 | issue=19 | page=12 | via=Gale}}{{cite magazine | last=Scannell | first=Ed | date=September 21, 1992 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fFEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8 | title=IBM's PC onslaught to hit this week | magazine=InfoWorld | volume=14 | issue=38 | page=8 | via=Google Books}}

The Model 80 performed mediocrely in the market at first, IBM shipping roughly 100,000 units between July 1987 and January 1988, according to Gartner Dataquest. It consistently trailed behind Compaq, whose Deskpro 386 line cornered more than 70 percent of the 386 workstation market,{{cite magazine | last=LaPlante | first=Alice | date=March 21, 1988 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9j4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3 | title=IBM Model 80 Sales Unimpressive | magazine=InfoWorld | volume=10 | issue=12 | pages=1, 8 | via=Google Books}}{{rp|1}} the company selling 76,000 units of the Deskpro 386/20 submodel alone in 1987.{{cite magazine | last=Pitta | first=Julie | date=February 8, 1988 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSBrPSYgjI4C&pg=PP36 | title=Deskpro powers up | magazine=Computerworld | volume=XXII | issue=6 | pages=33, 36 | via=Google Books}}{{rp|36}} Reasons for the Model 80's disappointing sales included its high cost, a lack of third-party 32-bit expansion cards, and skepticism over the future of Micro Channel.{{rp|8}} Dataquest projected only 160,000 unit sales of the Model 80 for 1988, compared to 650,000 for the Model 50 and 215,000 for the Model 60.{{rp|1}} After a brief wave of rejuvenated interest due to the growing market for LAN products in early 1989, the Model 80 went back to underperforming, accounting for less than 7 percent of all PS/2 sales between the middle of 1989 and the beginning of 1990. The only model of PS/2 that performed more poorly during this period was the Model 60, which was discontinued that year.{{cite magazine | last=Pastore | first=Richard | date=March 26, 1990 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cAmo4wSwQJ0C&pg=PP8 | title=PS/2 tries to climb off desktop | magazine=Computerworld | volume=XXIV | issue=13 | pages=1, 8 | via=Google Books}}{{rp|8}}{{cite magazine | last=Sexton | first=Tara | date=August 6, 1990 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A8707536/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=IBM holds fire sale on PS/2 60, 16MHz 80 | magazine=PC Week | volume=7 | issue=31 | page=12 | via=Gale}}

Initial reviews of the Model 80 were cautiously optimistic. PC Tech Journal{{'s}} Steven Armburst and Caroline Halliday, in a joint longform review, concluded that the release of IBM's OS/2 operating system could justify the high cost of the Model 80: "This is a machine with outstanding potential for the future that delivers top-quality performance today. When OS/2 finally arrives, it will be better able to take advantage of the power of the Model 80's 80386. Looking ahead even farther, an operating system that takes full advantage of this microprocessor could make the IBM PS/2 Model 80 an even better investment".{{rp|152}} Multiple reviewers found that the Model 80 underperformed in raw numerical performance and graphical speed compared to contemporaneous 386-powered machines, across all clock speeds.{{cite magazine | last=Satchell | first=Stephen | date=August 10, 1987 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yDsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA61 | title=IBM PS/2 Model 80: 386 System Offers High Quality, Speed, and Price | magazine=InfoWorld | volume=9 | issue=32 | pages=61–64 | via=Google Books}}{{rp|61}}{{rp|100}}{{cite magazine | last=Lockwood | first=Russ | date=June 1988 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/199403266/ | title=IBM Enters The 20MHZ Arena | magazine=Personal Computing | volume=12 | issue=6 | page=209 | via=Google Books}}{{cite magazine | last=Dickinson | first=John | date=February 29, 1988 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CmNNyCje8oAC&pg=PA33 | title=Model 80 at 20 MHz: As Fast as a Deskpro 386/20 | magazine=PC Magazine | volume=7 | issue=4 | pages=33, 36 | via=Google Books}}{{rp|36}}

Although it underperformed in the marketplace, the PS/2 Model 80 (as well as the Model 60) started the trend of computer manufacturers offering PC compatibles in optional tower form factors. By May 1988, over a dozen companies were selling desktops in a tower form factor at that year's Comdex, according to The New York Times.{{cite news | last=Lewis | first=Peter H. | date=May 24, 1988 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/24/science/personal-computers-pc-s-on-a-target-range.html | title=PC's on a Target Range | work=The New York Times | page=C10 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525092951/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/24/science/personal-computers-pc-s-on-a-target-range.html | archivedate=May 25, 2015}} By the mid-1990s, tower computers had overtaken traditional horizontal desktop cases in terms of sales.{{cite magazine | last=Dennen | first=Ed | date=July 18, 1994 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A15582553/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=How can it be a desktop if it isn't on top of the desk? | magazine=PC Week | volume=11 | issue=28 | page=69 | via=Gale}}

{{See also|List of IBM PS/2 models}}

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{{IBM personal computers}}

Category:Computer-related introductions in 1987

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