# Personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a computer designed for use by one individual at a time, over which that user has complete or near-complete control, as opposed to a shared mainframe, server, or terminal[1](https://ncsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/accessfair/id/224/download). The term covers desktop machines, laptops, and, in international statistics, tablets, while excluding smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices with telephony or embedded computing as their primary function[2](https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/coreindicators/Core-List-of-Indicators_March2022.pdf). The modern PC industry took shape in the mid-1970s around the microprocessor, and the [IBM Personal Computer](https://www.edgepedia.org/ibm-personal-computer) of 1981 set the hardware standard that most desktop and laptop computers still follow[3](https://www.ibm.com/history/personal-computer?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Definition | A computer serving a single user, under that user's direct control; in ITU statistics it includes desktops, laptops, and tablets but excludes smartphones and smart TVs[1](https://ncsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/accessfair/id/224/download) • [2](https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/coreindicators/Core-List-of-Indicators_March2022.pdf) |
| Industry launch | The MITS Altair 8800, built around Intel's 8080 microprocessor, launched the personal computer industry in the United States[4](https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/american-enterprise/online/consumer-era/personal-computing) |
| 1977 ready-to-use machines | Apple II, Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 ($599.95, 10,000 sold in the first month), and Commodore PET brought computers to a mass market[5](https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/?pStoreID=contenttest) |
| IBM PC (Model 5150) | Introduced August 12, 1981; 4.77 MHz Intel 8088, Microsoft's MS-DOS, 16 KB of RAM, priced at USD 1,565[3](https://www.ibm.com/history/personal-computer?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block) • [5](https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/?pStoreID=contenttest) |
| Open architecture | IBM published its circuit designs, enabling "IBM compatible" clones; compatibles held an 83% share of the personal computer market by 1996[3](https://www.ibm.com/history/personal-computer?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block) • [5](https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/?pStoreID=contenttest) |
| First portable | The Osborne 1 (1981) weighed 24 pounds, cost $1,795, and was the first commercially available portable computer[6](https://www.computerhistory.org/brochures/osborne-computer-corporation/) |
| Market in 2026 | Global shipments fell 20.1% year over year in Q3 2026, from 78.5 million to 62.7 million units, amid memory shortages[7](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/pc-shipments-tumble-over-20-percent-in-3q26-as-chip-shortages-bite-top-three-pc-vendors-ship-11-6-million-fewer-units-year-over-year) |
## Definition and scope
In its simplest form, a personal computer is a computer which serves a single user, a capability normally defined by its operating system; the term has widened to mean any computer that sits on or next to a user's workstation and over which the user has complete or near-complete control[1](https://ncsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/accessfair/id/224/download). The [Computer History Museum](https://www.edgepedia.org/computer-history-museum) notes that the label has been applied in hindsight to earlier machines that gave an individual direct control of the whole computer, but that the true mass-market personal computer had to await the integrated-circuit CPU, the microprocessor, and its appearance in machines such as the Radio Shack TRS-80, Apple II, and Commodore in 1977[8](https://www.computerhistory.org/brochures/thm-42b97f98dbaf2/).
For statistical measurement, the ITU defines a computer as a desktop, a laptop (portable) computer, or a tablet. A desktop usually remains fixed in one place; a laptop is small enough to carry and enables the same tasks; a tablet integrates the computer into a flat touch screen. Smartphones and smart TV sets are explicitly excluded[2](https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/coreindicators/Core-List-of-Indicators_March2022.pdf).
## Early microcomputers
Shortly following Intel's release of the 8080 microprocessor, MITS ([Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems](https://www.edgepedia.org/micro-instrumentation-and-telemetry-systems)), a small [Albuquerque, New Mexico](https://www.edgepedia.org/albuquerque-new-mexico) company, unveiled the Altair, a computer kit that satisfied both the technical demands and the social conditions needed for a compact personal machine.[9](https://www.si.edu/object/altair-8800-microcomputer%3Anmah_1325625) The Altair, designed around Intel's 8080 chip, launched the personal computer industry in the United States, and enthusiasm for it spawned computer hobbyist clubs, stores, newsletters, magazines, and conventions[4](https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/american-enterprise/online/consumer-era/personal-computing). Earlier machines had also given single users direct control, but they were not mass-market items[8](https://www.computerhistory.org/brochures/thm-42b97f98dbaf2/).
**1977: complete computers for consumers.** By 1977 a host of companies, large and small, were producing microcomputers for a mass market[9](https://www.si.edu/object/altair-8800-microcomputer%3Anmah_1325625). The Apple II, sold complete with keyboard, case, and cassette tape, found popularity far beyond the hobbyist community; millions were sold between 1977 and 1993, making it one of the longest-lived lines of personal computers[5](https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/?pStoreID=contenttest). Tandy Radio Shack's TRS-80, priced at $599.95 with a Z80 processor, 4 KB of memory, and a built-in BASIC interpreter, sold 10,000 units in its first month against a projection of 3,000 for the first year[5](https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/?pStoreID=contenttest). The [Commodore PET](https://www.edgepedia.org/commodore-pet), the first of the 1977 releases, came fully assembled with 4 or 8 KB of memory and a built-in cassette drive[5](https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/?pStoreID=contenttest).
## The IBM PC and the compatible standard
Before 1981 it was possible to buy a personal computer, but for anyone other than a devout hobbyist there was not much point, because few applications compelled an average consumer or business executive to own one[3](https://www.ibm.com/history/personal-computer?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block). In 1980, William Lowe, director of IBM's General Systems Division lab in [Boca Raton, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/boca-raton-florida), pitched IBM CEO Frank Cary on a computer for small businesses and consumers selling for USD 1,500; Cary gave him a month to build a prototype and a year to bring a product to market. Development, code-named Chess, fell to Don Estridge, who ran the project outside IBM's standard procedures[3](https://www.ibm.com/history/personal-computer?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block).
The team broke with IBM's practice of designing everything it sold and used off-the-shelf parts: Intel's 8088 microprocessor, Microsoft's operating system (later known as MS-DOS), and an Epson dot-matrix printer. About half the system, including the expansion bus, keyboard, and display, came from IBM's System/23 Datamaster[3](https://www.ibm.com/history/personal-computer?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block). Unveiled on August 12, 1981 at New York's Waldorf Hotel, the Model 5150 was priced at USD 1,565 with 16 kilobytes of RAM and no disk drive; adding a display, two diskette drives, and a printer cost nearly USD 3,000 more[3](https://www.ibm.com/history/personal-computer?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block).
**Open architecture.** The team published a technical reference of the circuit designs and source code to help companies develop software and peripherals, which turned the PC into a de facto industry standard. Within a year of launch, more than 750 software packages were available, and dozens of manufacturers were selling memory expansion cards. Some companies reverse-engineered the system boot code to build machines labeled "IBM compatible"[3](https://www.ibm.com/history/personal-computer?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block). IBM sold more than 750,000 machines within two years, far exceeding internal expectations[10](https://www.ibm.com/history/ps-2). The Compaq Portable, advertised as the first 100% IBM PC-compatible computer, recorded first-year sales of $111 million, and the compatible market it launched had achieved an 83% share of the personal computer market by 1996[5](https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/?pStoreID=contenttest).
**Graphical interfaces.** The Apple Lisa of 1983 was the first commercial personal computer with a graphical user interface (GUI), a milestone soon adopted by [Microsoft Windows](https://www.edgepedia.org/microsoft-windows) and the Apple Macintosh[5](https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/?pStoreID=contenttest). The Macintosh, introduced in 1984 with a [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl) television commercial, was the first successful mouse-driven computer with a GUI and was priced at $2,500[5](https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/?pStoreID=contenttest).
**IBM's retreat.** IBM's share of the PC market shrank from roughly 80% in 1982–1983 to 20% a decade later as profits declined. In 2005, Lenovo acquired IBM's PC division for USD 1.75 billion, paid through a combination of cash, stock, and assumed debt.[3](https://www.ibm.com/history/personal-computer?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block)
## Form factors
The desktop tower with a separate monitor and keyboard remains the classic configuration, but portability reshaped the market. The Osborne 1, released in 1981, weighed 24 pounds, cost $1,795, and included about $1,500 worth of bundled software; it set the design standards for the first generation of "luggables" and was a precursor to the modern laptop[6](https://www.computerhistory.org/brochures/osborne-computer-corporation/). Clamshell machines from GRiD and Gavilan followed, paving the way for a generation of laptop computers[11](https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/mobile-computing/18/316). Today the boundaries between categories blur: a desktop can be nearly as small as a laptop, laptops can match desktop performance, and all-in-one desktops omit the separate monitor[12](https://www.energystar.gov/products/computers).
## The market since 2025
The PC market entered a steep contraction in 2026 as memory shortages and rising component costs bit. Global shipments fell 4.9% year over year in Q2 2026 per IDC data, the first decline in two years[13](https://www.techradar.com/pro/dont-buy-a-new-work-pc-right-now-memory-crunch-and-price-rises-lead-to-global-shipments-falling-for-the-first-time-in-two-years). In Q3 2026 shipments dropped 20.1% year over year, from 78.5 million to 62.7 million units, a decline of 15.8 million, steeper than the previous quarter's decline[7](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/pc-shipments-tumble-over-20-percent-in-3q26-as-chip-shortages-bite-top-three-pc-vendors-ship-11-6-million-fewer-units-year-over-year). Omdia's figure for the same quarter was a 21.2% decline[14](https://www.windowscentral.com/hardware/laptops/global-pc-shipments-drop-20-yoy).
**Prices and value.** IDC sharply revised its 2026 global shipment forecast from a 2.4% decline to an 11.3% decline due to worsening memory shortages, rising component costs, and supply-chain issues extending into 2027, with prices expected to ease starting in 2028 but remain higher[15](https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/gaming-pcs/idc-slashes-2026-pc-shipment-forecast-amid-memory-shortages-total-pc-market-value-to-nonetheless-increase-to-usd274-billion-due-to-ongoing-price-hikes). Because of the price hikes, IDC expects total PC market value to nonetheless increase to $274 billion[15](https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/gaming-pcs/idc-slashes-2026-pc-shipment-forecast-amid-memory-shortages-total-pc-market-value-to-nonetheless-increase-to-usd274-billion-due-to-ongoing-price-hikes). The shortage has also reshaped the supply side: Micron killed its Crucial RAM and SSD brand in late 2025 to focus on data center production[7](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/pc-shipments-tumble-over-20-percent-in-3q26-as-chip-shortages-bite-top-three-pc-vendors-ship-11-6-million-fewer-units-year-over-year).
## Energy use and end of life
Power management is a defining efficiency feature of modern PCs. ENERGY STAR-certified computers are third-party certified to use about 30–40% less energy than standard models, and the current specification requires the display to sleep within 15 minutes of user inactivity and the system within 30 minutes[12](https://www.energystar.gov/products/computers). Enabling power management on a certified desktop can save an office or home office $15 per year, and a screen saver does not save energy; certain types keep the CPU from shutting down[12](https://www.energystar.gov/products/computers).
At end of life, the U.S. EPA recommends considering hardware or software upgrades before replacing a computer, deleting all personal information, and removing batteries, which may need separate recycling; lithium-ion batteries and devices containing them should not go in household garbage or recycling bins[16](https://www.epa.gov/recycle/electronics-donation-and-recycling?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block). If a million laptops are recycled, the energy saved equals a year's worth of electricity consumption for over 3,500 American households.[16](https://www.epa.gov/recycle/electronics-donation-and-recycling?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block)
## References
1. [PERSONAL COMPUTER definition, National Center for State Courts glossary](https://ncsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/accessfair/id/224/download)
2. [ITU Core List of ICT Indicators (March 2022)](https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/coreindicators/Core-List-of-Indicators_March2022.pdf)
3. [The IBM PC, IBM History](https://www.ibm.com/history/personal-computer?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block)
4. [Personal Computing, National Museum of American History](https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/american-enterprise/online/consumer-era/personal-computing)
5. [Computers, Timeline of Computer History, Computer History Museum](https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/?pStoreID=contenttest)
6. [Osborne Computer Corporation, Selling the Computer Revolution, Computer History Museum](https://www.computerhistory.org/brochures/osborne-computer-corporation/)
7. [PC shipments tumble over 20% in 3Q26 as chip shortages bite, Tom's Hardware](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/pc-shipments-tumble-over-20-percent-in-3q26-as-chip-shortages-bite-top-three-pc-vendors-ship-11-6-million-fewer-units-year-over-year)
8. [Personal Computers, Selling the Computer Revolution, Computer History Museum](https://www.computerhistory.org/brochures/thm-42b97f98dbaf2/)
9. [Altair 8800 Microcomputer, Smithsonian Institution](https://www.si.edu/object/altair-8800-microcomputer%3Anmah_1325625)
10. [The PS/2, IBM History](https://www.ibm.com/history/ps-2)
11. [The First Wave of Portables, CHM Revolution](https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/mobile-computing/18/316)
12. [Computers, ENERGY STAR](https://www.energystar.gov/products/computers)
13. [Don't buy a new work PC right now, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/pro/dont-buy-a-new-work-pc-right-now-memory-crunch-and-price-rises-lead-to-global-shipments-falling-for-the-first-time-in-two-years)
14. [Global PC shipments drop 20% YoY, Windows Central](https://www.windowscentral.com/hardware/laptops/global-pc-shipments-drop-20-yoy)
15. [IDC slashes 2026 PC shipment forecast; market value to increase to $274 billion, Tom's Hardware](https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/gaming-pcs/idc-slashes-2026-pc-shipment-forecast-amid-memory-shortages-total-pc-market-value-to-nonetheless-increase-to-usd274-billion-due-to-ongoing-price-hikes)
16. [Electronics Donation and Recycling, US EPA](https://www.epa.gov/recycle/electronics-donation-and-recycling?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_little-text-block)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Computing and digital systems › Computer hardware › Personal computers & laptops*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license