Skip to main content
PC Gamer PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
  • Hardware
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Video
  • Forum
  • More
    • PC Gaming Show
    • PC Gamer Clips
    • Software
    • Codes
    • Coupons
    • Movies & TV
    • Magazine
    • Newsletter
    • Affiliate links
    • Meet the team
    • Community guidelines
    • About PC Gamer
PC Gamer Magazine Subscription
PC Gamer Magazine Subscription
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$1
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS and Valve Steam Deck on a yellow background with PC Gamer Recommended label
Handheld Gaming PCs Best handheld gaming PC in 2026: my recommendations for the best portable powerhouses
an Atari 2600 data simulation from user @zzznah (Alex Mordvintsev)
Processors This simulation of how an old 8-bit processor fetches data from ROM is a thing of beauty
Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS and Valve Steam Deck on a yellow background with PC Gamer Recommended label
Handheld Gaming PCs Best handheld gaming PC in 2026: my recommendations for the best portable powerhouses.
MSI Vector 16 HX AI and Razer Blade 16 gaming laptops on a blue background with a PC Gamer logo in the foreground
Gaming Laptops Best gaming laptop 2026: I've tested the best laptops for gaming of this generation and here are the ones I recommend
John Romero sitting in front of a WoW backdrop
Gaming Industry Doom co-creator John Romero adores Ghost Recon and has over 3,000 hours in World of Warcraft: 'God, I lived in that game every day for five years'
A compact gaming PC on a desk with various parts on show.
Hardware This is all the best PC gaming gear we recommend in one techie tier list
An MSI graphics card, an AMD CPU, and a Corsair PC case
Gaming PCs Best gaming PC builds: Shop all our recommended system builds as we ride out the RAMpocalypse
The Velocity Micro Raptor ES40 and HP Omen 35L gaming PCs on a blue background with the PC Gamer recommended badge in the top right corner
Gaming PCs Best gaming PCs in 2026: these are the rigs and brands I recommend today
Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT mini PC and AtomMan Venus UM790 mini PCs
Gaming PCs Best mini PCs in 2026: The compact computers I love the most
MSI Vector 16 HX AI and Razer Blade 16 gaming laptops on a blue background with a PC Gamer logo in the foreground
Gaming Laptops Best gaming laptop 2026: I've tested the best laptops for gaming of this generation and here are the ones I recommend.
Astarion thinking in Baldur's Gate 3.
Games Think you know gaming? Test your knowledge with PC Gamer's fiendish quizzes
VR CRT
VR Hardware This YouTuber's homebrew VR headset using mini CRTs is way cooler and more usable than you would ever imagine
Skytech gaming PC
Gaming PCs Best cheap gaming PC deals
Kids in school taking a test
Adventure The world's first 'standardized gaming test' will see if you can beat an '80s adventure game without a walkthrough—and it'll even monitor you over a webcam to make sure you don't cheat
Linux Designer Linus Torvalds - stock photo. Linus Torvalds was the designer of the open-source operating system Linux.
Linux I'm brave enough to say it: Linux is good now, and if you want to feel like you actually own your PC, make 2026 the year of Linux on (your) desktop
Popular
  • NEW: PC Gamer Clips!
  • Resident Evil
  • Arc Raiders
  • Best PC gear
  • Game Quizzes
  1. Hardware
  2. Gaming PCs

The Personal Computers of the 1980s

Features
By Mark Pilkington ( Maximum PC ) published 26 September 2014

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Hands up if you owned a computer in the 80s! After making some tentative steps in the late 70s, the 1980s saw home computing really take off. Back then, no young adult’s bedroom was complete without a computer, tape deck, and trusty joystick on display.

Home computing proved to be so popular it seemed like every company wanted a slice of the digital pie, with model after model released on an annual basis, all vying for dominance in the ultra-competitive marketplace.

Some efforts, such as the Commodore 64 and Spectrum, were hugely successful and went on to sell millions. But for every success story there were many more that failed to make the grade, with some models even being released and then going out of business the same year.

Here, Maximum PC presents 25 of the most memorable and noteworthy computers of the 1980s. Join us as we relive the golden age of home computing.

1981 - IBM PC

Page 1 of 25
Page 1 of 25

Page 2 of 25
Page 2 of 25

Page 3 of 25
Page 3 of 25

Page 4 of 25
Page 4 of 25

1982 - Sinclair ZX Spectrum

Page 5 of 25
Page 5 of 25

1982 - Commodore 64

Page 6 of 25
Page 6 of 25

1982 - Jupiter Ace

Page 7 of 25
Page 7 of 25

Page 8 of 25
Page 8 of 25

Page 9 of 25
Page 9 of 25

1982 - Sord M5

Page 10 of 25
Page 10 of 25

1983 - Epson QX-10

Page 11 of 25
Page 11 of 25

1983 - Acorn Electron

Page 12 of 25
Page 12 of 25

Page 13 of 25
Page 13 of 25

1983 - Apricot PC

Page 14 of 25
Page 14 of 25

1983 - Camputers Lynx

Page 15 of 25
Page 15 of 25

Page 16 of 25
Page 16 of 25

1983 - Oric 1

Page 17 of 25
Page 17 of 25

1984 - Apple Macintosh / II

Page 18 of 25
Page 18 of 25

Page 19 of 25
Page 19 of 25

1985 - Atari ST

Page 20 of 25
Page 20 of 25

Page 21 of 25
Page 21 of 25

1985 - Commodore 128

Page 22 of 25
Page 22 of 25

Page 23 of 25
Page 23 of 25

Page 24 of 25
Page 24 of 25

Page 25 of 25
Page 25 of 25
Mark Pilkington
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Whatsapp
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
PC Gamer
Get the PC Gamer Newsletter

Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Read more
A selection of objects in the Computer History Museum taken from its website, including an antique GameBoy and various controllers.
You can now view the Computer History Museum's collection from the comfort of your own home, and it's full of retro blasts from the past
 
 
A screenshot from Kerbal Space Program, showing a lunar lander being piloted by a ZX Spectrum running Sinclair BASIC
Rocket wizard Scott Manley has used a ZX Spectrum to land a Kerbal on the Mun and I am phenomenally impressed
 
 
an Atari 2600 data simulation from user @zzznah (Alex Mordvintsev)
This simulation of how an old 8-bit processor fetches data from ROM is a thing of beauty
 
 
Taito's Time Gal anime art cover
I played dozens of retro games this year, and these are the ones I still whole-heartedly recommend going into 2026
 
 
Yes Man from Fallout: New Vegas
What PC game is this in-game PC from? Our newest quiz is all about the computers inside our computer games!
 
 
Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT mini PC and AtomMan Venus UM790 mini PCs
Best mini PCs in 2026: The compact computers I love the most
 
 
Latest in Gaming PCs
a 3d printed yellow air duct for a gaming pc, from Reddit user 'Esra-Zander'
One Redditor has 3D-printed a big yellow air duct to attach to their GPU, and the results are middling: It 'does nothing but it looks cool'
 
 
A custom gaming PC built inside of an old Victorian cast-iron radiator
This creator extraordinaire has built a gaming PC attached to a Victorian cast-iron radiator that is fully integrated into the cooling system, and I am in complete awe
 
 
A Lenovo Legion Tower 5i gaming PC on a custom PC Gamer Deals background.
Holy RAMpocalypse! Here's an RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC with a load of RAM and SSD storage, all inexplicably at last year's price
 
 
An Asus TUF Gaming A16 2025 on a white background, fit with an RTX 5050.
Acer and Asus' German websites are down in wake of lawsuit, but Acer says its own will 'be up again shortly' so customers can get BIOS updates again
 
 
The ABS Cyclone Ruby prebuilt gaming PC floats in the funky PC G deal void.
I have to ask what this prebuilt gaming PC is doing with 32 GB of DDR5 RAM—but for only $1,235, I can afford to ask fewer questions
 
 
iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 gaming PC
iBuyPower's President's Day sale means this 'superb all-AMD gaming PC' is now $250 cheaper than when we reviewed it a week ago
 
 
Latest in Features
marathon
Is Marathon's time-to-kill too fast, or am I too Arc Raiders-pilled?
 
 
Stardew Valley - a player uses a heart emote in front of a complete community center
Stardew Valley has basically become the Tolkien of cozy gaming
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem survival horror
In a sea of needlessly long videogames, Resident Evil Requiem proves that 10 hours is all you need if you're able to make every second count
 
 
Bingo Betty screenshots
Bingo Betty is the new Balatro-like to top my Steam Library with its wacky items and mesmerising Mega Bingo chains
 
 
Spelling words on the board in Beyond Words.
Balatro meets Scrabble in this new roguelike from the creators of TimeSplitters—and I'm just thrilled to finally find a word game that lets me score with swear words
 
 
Screenshot from Bungie's Marathon reboot. Do not use until 12 April 2025, 11 PDT.
If you're hoping to make friends in Marathon like you can in Arc Raiders, expect a knife in the back
 
 
  1. 1
    Best gaming laptop 2026: I've tested the best laptops for gaming of this generation and here are the ones I recommend.
  2. 2
    Best handheld gaming PC in 2026: my recommendations for the best portable powerhouses.
  3. 3
    Best gaming PC builds: Shop all our recommended system builds as we ride out the RAMpocalypse
  4. 4
    Best gaming monitors in 2026: the pixel-perfect panels I'd buy myself
  5. 5
    The best fish tank PC case in 2026: I've tested heaps of stylish chassis but only a few have earned my recommendation
  1. A Phanteks XT V3 PC case on a desk with various PC parts.
    1
    Phanteks XT V3 case review
  2. 2
    ThunderX3 Solo 360 Loft Air gaming chair review
  3. 3
    MSI MEG X870E Ace Max review
  4. 4
    MSI MAG B850 Gaming Plus Max WiFi review
  5. 5
    Wooting 60HE v2 review

PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...