The Personal Computers of the 1980s

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

1982 - Sinclair ZX Spectrum

1982 - Commodore 64

1982 - Jupiter Ace

1982 - Sord M5

1983 - Epson QX-10

1983 - Acorn Electron

1983 - Apricot PC

1983 - Camputers Lynx

1983 - Oric 1

1984 - Apple Macintosh / II

1985 - Atari ST

1985 - Commodore 128