Editing IBM PC compatible (section)

{{short description|Computers similar to the IBM PC and its derivatives}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
[[File:Compaq portable.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Compaq Portable]] was one of the first nearly 100% IBM-compatible PCs.]]

An '''IBM PC compatible''' is any [[personal computer]] that is [[Computer hardware|hardware]]- and [[software]]-compatible with the [[IBM Personal Computer]] (IBM PC) and its [[List of IBM Personal Computer models|subsequent models]]. Like the original IBM PC, an IBM PC–compatible computer uses an [[x86]]-based [[central processing unit]], sourced either from [[Intel]] or a [[second source]] like [[AMD]], [[Cyrix]] or [[Intel_8086#Derivatives_and_clones|other vendors]] such as [[Texas Instruments]], [[Fujitsu]], [[OKI (company)|OKI]], [[Mitsubishi]] or [[NEC]] and is capable of using interchangeable commodity hardware such as [[expansion card]]s. 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 [[microcomputers]] produced since the 1990s are IBM compatible. [[IBM]] itself no longer sells personal computers, [[Acquisition of the IBM PC business by Lenovo|having sold its division]] to [[Lenovo]] in 2005. "[[Wintel]]" is a similar description that is more commonly used for modern computers. 

The designation "PC", as used in much of [[History of personal computers|personal computer history]], 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 [[home computer]] systems available in the early 1980s, such as the [[Apple II]], [[TRS-80]], and [[Commodore 64]]. Later, the term was primarily used in contrast to [[Commodore International|Commodore]]'s [[Amiga]] and [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]] computers.