Editing Minicomputer

{{short description|Mid-1960s–late-1980s class of smaller computers}}
{{For-text|small modern computers|[[Small form factor (desktop and motherboard)|small form factor]], [[nettop]], or [[single-board computer]]}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
[[File:Six Minicomputers from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1957 to production end in 1979 - PDP-1, PDP-7, PDP-8, PDP-8-E, PDP-11-70, PDP-15.jpg|thumb|Six different minicomputers (out of many more models) produced by the ''[[Digital Equipment Corporation]]'' (DEC) with the year of introduction in brackets: First row: [[PDP-1]] (1959), [[PDP-7]] (1964), [[PDP-8]] (1965); second row: [[PDP-8/E]] (1970), [[PDP-11/70]] (1975), [[PDP-15]] (1970).]]

A '''minicomputer''', or colloquially '''mini''', is a type of general-purpose computer mostly developed from the mid-1960s,<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Henderson|editor-first1=Rebecca M.|editor-last2=Newell|editor-first2=Richard G.|title=Accelerating Energy Innovation: Insights from Multiple Sectors|date=2011|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0226326832|page=180}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Huang|first1=Han-Way|title=The Atmel AVR Microcontroller: MEGA and XMEGA in Assembly and C|date=2014|publisher=Delmar Cengage Learning|location=Australia; United Kingdom|isbn=978-1133607298|page=4}}</ref> built significantly smaller and sold at a much lower price than [[Mainframe computer|mainframe]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Estabrooks|first1=Maurice|title=Electronic technology, corporate strategy, and world transformation |url=https://archive.org/details/electronictechno0000esta |url-access=registration|date=1995|publisher=Quorum Books|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=0899309690|page=[https://archive.org/details/electronictechno0000esta/page/53 53]}}</ref> <span class="cleanup-needed-content" style="padding-left:0.1em; padding-right:0.1em; color:var(--color-subtle, #54595d); border:1px solid var(--border-color-subtle, #c8ccd1);">and mid-size</span> computers {{dubious-span|"...and_mid-size"?|text=from [[IBM]] and [[BUNCH|its direct competitors]]|date=March 2025}}. By 21st century-standards however, a mini is an exceptionally large machine. Minicomputers in the traditional technical sense covered here are only small relative to generally even earlier and much bigger machines.<ref> {{cite book|first1=Glenn |last1=Rifkin |first2=George |last2=Harrar |title=The Ultimate Entrepreneur |publisher=Contemporary Books |date=1983 |page=72 |isbn=1-55958-022-4 |quote=John Leng sent back sales reports: ‘Here is the latest minicomputer activity in the land of miniskirts as I drive around in my Mini Minor.' The phrase caught on at DEC, and then the industry trade publications grabbed on to it. The age of the minicomputer was born.}}</ref>

The class formed a distinct group with its own software architectures and operating systems. Minis were designed for control, instrumentation, human interaction, and communication switching, as distinct from calculation and [[record keeping]]. Many were sold indirectly to [[original equipment manufacturer]]s (OEMs) for final end-use application. During the two-decade lifetime of the minicomputer class (1965–1985), almost 100 minicomputer vendor companies formed. Only a half-dozen remained by the mid-1980s.<ref name="Bell 2013">{{cite journal |last=Bell| first=Gordon |author-link1=Gordon Bell |title=Rise and Fall of Minicomputers |journal=Proceedings of the IEEE |date=April 2014 |volume=102 |number=4| doi=10.1109/JPROC.2014.2306257 | s2cid=21352766 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

When single-chip [[CPU]] [[microprocessor]]s appeared in the 1970s, the definition of "minicomputer" subtly shifted: the word came to mean a machine in the middle range of the computing spectrum, between [[mainframe computer]]s and [[microcomputer]]s. The easily-misunderstood term "minicomputer" is less often applied to later like systems; a near-synonymous (IBM-adjacent) expert term for this class of system is "[[midrange computer]]".

==History==
===Definition===
[[File:Data General Nova SN 1.agr.JPG|thumb|[[Data General Nova]], {{nowrap|serial number 1,}} on display at the [[Computer History Museum]]]]
The term "minicomputer" developed in the 1960s<ref>{{cite web |title=Minicomputer |website=Britannica.com |quote=Minicomputer... the term was introduced in the mid-1960s. |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/minicomputer}}</ref> to describe the smaller computers that became possible with the use of [[transistor]]s and [[Magnetic-core memory|core memory]] technologies, minimal instructions sets and less expensive peripherals such as the ubiquitous [[Teletype Model&nbsp;33]] ASR.<ref name="Bell 2013"/><ref>{{cite journal
   |title=Case study of a microcomputer-minicomputer link
   |journal=Journal of Microcomputer Applications |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=225–230 |doi=10.1016/0745-7138(82)90004-5
   |date=July 1982 |last1=Patnaik |first1=L. M. |last2=Anvekar |first2=D. K. }}</ref> They usually took up one or a few [[19-inch rack]] cabinets, compared with the large [[mainframe computer|mainframes]] that could fill a room.<ref>{{cite web |title=Minicomputer |website=Britannica.com |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/minicomputer}}</ref> Later minicomputers tended to be more compact, and while still distinct in terms of architecture and function, some models eventually shrunk to a similar size as large microcomputers.

In terms of relative computing power compared to contemporary mainframes, small systems that were similar to minicomputers had been available from the 1950s. In particular, there was an entire class of compact [[vacuum tube]]-based [[Drum memory|drum machines]], such as the [[UNIVAC 1101]] (1950), and the [[Bendix G-15]] and [[LGP-30]] (both 1956), all of which shared some features of the minicomputer class. Similar models using magnetic [[delay-line memory]] followed in the early 1960s. These machines, however, were essentially designed as small mainframes, using a custom chassis and often supporting only peripherals from the same company. In contrast, the machines that became known as minicomputers were often designed to fit into a standard chassis and deliberately designed to use common devices such as the ASR&nbsp;33.

Another common difference was that most small machines before the 1970s were not "general purpose", in that they were designed for a specific role such as engineering,<ref name="rdbmslateryears20070612">{{Cite interview |interviewer=Burton Grad |title=RDBMS Plenary Session: The Later Years |url=https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2013/05/102701921-05-01-acc.pdf |access-date=2025-05-30 |publisher=Computer History Museum |date=2007-06-12}}</ref> [[process control]] or accounting. On these machines, programming was generally carried out in their custom [[machine language]], or even hard-coded into a [[plugboard]], although some used a form of ''BASIC''.{{cn|date=August 2023}}{{Example needed|date=February 2024}} DEC wrote, regarding their PDP-5, that it was "the world’s first commercially produced minicomputer".<ref name=DEC57.PRES>{{cite book|title=DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION – Nineteen Fifty-Seven To The Present|url=http://s3data.computerhistory.org/pdp-1/dec.digital_1957_to_the_present_(1978).1957-1978.102630349.pdf|date=1975|publisher=Digital Equipment Corporation}}</ref> It meets most definitions of "mini" in terms of power and size, but was designed and built to be used as an instrumentation system in labs, not as a general-purpose computer.<ref name= Lafferty/> Many similar examples of small special-purpose machines exist from the early 1960s, including the UK [[Ferranti Argus]] and Soviet UM-1NKh.

The [[CDC 160]], circa 1960, is sometimes pointed to as an early example of a minicomputer, as it was small, transistorized and (relatively) inexpensive. However, its basic price of $100,000 ({{Inflation|US|100000|1960|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}) and custom desk-like chassis places it within the "small system" or "midrange computer"<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.techwalla.com/articles/what-is-the-difference-between-a-microcomputer-a-minicomputer
|title=What Is the Difference Between a Microcomputer & a Minicomputer|newspaper=Techwalla }}</ref> category as opposed to the more modern use of the term minicomputer. Nevertheless, the CDC 160 remains a strong contender for the term "first minicomputer",<ref name= Lafferty >{{cite web  |url= http://tronola.com/html/who_built_the_first_minicomput.html |title= Who Built The First Minicomputers? |last= Lafferty |first= Stephen H. |date= January 2014 |access-date=January 24, 2014}}</ref> provided the earlier drum machines are excluded as non-transistorized.

=== 1960s and 1970s success ===
Most computing histories point to the 1964 introduction of [[Digital Equipment Corporation]]'s (DEC) [[12-bit]] [[PDP-8]] as the first minicomputer.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NrMkBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA165 |title= The Computing Universe: A Journey through a Revolution |first1= Tony |last1=Hey |first2=Anthony |last2=Hey |first3=Gyuri |last3=Pápay |date= 2014 |page=165|publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 9780521766456}}</ref> Some of this is no doubt due to DEC's widespread use of the term starting in the mid-1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/pictures/decs-40-years-of-innovation/4/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011075642/http://www.zdnet.com/pictures/decs-40-years-of-innovation/4/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 11, 2017|title=DEC's 40 years of innovation |page=4 |first=Rupert |last=Goodwins|website=[[ZDNet]] |date=February 12, 2011|quote=The term was coined by then DEC UK head John Leng, who sent a sales report saying, "Here is the latest minicomputer activity in the land of miniskirts as I drive around in my Mini Minor".}}</ref> Smaller systems, including those from DEC such as the [[PDP-5]] and [[LINC]],<ref>{{cite web |title=The LINC: An Early "Personal Computer" |work=DrDobbs.com |url=http://www.drdobbs.com/the-linc-an-early-personal-computer/184404067}}</ref> had existed prior to this point, but it was the PDP-8 combination of small size, general purpose orientation and low price that puts it firmly within the modern definition. Its introductory price of $18,500<ref name=LowPrice>{{cite web|url=http://homepage.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/pdp8/faqs/|title=The Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-8 — Frequently Asked Questions|first=Douglas |last=Jones|author-link=Douglas W. Jones}}</ref> ({{Inflation|US|18500|1965|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}) places it in an entirely different market segment than earlier examples such as the CDC 160.

In contemporary terms, the PDP-8 was a runaway success, ultimately selling 50,000 examples.{{efn|For comparison, the CDC 160 sold about 50 units.}} Follow-on versions using small scale [[integrated circuit]]s further lowered the cost and size of the system. Its success led to widespread imitation, and the creation of an entire industry of minicomputer companies along [[Massachusetts Route 128]], including [[Data General]], [[Wang Laboratories]] and [[Prime Computer]]. Other popular minis from the era were the [[HP 2100]], [[Honeywell 316]] and [[TI-990]].
[[File:Raytheon RDS 500 configured as Com*MAND II seismic processing system.jpg|thumb|Raytheon RDS 500 seismic processing system in [[Benghazi]] in 1978]]
[[File:Varian_data_machines_minicomputer.jpg|thumb|[[Varian Data Machines]] system connected to analogue tape playback system in 1984]]
Early minis had a variety of [[Word (computer architecture)|word sizes]], with DEC's 12 and 18-bit systems being typical examples. The introduction and standardization of the 7-bit [[ASCII]] character set led to the move to 16-bit systems, with the late-1969 [[Data General Nova]] being a notable entry in this space. By the early 1970s, most minis were 16-bit, including DEC's [[PDP-11]]. For a time, "minicomputer" was almost synonymous with "16-bit", as the larger mainframe machines almost always used 32-bit or larger word sizes.
In a 1970 survey, ''[[The New York Times]]'' suggested a consensus definition of a minicomputer as a machine costing less than {{USD|25000}} ({{Inflation|US|25000|1970|fmt=eq|r=-3}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}), with an input-output device such as a [[teleprinter]] and at least four thousand words of memory, that is capable of running programs in a [[higher level language]], such as [[Fortran]] or [[BASIC]].<ref name="Smith 1970">{{cite news | title=Maxi Computers Face Mini Conflict: Mini Trend Reaching Computers | last=Smith |first=William D. | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=April 5, 1970|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/04/05/archives/maxi-computers-face-mini-conflict-mini-trend-reaching-computers.html}}</ref> The typical customer was a department in a large company, at which the finance department's mainframe was too busy to serve others.{{r|rdbmslateryears20070612}}

[[File:RDS 704 onsite seismic processing system.jpg|thumb|Raytheon RDS 704 onsite seismic processing system in [[Mogadishu]] in 1974]]
As [[integrated circuit]] design improved, especially with the introduction of the [[7400-series integrated circuits]], minicomputers became smaller, easier to manufacture, and as a result, less expensive. They were used in manufacturing process control, telephone switching and to control laboratory equipment. In the 1970s, they were the hardware that was used to launch the [[computer-aided design]] (CAD) industry<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www6.dict.cc/wp_examples.php?lp_id=1%26lang=en%26s=computer%2520aided%2520design |title=Computer-aided design}}</ref> and other similar industries where a small dedicated system was needed.

The boom in worldwide [[seismic exploration]] for oil and gas in the early 1970s saw the widespread use of minicomputers in dedicated processing centres close to the data collection crews. Raytheon Data Systems RDS 704 and later RDS 500 were predominantly the systems of choice for nearly all the geophysical exploration as well as oil companies.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OxTAr_FX-foC&q=raytheon+rds+500&pg=PA30 |title=Raytheon Data Systems advertisement |magazine=Computerworld|issn=0010-4841|volume=9|issue=38|date=September 17, 1975|page=30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lawyer |first1=Lee C |last2=Bates |first2=Charles Carpenter |last3=Rice |first3=Robert B |date=2001 |title=Geophysics in the Affairs of Mankind |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lf7y8NncSOkC&dq=raytheon%20seismic&pg=PA269 |publisher=SEG Books |isbn=978-1-56080-087-3 }}</ref>

At the launch of the [[MITS Altair 8800]] in 1975, ''[[Radio Electronics]]'' magazine referred to the system as a "minicomputer", although the term [[microcomputer]] soon became usual for personal computers based on single-chip [[microprocessor]]s. At the time, microcomputers were 8-bit single-user, relatively simple machines running simple program-launcher operating systems such as [[CP/M]] or [[MS-DOS]], while minis were much more powerful systems that ran full multi-user, [[Computer multitasking|multitasking]] operating systems, such as [[OpenVMS|VMS]] and [[Unix]].

The [[Tandem Computers]] NonStop product line shipped its first fully fault-tolerant cluster computer in 1976.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=Winter 1986 |title=Tandem History: An Introduction |journal=Center Magazine: A Newsletter for Tandem Employees |volume=6 |issue=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=January 1986 |title=Tracing Tandem's History |journal=NonStop News: A Newsletter for Tandem Employees |volume=9 |issue=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=History of TANDEM COMPUTERS, INC. – FundingUniverse |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/tandem-computers-inc-history/ |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=www.fundinguniverse.com}}</ref>

Around the same time, minis began to move upward in size. Although several 24 and 32-bit minis had entered the market earlier, it was DEC's 1977 [[VAX]], which they referred to as a [[superminicomputer]], or supermini, that caused the mini market to move en-masse to [[32-bit]] architectures. This provided ample headroom even as single-chip 16-bit microprocessors such as the [[TMS 9900]] and [[Zilog Z8000]] appeared in the later 1970s. Most mini vendors introduced their own single-chip processors based on their own architecture and used these mostly in low-cost offerings while concentrating on their 32-bit systems. Examples include the [[Intersil 6100]] single-chip PDP-8, [[DEC T-11]] PDP-11, microNOVA and [[Fairchild 9440]] Nova, and [[TMS9900]] TI-990.

===Mid-1980s and 1990s decline===
Minicomputer companies historically competed on the price and speed of their computers, instead of marketing and advertising.<ref name="pollack19840328">{{Cite news |last=Pollack |first=Andrew |date=1984-03-28 |title=A.T.&.T. OFFERS ITS COMPUTERS |language=en-US |pages=D1 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/28/business/at-t-offers-its-computers.html |access-date=2023-02-14 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> By the early 1980s, the 16-bit minicomputer market had all but disappeared as newer 32-bit microprocessors began to improve in performance. Those customers who required more performance than these offered had generally already moved to 32-bit systems by this time. But it was not long before this market also began to come under threat; the [[Motorola 68000]] offered a significant percentage of the performance of a typical mini in a desktop platform. True 32-bit processors such as the [[National Semiconductor NS32016]], [[Motorola 68020]] and [[Intel 80386]] soon followed. By the mid-1980s, high-end microcomputers offered CPU performance equal to low-end and mid-range minis, and the new [[reduced instruction set computer|RISC]] approach promised performance levels well beyond the fastest minis, and even high-end mainframes.

All that really separated micros from the mini market was storage and memory capacity. Both of these began to be addressed through the later 1980s; 1 MB of RAM became typical by around 1987, desktop [[hard drive]]s rapidly pushed past the 100 MB range by 1990, and the introduction of inexpensive and easily deployable [[local area network]] (LAN) systems provided solutions for those looking for multi-user systems. The introduction of [[workstation]]s opened new markets for graphics-based systems that the terminal-oriented minis could not even address. Minis remained a force for those using existing software products or those who required high-performance multitasking, but the introduction of newer [[operating system]]s based on [[Unix]] began to yield highly practical replacements for these roles as well. For [[computational science]], [[commodity computing|clusters of commodity PCs]] largely replaced minicomputers.

Mini vendors began to rapidly disappear through this period. [[Data General]] responded to the changing market by focusing entirely on the high-performance [[server (computing)|file server]] market, embracing a role within large LANs that appeared resilient. This did not last; [[Novell NetWare]] rapidly pushed such solutions into niche roles, and later versions of [[Microsoft Windows]] did the same to Novell. [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] decided to move into the large-computer space instead, introducing the [[VAX 9000]] mainframe in 1989, but it was a flop in the market and disappeared after almost no sales. The company then attempted to enter the workstation and server markets with the [[DEC Alpha]], but was too late to save the company, and they eventually sold their remains to [[Compaq]] in 1998. By the end of the decade all of the classic vendors were gone; [[Data General]], [[Prime Computer|Prime]], [[Computervision]], [[Honeywell]], and [[Wang Laboratories|Wang]], failed, merged, or were bought out.

Today, only a few proprietary minicomputer architectures survive. The [[IBM System/38]] operating system, which introduced many advanced concepts, lives on with IBM's [[AS/400]]. Great efforts were made by IBM to enable programs originally written for the [[IBM System/34]] and System/36 to be moved to the AS/400. After being rebranded multiple times, the AS/400 platform was replaced by [[IBM Power Systems]] running [[IBM i]]. In contrast, competing proprietary computing architectures from the early 1980s, such as DEC's [[VAX]], [[Wang VS]], and Hewlett-Packard's [[HP 3000]] have long been discontinued without a compatible upgrade path. [[OpenVMS]] was ported to HP [[DEC Alpha|Alpha]] and Intel [[IA-64]] ([[Itanium]]) CPU architectures, and now runs on [[x86-64]] processors.

[[Tandem Computers]], which specialized in reliable large-scale computing, was acquired by [[Compaq]] in 1997, and in 2001 the combined entity merged with [[Hewlett-Packard]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top-end server group comes home to HP |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/top-end-server-group-comes-home-to-hp/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=CNET |language=en}}</ref> The NonStop Kernel-based [[NonStop (server computers)|NonStop]] product line was re-ported from MIPS processors to Itanium-based processors branded as '[[HPE Integrity Servers|HP Integrity]] NonStop Servers'. As in the earlier migration from stack machines to MIPS microprocessors, all customer software was carried forward without source changes. The NSK operating system, now termed [[NonStop OS]], continues as the base software environment for the NonStop Servers, and has been extended to include support for [[Java (software platform)|Java]] and integration with popular development tools such as [[Microsoft Visual Studio|Visual Studio]] and [[Eclipse (software)|Eclipse]]. Later, Hewlett-Packard would split into HP and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. The NonStop products and the DEC products would then be sold by HPE.

===Industrial impact and heritage===
[[Database]] software{{r|rdbmslateryears20070612}} is an example of an area where a variety of companies emerged that built [[turnkey]] systems around minicomputers with specialized software and, in many cases, custom peripherals that addressed specialized problems such as [[computer-aided design]], [[computer-aided manufacturing]], [[process control]], [[manufacturing resource planning]], and so on. Many if not most minicomputers were sold through these [[original equipment manufacturer]]s and [[value-added reseller]]s.

Several pioneering computer companies first built minicomputers, such as [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]], [[Data General]], and [[Hewlett-Packard|Hewlett-Packard (HP)]] (who now refers to its [[HP3000]] minicomputers as "servers" rather than "minicomputers"). And although today's PCs and servers are clearly microcomputers physically, architecturally their CPUs and operating systems have developed largely by integrating features from minicomputers.{{citation_needed|date=January 2016}}

In the software context, the relatively simple OSs for early microcomputers were usually inspired by minicomputer OSs (such as [[CP/M]]'s similarity to Digital's single user [[OS/8]] and [[RT-11]] and multi-user [[RSTS/E|RSTS]] time-sharing system). Also, the multiuser OSs of today are often either inspired by, or directly descended from, minicomputer OSs.{{citation_needed|date=January 2016}} [[Unix]] was originally a minicomputer OS, while the [[Architecture of Windows NT|Windows NT kernel]], the foundation for all current versions of [[Microsoft Windows]], borrowed design ideas liberally from [[OpenVMS|VMS]]. Many of the first generation of PC programmers were educated on minicomputer systems.<ref>{{cite web
|title=History of Computers in Education
|url=https://www.csulb.edu/~murdock/histofcs.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=History of Computer Graphics: Dlr Associates Series
|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1456751158  |isbn=978-1456751159
|author=Dan Ryan  |date=2011| publisher=Author House }}</ref>

==Examples==
*AT&T [[3B_series_computers|3B series computers]]
*[[Basic/Four]]
*[[Bendix G-15]], a vacuum tube computer sometimes considered an early mini
*[[Mitra 15|CII Mitra 15]]
*[[Control Data]]'s [[CDC 160A]] and [[CDC 1700]]
*[[CTL Modular One]], from the UK
*[[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[Programmed Data Processor|PDP]] and [[VAX]] series
*[[Data General]] [[Data General Nova|Nova]] and [[Data General Eclipse|Eclipse]] series
*[[GEC_4000_series|GEC 4000 series]]
*[[Hewlett-Packard]] [[HP 3000]] series and [[HP 2100]] series
*[[Honeywell]]-[[Groupe Bull|Bull]] [[Honeywell Level 6|DPS 6/DPS 6000]] series
*[[K-202]], first Polish minicomputer
*[[Midrange computer#IBM Midrange Systems|IBM midrange computers]]
*[[Olivetti_computers|Olivetti]] L1 series
*[[Interdata 7/32 and 8/32]]
*[[Norsk Data]] [[Nord-1]], [[Nord-10]], and [[Nord-100]]
*[[Prime_Computer|Prime Computer]] products, including the 200, 300, 400, and 50 series
*[[Pyramid Technology]] products
*[[Ridge Computers]] Ridge 32 and Ridge 3200 series
*[[Tandem Computers]] NonStop product line, focusing on Fault Tolerance
*[[Texas Instruments]] [[TI-990]]
*[[Wang_Laboratories#The_Wang_VS_computer_line| Wang VS series]]

==See also==
* ''[[The Soul of a New Machine]]''&nbsp;– about the development of Data General's Eclipse/MV minicomputers in the early 1980s
* [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[[History of computing hardware (1960s–present)]]
* [[Superminicomputer]]
* [[Maxicomputer]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/GBell-minicomputer-list.html A list of Minicomputers]

{{Computer sizes}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Minicomputers|*Minicomputer]]
[[Category:Classes of computers]]
[[Category:American inventions]]