page_title: IBM PCjr
section_title: Overview
hierarchical_section_title: IBM PCjr / Description / Overview
caption_attribution_description: English: PCjr with most available upgrades available from PC Enterprises, including combo cartridge, dual floppy drives, and bootable from the twin ST-225 SCSI drives using Future Domain firmware { hidden under monitor cover on right}. System is playing game "Battlechess". New larger keyboard is on top of Taxan RGB monitor.
context_page_description: The IBM PCjr is a home computer that was produced and marketed by IBM from March 1984 to May 1985. The PCjr was positioned as a complement to the very successful IBM Personal Computer, competing with other home computers such as the Apple II series and the Commodore 64. It retains the IBM PC's 8088 CPU and BIOS interface, but provides enhanced graphics and sound capabilities over the original IBM PC, ROM cartridge slots, joystick ports, and an infrared wireless keyboard. The PCjr supports expansion via "sidecar" modules, which are attached to the side of the unit. New software such as King's Quest I showcased its PC gaming capabilities.
  Despite widespread anticipation, the PCjr's launch was unsuccessful. IBM's inexperience with the consumer market led to unclear positioning, with analysts believing that IBM was unsuccessful at justifying the PCjr's higher cost in comparison to competitors such as the Commodore 64 and Apple II. It is only partially IBM compatible, so compatibility with existing PC software such as the killer app Lotus 1-2-3 was not guaranteed.
context_section_description: Announced November 1, 1983, and first shipped in late January 1984, the PCjr—nicknamed "Peanut" before its debut—came in two models: the 4860-004, with 64 KB of memory, priced at US$669 (equivalent to $1,717 in 2019); and the 4860-067, with 128 KB of memory and a 360 KB 5.25-inch floppy disk drive, priced at US$1,269 (equivalent to $3,258 in 2019). It was manufactured for IBM in Lewisburg, Tennessee by Teledyne. The PCjr promised a high degree of compatibility with the IBM PC, which was already a popular business computer, in addition to offering built-in color graphics and 3 voice sound that was better than the standard PC-speaker sound and color graphics of the standard IBM PC and compatibles of the day.  The PCjr was also the first PC compatible machine that was expressly designed to support page flipping for graphics operations. Since the PCjr uses system RAM to store video content, and the location of this storage area can be changed, it can perform flicker-free animation and other effects that are difficult or impossible to produce on contemporary PC clones.
caption: A PCjr featuring most upgrades available from PC Enterprises, including combo cartridge, dual floppies, twin ST-225 HDDs (bootable via Future Domain firmware hidden under cover on right). Replacement keyboard sits on top of the Taxan RGB monitor. System is showing "Battlechess".
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