How much would a PC from the 1980s cost today?

[bob bobato]

Let's say that, using modern computer technology, a handheld device was designed that was exactly as powerful as a PC from the early 1980s. As an example let's use the first IBM PC (5150), which had 16~64 KB memory, a 10MB 'hard disk' ("IBM 5161 Expansion Chassis"), and a 4.77 Mhz Intel 8088 processor.
This device would also double as a USB drive and would have a black & white LCD screen. There would also be a very simple keyboard. Around how much money would it cost to build such a machine?

 

[Genocidicbunny]

20$ or so if made from common parts. My scientific calculator has about as much power.

 

[Joecoolyo]

20$ or so if made from common parts. My scientific calculator has about as much power.

What calculator did you get? Cause when I bought mine it cost me a good $100.

 

[Perfection]

What volume? I mean, if you were to make just 1, it would probably be a few hundred bucks.



Anyways, the pricy stuff is probably going to be the display, the case, batteries, circuit board itself, and the keyboard. What you select here is what is going to drive your prices.

The computer itself would pretty much all be contained within a single chip, which would probably cost you around a couple bucks, down to the cents range if you sell a skazzillion of them.

I'm not sure exaclty how you'd want to do the USB on it, so that makes things a little weird.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

What calculator did you get? Cause when I bought mine it cost me a good $100.

I said scientific, not graphing. Graphing is much more expensive sure.

 

[bob bobato]

I'm not sure exaclty how you'd want to do the USB on it, so that makes things a little weird.

Well there'd have to be some way of getting data to this hypothetical device.

 

[Mise]

Not sure why you'd want to spend so much effort building such a thing if it's basically useless!

 

[bob bobato]

Not sure why you'd want to spend so much effort building such a thing if it's basically useless!

I don't think it would be completely useless. On such a device, you would be able to use .txt files and run simple programs. This could be useful, if you only need to do some really simple tasks on a train and don't want to carry around your heavy laptop. A small PC like this, if it were cheap enough, could be disposable. Evangelists could hand out a device with the Bible in .txt, parents could put game-playing versions in loop bags. And even if it weren't cheap enough to shell out, they would still be very inexpensive. Dollar stores would love these things.

 

[Zelig]

I don't think it would be completely useless. On such a device, you would be able to use .txt files and run simple programs. This could be useful, if you only need to do some really simple tasks on a train and don't want to carry around your heavy laptop. A small PC like this, if it were cheap enough, could be disposable. Evangelists could hand out a device with the Bible in .txt, parents could put game-playing versions in loop bags. And even if it weren't cheap enough to shell out, they would still be very inexpensive. Dollar stores would love these things.

You can do that with a calculator, or a phone, or an mp3 player, or nearly any other modern portable electronic device...

 

[Genocidicbunny]

I don't think it would be completely useless. On such a device, you would be able to use .txt files and run simple programs. This could be useful, if you only need to do some really simple tasks on a train and don't want to carry around your heavy laptop. A small PC like this, if it were cheap enough, could be disposable. Evangelists could hand out a device with the Bible in .txt, parents could put game-playing versions in loop bags. And even if it weren't cheap enough to shell out, they would still be very inexpensive. Dollar stores would love these things.

You can do that with a calculator, or a phone, or an mp3 player, or nearly any other modern portable electronic device...

What he said. If you have an mp3 player, install rockbox and view txt's to your hearts content. You got a phone? That can most likely view them.

A PC from the 1980's would pretty much only be useful for emulation. If you wanted an antique, you wouldnt build yourself a new version, you'd get an actual antique.
And even for emulation, you could just make a software emulator. With the power of todays processors, id be surprised if my ipod couldnt run an effective emulator.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

And supposing your fingers are too big for tiny portable devices?

 

[Genocidicbunny]

And supposing your fingers are too big for tiny portable devices?

What makes you think the OP's idea is any bigger. From what I gathered, it would be a fairly small ( mp3-player sized) device.

If youre fingers are that big, get a stylus. I have big fingers and I have no problems using even the smallest keyboards.

 

[Mise]

I've got Street Fighter II on my mobile phone, along with a .gif tube map (for those rare occasions where I forget where I am ) and a .doc version of my CV (I don't know why I still have this, should probably get rid of it).

I wouldn't want to read anything on such a small device, but if I had an iPhone or any other device with a large enough screen (PSP or various MP3/video players), I wouldn't ever buy books - I'd just download them off Gutenburg! (Well, the out-of-copyright ones at least...)

 

[Joecoolyo]

I said scientific, not graphing. Graphing is much more expensive sure.

Oh, sorry, didn't realize there was a difference.

 

[Speedo]

I don't think it would be completely useless.

I don't think you realize just how un-powerful such device would be. Dirt cheap mp3 players (the kind you get for about $10) are pretty much exactly what you're talking about except for the keyboard and ability to run simple programs*, and they're hundreds if not thousands of times more powerful than the 80s technology you're talking about.

*Not that they can't, they just aren't set up to do it out of the box.

 

[Shadylookin]

I imagine it would be ridiculously expensive since you'd have to make custom parts because no one sells stuff that crappy.

 

[mdwh]

The thing is there'd be nothing to gain by making it to such an old specification. There will always be a minimum cost, because of things such as the display, components, and the biggest factor in reducing the cost of those is the size of the production run.

Consider, you can get 1GB microSD cards for a few quid - but does that mean you can get smaller sizes for much cheaper? Can you get a 10MB microSD cards really cheap? Nope - if you find them, it's probably old stock. You don't reduce the cost by reducing the size, and it'd probably be more expensive to produce a new set of cards rather than using off the shelf components.