Best Selling Desktop Computers 1979 – 2021
Best Selling Desktop Computers 1979 – 2021
In this race we will look at the top selling desktop computers since 1979.
It only includes individual series, not full lines such as XPS, Pavillion, Presario, OptiPlex, etc.
Apple II
Originally, Apple was a computer brand for hobbyist, similar to Raspberry Pi. But they quickly became a mainstream computer company with the introduction of the Apple 2.
Commodore VIC-20
The VIC-20 from Commodore was highly successful, becoming the first computer to sell more than a million units.
Sinclair ZX81 (Sinclair 1000)
The Sinclair ZX81 was under-powered for its time with only 1KB of RAM and a 3.25 MHz processor, but its $99 price made it very popular .
Commodore 64
https://amzn.to/39nCM1z (Mini)
The Commodore 64 is touted as the most popular computer of all time and included a 1MHz CPU and of course, 64 KB of RAM.
IBM PC 5150
The first IBM PC came with a 4.77 MHz 16-bit Intel 8088 processor and 16KB of RAM. It was priced between $1500 and $3000.
NEC PC 9800
The NEC PC 9800 was Japan’s answer to IBM’s PC, it featured a 5 MHz Intel 8086 CPU, two display controllers and 128KB of RAM for about the same price. The 8086 CPU gave rise to the x86 architecture, which eventually became Intel’s most successful line of processors.
Sinclair ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum came with 16KB of RAM, and a 3.5 MHz CPU. It’s power and low price of $166 allowed it to become a popular household PC.
Amiga 500
The Amiga 500 made the leap to a 32-bit CPU at 7MHz, 512KB of RAM, support for 4096 colors, and an internal 3.5-inch floppy drive. For only $700.
Apple iMac
https://amzn.to/3qWFaCp (Latest)
The iMac was the beginning of a new era for Apple, not only rescuing the company from a series of flops but also ushering in a new design and marketing strategy.
Mac Mini
https://amzn.to/3iSK2pv (Latest)
The Mac mini was the first mac to ship without a monitor or keyboard. Its focus was to attract PC users and living room usage.
Raspberry Pi
https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/ (Latest)
Although it is mostly used for specific applications in science, robotics and engineering, The Raspberry Pi can also be used as a desktop computer. Making it the best selling desktop computer to date. It’s popularity has to do with its tiny size and price under $40.
What other desktop computer should be in this list?
Source: Statista, Wikipedia, Google Book Search
The Guinness Book of World Records says the C64 is the best selling single computer model of all time with sales of about 30 million units between 1982 and 1993. The only reason the PI is higher is because of all the different models included which will push the sale higher and higher as they bring out new models.
So for example in 2005, the only PC you could buy was a Mac??????? Me thinks not!
Its very cool how you started to put that graph in the bottom of the video, very cool
Does optiplex count as a desktop? Does dell monitors and Acer computers count as a desktop? If not then I didn’t use a desktop.
Commodore forever!
Where are Dell & Gateway ?????
Is a chipset a computer?
Where´s Dell and HP?
♥️♥️♥️♥️
IMac is not the same model over years as C64, raspberry is a moderboard not a full system , other embedded system example car system computer. X68000 ? Msx?
Very inaccurate where are the Atari 800s
Acorn , BBC computers etc? Those were huge in the UK anyway, but how come they are not on the list , like many other I would expect. nice though.
How dare not mentioning MSX!!!
No HP, Dell, or Gateway – what am I missing here?
It’s zed x not zee x
Fun fact: First programmable computer was made by Alan Turing in 1942 for cracking Enigma
I did not see Gateway mentioned late 80’s, early 90’s. Guess they were a collection of parts from several makers.
1kb ram yeah price: 100$ creator: it was cheap. My parents: the time is too expensive at aur times the things were too cheap
Bold move suggesting that a raspberry pi is a desktop computer. And if you’re gonna lump all iMacs and IBM’s together you might as well include HP, dell, gateway, emachine, Lenovo etc.
My first computer was a ZX Spectrum 48K memory and 16 colors in 1983. I worked all summer to buy one and learn’t basic on it.
This list as some others have already commented makes no sense since it has so many mistakes and computers missing. BTW two more computers missing on this list both from AMSTRAD, the CPC and the PCW.
What happened to the BBC Micro? Not a fantastic seller, but it should have been on the list.
Oh I don’t know what is raspberry pi and I haven’t seen it
what about macintosh
How is windows desktop not on this list?
i had zx specrum, commodore 64 and amiga 500…
This list seems inaccurate, I mean, a list of PC vs Mac sales would have been far more accurate. Showing all sales by Dell, by HP, by Gateway, that’s what I expected to see. This is the first ‘bad’ video by this content creator that I’ve seen, and I feel it’s biased to not include those. PC’s have massively outsold Macs over time, anyone with a brain knows that.
Странно, а где пункт пк на виедоус?
Commodore 64 was the best-selling computer until the 2000s, the NEC was a failure as Apple started to sell a lot. But Raspberri Pi in a few years has broken the sales record.
This video sucks
Where is Microsoft Windows?
When did Alienware come out?
wouldn’t call the Raspberry Pi a desktop computer
Does Raspberry Pi support Windows
Where is the MSX?
I thought the commentary was super useful and helpful. Please continue that!
ZX Spectrum’s flagship model came with 48K. There was a 16K, but no so many were sold.
Love macintosh
I loved the Commodore 64, it was affordable and had tons of programs and games.
"Hardly anyone has Macs anymore and no one can stand them." (someone (former friend) in 2004)
Top countries by total number of covid 19 vaccinations administered from January 2021 to October 2021
https://youtu.be/4M5ZgIZsQxw
missing a lot of computers here…
So many brands were missed like Dell, HP, Compaq, and, IBM that this comparison misses the mark on so many levels. I have enjoyed the other videos but not this one.
No Atari ST?
HOW DID YOU FORGET ABOUT THAT MANY COMPUTERS, DID IT TAKE YOU 5 MINUTES TO RESEARCH THIS!?!?!?!? (yes i know researching this is hell, because most of the data can vary a lot, but the info being this incorrect doesn’t need an excuse, and there were much more desktop computers than just the ones you included)
Missed the TRS-80 and Atari. This video favors companies with few models like Apple. Dell had sold a ton of computers. Not shown.
COMPUTER COMPANY RANKING ? ROBOCOP ? K ? NOW ? WORLD BOSS FAMILY MADE COMPUTER INPUT OUTPUT ALL MADE ? SHOW
Forgot the Compaq portable…
Think the voice over is distracting if I’m being honest.
Dont know it its worth something but i have IBM to this Day.