Difference between revisions of "IBM 701"
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* Charles J. Bashe, Lyle R. Johnson, John H. Palmer, Emerson W. Pugh, ''IBM's Early Computers'', MIT Press, Cambridge, 1986 | * Charles J. Bashe, Lyle R. Johnson, John H. Palmer, Emerson W. Pugh, ''IBM's Early Computers'', MIT Press, Cambridge, 1986 | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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** Harold D. Ross, [http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/701/Buchholz_IBM_701_System_Design_Oct53.pdf The Arithmetic Element of the IBM Type 701 Computer], ''Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers'', Vol. 41 No. 10, October, 1953 pp. 1287-1294 | ** Harold D. Ross, [http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/701/Buchholz_IBM_701_System_Design_Oct53.pdf The Arithmetic Element of the IBM Type 701 Computer], ''Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers'', Vol. 41 No. 10, October, 1953 pp. 1287-1294 | ||
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[[Category: IBM Mainframes]] | [[Category: IBM Mainframes]] | ||
Latest revision as of 13:16, 4 November 2025
| IBM 701 | |
| Manufacturer: | International Business Machines |
|---|---|
| Year Announced: | April, 1952 |
| Year Design Started: | February, 1951 |
| Year First Shipped: | December, 1952 |
| Year Discontinued: | June, 1954 |
| Form Factor: | mainframe |
| Word Size: | 18 or 36 bits |
| Logic Type: | vacuum tubes |
| Instruction Speed: | 60 μsec (basic add) 456 μsec (multiply) |
| Predecessor(s): | IBM 604 |
| Successor(s): | IBM 704 |
| Price: | US$15,000/month (rental only) |
The IBM 701 (initially known as the IBM Defense Calculator) was IBM's first commercial computer; it was later described as being "key to IBM's transition from punched-card machines to electronic computers". It was a vacuum tube scientific mainframe (built at a time when computers were generally only used for scientific, and not business, computing).
It was announced in April, 1952. 19 were produced (18 by June, 1954, when production ended; the last was a later special order for use in weather forecasting by the US government).
It was a fairly modern machine in architectual terms, compared to its close contemporary, the IBM 650; it was parallel, not serial, and it used binary internally. It used Williams tube electrostatic cathode ray tubes for main memory; each tube held 1K bits, and a bank contained 36 tubes. Configurations could have either one or two banks.
Secondary storage included up to 4 drums, each holding 2048 long-words, capable of transferring 800 words/second. A system included four magnetic tape drives, using 1/2" plastic tape; the first magnetic tape on a computer.
Other peripherals included a printer, and punched card reader and punch.
Further reading
- Charles J. Bashe, Lyle R. Johnson, John H. Palmer, Emerson W. Pugh, IBM's Early Computers, MIT Press, Cambridge, 1986
External links
- 701 - documentation at Bitsavers
- Werner Buchholz, The System Design of the IBM Type 701 Computer, Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, Vol. 41 No. 10, October, 1953 pp. 1262-1275
- Clarence E. Frizzell, Engineering Description of the IBM Type 701 Computer, Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, Vol. 41 No. 10, October, 1953 pp. 1275-1287
- Harold D. Ross, The Arithmetic Element of the IBM Type 701 Computer, Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, Vol. 41 No. 10, October, 1953 pp. 1287-1294
- Archives: The Computer Pioneers - The Development of the IBM 701
