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PS/2 E

The IBM PS/2 E on top of a Model 56 and Model 30 286.
Developer	International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
Manufacturer	IBM
Product family	Personal System/2
Type	Personal computer
Release date	July 29, 1993; 31 years ago (1993-07-29)
Units sold	Around 25,000
Media	1.44 MB 3½-inch floppy disks
Operating system	IBM DOS 5.02 or 6.1, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, OS/2
CPU	50 MHz IBM 486SLC2
Memory	4–16 MB
Storage	120–340 MB hard drive
Input	Track Point II Keyboard, mouse (optional), touch screen
Power	24 PSU
Dimensions	304.8 × 304.8 × 69.6 mm
Mass	4.3–4.66 kg
Related	List of IBM PS/2 models

The PS/2 E or Energy (IBM 9533) is a member of the IBM Personal System/2 family of personal computers (PCs). It was the first Energy Star-compliant PC, consuming very little power relative to other contemporary PCs, and made extensive use of recycled materials in its enclosure.

Specifications

The PS/2 E featured an IBM 486SLC2 microprocessor with a 16 KB L1 cache that ran at 50 MHz on a 25 MHz system bus (the processor clock was double that of the system bus). The processor's performance was dependent on the L1 cache containing the required instructions and data; there was no external L2 cache on the motherboard like on some other 486-based computers.

It featured an ISA bus for input/output, which accepted a single ISA option adapter with the use of a riser card. Depending on the sub-model number, it came supplied with either a special option adapter for four PC card PCMCIA slots, or a network interface card for Ethernet or Token Ring networks for use as a diskless workstation. Additional options included several PCMCIA cards, a color LCD screen, and a color LCD touch-screen with a special version of OS/2.

The PC borrowed some components from IBM's ThinkPad laptops: including the 1.44 MB floppy disk drive and the hard disk drive. Its enclosure was composed of recycled plastics, and was designed to be easily recycled at the end of its service life. The power supply unit maximum power consumption was 24 watts, and was completely passively cooled, and lacked a fan for that reason.

Design

The PS/2 E featured a full-sized internal PC speaker, two SIMM sockets, and an extended bank of memory soldered directly to the motherboard. It featured 1 MB of video memory for the onboard XGA-2 graphics adapter, which was attached to the ISA bus instead of the usual MCA bus. Like all Personal System/2 computers, if a change in hardware is performed, the configuration must be updated with the use of the reference diskette (for example changing the memory size).

• The PS/2 E motherboard
• The power supply and floppy drive on the internal rail
• A closeup of the internal memory bank and two SIMMs

References

1. Ohland, Louis. "386 Upgrades". Retrieved 10 December 2024.
2. "Personal Systems Reference IBM PS/2 1992 to 1995 - withdrawn" (PDF). IBM PC Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
3. Ohland, Louis. "PS/2 E". Retrieved 10 December 2024.

External links

• Image of a PS/2 E with its LCD screen
• Image of a PS/2 E on its box
• A page with some pictures of the PS/2 inside
• IBM Announcement Letter Number 193-226 dated July 29, 1993
• IBM PC Institute - Personal Systems Reference - IBM PS/2 1992 to 1995 - withdrawn.

• IBM PS/2
• Computer-related introductions in 1993