Classes of computers

Complex instruction set computing (CISC /ˈsɪsk/) is a processor design where single instructions can execute several low-level operations (such as a load from memory, an arithmetic operation, and a memory store) or are capable of multi-step operations or addressing modes within single instructions.

A computer cluster consists of a set of loosely or tightly connected computers that work together so that, in many respects, they can be viewed as a single system.

IBM PC compatible computers are those similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, able to run the same software and support the same expansion cards as those.

A laptop, often called a notebook or "notebook computer", is a small, portable personal computer with a "clamshell" form factor, an alphanumeric keyboard on the lower part of the "clamshell" and a thin LCD or LED computer screen on the upper portion, which is opened up to use the computer.

A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a class of smaller computers that developed in the mid-1960s and sold for much less than mainframe and mid-size computers from IBM and its direct competitors.

A personal computer (PC) is a general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use.

Quantum computing studies theoretical computation systems (quantum computers) that make direct use of quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data.

("RISC" redirects here. For other uses, see RISC (disambiguation).) Reduced instruction set computing, or RISC (pronounced 'risk', /ɹɪsk/), is a CPU design strategy based on the insight that a simplified instruction set provides higher performance when combined with a microprocessor architecture capable of executing those instructions using fewer microprocessor cycles per instruction.

The von Neumann architecture, which is also known as the von Neumann model and Princeton architecture, is a computer architecture based on that described in 1945 by the mathematician and physicist John von Neumann and others in the First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC.

Minisupercomputers constituted a short-lived class of computers that emerged in the mid-1980s, characterized by the combination of vector processing and small-scale multiprocessing.

Hybrid computers are computers that exhibit features of analog computers and digital computers.

An Internet appliance is a consumer device whose main function is easy access to Internet services such as WWW or e-mail.

A superminicomputer, or supermini, was “a minicomputer with high performance compared to ordinary minicomputers.

A mobile Internet device (MID) is a multimedia-capable mobile device providing wireless Internet access.

Lockstep systems are fault-tolerant computer systems that run the same set of operations at the same time in parallel.

A plug-compatible machine is one that has been designed to be backwards compatible with a prior machine.

A stored-program computer is one that stores program instructions in electronic memory.

A portable computer is a computer t is designed to be moved from one place to another and includes a display and keyboard.

A table computer, or a table PC, or a tabletop is a device class of a full-featured large-display portable all-in-one computer with an internal battery.