In 1993, I was 14 and already passionate about computers[1]. That year my mother managed to buy a PC for the household. That was quite an effort for a single mother. My brother Aurelien and I spent every waking hour on this machine, staying up all night on weekends.
Discovering the architecture of the PC, learning to program it, exploring how to manage its memory with CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, installing isa cards, drawing with Deluxe Paint, and of course playing games like Dune II, Syndicate, or Day of the Tentacle was so much fun. That time period sets us both on a trajectory towards prolific engineering careers.
One year later we found out the Conforama salesman had tricked us. The Cyrix 486SLC-25Mhz he sold us was just a 386 which could barely run games like DOOM and Strike Commander in stamp size at minimal details level. Of course the neighbor had an IBM PS/1 2168 486DX2-66Mhz where these games ran butter-smooth at 25fps.
That IBM PC was as gorgeous as it was insanely expensive. Adjusted to inflation it fetched close to $6,000. By the time I was old enough to pick up strawberries during the summer to make my own money, Big Blue had been defeated by PC clones. They exited the desktop market shortly after their Aptiva line flopped. I never got a chance to own that IBM[2].
During the winter of 2024 I went back in time and gave that 14-year-old the means to acquire his dream PC. This is the story of how I restored an IBM 2168 and maxed out DOOM.
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Unboxing
Part 3: Picking a keyboard
Part 4: Picking a screen
Part 5: Capturing the screen
Part 6: Installing PC-DOS 7
Part 7: Problems with the FDD
Part 9: Networking
Part A: Sound card
Part B: CD-ROM
Part C: MIDI musics
Part D: Speakers
Part E: DOOM
Part F: More games
Part G: Upgrading the L2 cache
Part H: Upgrading the CPU
Part I: Epilogue
Announced in March 1993[3][4], the 2168 was part of IBM's 30-model line. While other models like the PS/1 2133 came in standard horizontal form-factor, the 2168 was a "Mini-Tower".
I loved the idea of having a handle on the top to make it easy to carry to LAN parties. This is a feature I have always enjoyed and contributed to my appreciation of later machines such as the Apple Mac Pro 2009 and the Lenovo ThinkStation P690.
The user friendliness did not stop at the handle. Unlike many boxy PCs of the era, the PS/1 featured rounded corners on the monitor and system unit, giving it a softer, more approachable look.
The front panel was cleverly designed with a slider to hide the disgracious 5.25" floppy drive and CD drive while leaving the most frequently used 3½" FDD available. An optional grey base offered more stability while completing the signature IBM color palette made of beige, dark grey, and blue.
These many subtle touches made the IBM PS/1 2168 a polished product screaming excellence[5].
Another immensely appealing aspect of the IBM PS/1 computer is that they usually came with what is considered by many the best keyboard of all time. The overall quality and unmistakable clicky sound of the model M re-enforced the impression of a rock solid, well-built computer.
Big blue even manufactured a Space Saving version (SSK) devoid of a keypad which I found even more beautiful than the full size model. I revisit the topic of the keyboard in another page but will leave the reader with clickykeyboard.com and the Wikipedia page[6] to learn more.
8BitDo makes a fantastic modern keyboard inspired by the M looks and feel.
While most clone PCs came with zero documentation, the IBM PS/1 featured stellar manuals explaining in detail how to maintain and upgrade the machine.
Another advantage of these IBM PS/1 is that they were upgradable. Contrary to PC clones where everything was often soldered, these came with an Intel Overdrive socket to upgrade the CPU, and extra slots to increase the L1 cache, RAM, and VRAM.
Expandability via HDDs and ISA cards was provisioned from the ground up and indicated via the computer's codename. The 6 and 8 in 2168 respectively refer to the available bays (6) and ISA expansion slots (8).
Accordingly, the horizontal form factor PS/1 2133 had three (3) ISA slots and three (3) bays.
As I embarked on the journey to acquire an IBM PS/1 2168 and restore it, it dawned on me this was going to be harder than originally envisioned.
Not only was I going after a thirty-year old machine which most models had been damaged, discarded, or plainly stopped working, I was also going after a popular model. As a proof of its sought-after status, I found many people proudly displaying their setup.
Some loved their machine so much they even kept the original, thirty-years-old receipt.
In one particular instance one fan enjoyed the 2168 form-factor so much they gutted the inside to replace it with modern components.
Beyond the problem introduced by scarcity, I upped the difficulty with two criteria.
As luck would have it, I found a PS/1 2168-594[11] DX2-66Mhz within a week of searching. It was located in Finland and came with all the original boxes, manuals, and even the dark grey base. The listing showed the machine running Windows 3.1.
The seller had it in a lot with two CRTs (one broken, and one for PS/2) that I did not want. After a short negotiation we reached an agreement involving the central unit only.
Having the original box was almost as important as getting the PC. I explained this remote concept to the seller who eventually agreed not to slap a stamp on the PS/1 box. I payed and started praying the seller would pack it well.
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| ^ | [ 1] | I wrote my first loop when I was 7 using the Logo programming language (a.k.a Turtle) on a Thomson MO5. My school was part of the 1985 'Plan Informatique pour tous'. |
| ^ | [ 2] | Decades later I would treat myself to a dreamy Thinkpad T42. |
| ^ | [ 3] | PERSONAL COMPUTERS; From Stepchild to Favorite Son |
| ^ | [ 4] | IBM UNVEILS NEW PS/1 COMPUTER LINE |
| ^ | [ 5] | IBM Aptiva 2168 review Retro PC Build |
| ^ | [ 6] | Model M keyboard |
| ^ | [ 7] | Epictronics: The Priest Gaming Rig |
| ^ | [ 8] | Epictronics: 2x faster DOOM Hack |
| ^ | [ 9] | Epictronics: 3.6X faster DOOM |
| ^ | [10] | Epictronics: Overclocking IBM PS/1 486 |
| ^ | [11] | The IBM PS/1 came in various configurations identified by a three alphanumerical suffix |