Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 18, 2026

IBM 5151

The IBM 5151 is a 12" transistor–transistor logic (TTL) monochrome monitor, shipped with the original IBM Personal Computer for use with the IBM Monochrome Display Adapter. A few other cards were designed to work with it, such as the Hercules Graphics Card.

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An IBM PC with a 5151 monitor source ↗

The IBM 5151 is a 12" transistor–transistor logic (TTL) monochrome monitor, shipped with the original IBM Personal Computer for use with the IBM Monochrome Display Adapter.12345 A few other cards were designed to work with it, such as the Hercules Graphics Card.

The monitor has an 11.5-inch wide CRT (measured diagonally) with 90 degree deflection, etched to reduce glare, with a resolution of 350 horizontal lines and a 50 Hz refresh rate.346 It uses TTL digital inputs through a 9-pin D-shell connector, being able to display at least three brightness levels, according to the different pin 6 and 7 signals.7 It is also plugged into the female AC port on the IBM PC power supply, and thus does not have a power switch of its own.

The IBM 5151 uses the P39 phosphor type, producing a bright green monochrome image intended for displaying high-resolution text.86 This phosphor has high persistence, which decreases display flicker but causes smearing when the image changes.910

Specifications

Type Digital, TTL8
Resolution 720 x 350
Size 11 in × 15 in × 14 in (280 mm × 380 mm × 360 mm) (H×W×D)8
Weight 12.5 lbs(5.44311 kg )8
Heat output 95.2 W8
H-freq 18.432 kHz8
V-freq 50 Hz8
References

References

  1. "The IBM XT LIVES!!". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on 2001-07-12. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  2. "IBM 5151-02 computer monitor, 1983 | Science Museum Group Collection". collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  3. Farquhar, Dave (2021-08-31). "First generation IBM PC monitors". The Silicon Underground. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  4. "IBM 5151 Personal Computer Display - Peripheral - Computing History". www.computinghistory.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  5. IBM 5151 Personal Computer monitor. 1981.
  6. Personal Computer Hardware Reference Library - IBM Monochrome Display (5151) (PDF). IBM.
  7. "minuszerodegrees.net". www.minuszerodegrees.net. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  8. IBM Monochrome Display user manual
  9. Bottles full of nothing, by Steve Gibson, InfoWorld, 11 Jun 1984
  10. By (2022-01-03). "Matrix Digital Rain On The IBM PC With A High Persistence Monitor". Hackaday. Retrieved 2022-11-17.