MIT TX-0 computer

Date: 1956

Accession: 102631253

Description: Close-up of TX-0 'Marginal Check panel.' Margin checking is a form of reliability testing for computers. MIT's Transistor EXperimental (TX-0) computer was a test bed for a large-scale transistorized computer, one that included a large (64K word) magnetic core memory. It was followed by TX-1 (which was not completed) and TX-2 computers. TX-2 circuitry inspired the design of "laboratory modules" by TX-2 alumni, some of whom went on to form Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). The PDP-1 is considered a direct descendant of the TX-0