See Also: Microprocessor, Microprocessor - Construction
One of the primary information sources we used on this topic is Info @ Intel, March, 1996.
Since 1971 Intel has introduced eight major microprocessor families. They are
briefly described below.
Intel 4004
The 4-bit 4004, introduced in 1971, was the world’s first commercial microprocessor. Primitive by today’s standards, this single-chip device contained 2,300 MOS (Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) Transistors and provided as much computing power as the world’s first electronic Computer - the ENIAC - which filled an entire room when it was built in 1946.
Intel 8080
By 1975 the 8-bit 8080 could be found in the very first Personal Computer (PC) , the Altair 8800 from MITS. This rudimentary PC offered instruction cycle Times of two microSeconds (0.5 MHertz (Hz) ) - blazingly fast for the times.
Intel 8086/8088
The 16-bit architecture 8086 was introduced in 1978 and set the standard for
Intel’s most famous product line. The 8088 was introduced in 1979. It contained
29,000 transistors and was the first 16-bit microprocessor with an 8-bit internal
architecture. In 1981 IBM selected the 8088 as the CPU for its initial line
of personal computers - essentially making the Intel microprocessor the industry
standard.
Intel 80286
At its introduction in 1982 it provided about three times the performance of
any 16-bit processor on the market. With 134,000 transistors, it featured
on-chip memory management, enabling users to conduct several different tasks at the
same time.
Intel 80386
Introduced in 1985 it was the first microprocessor to extend the binary
compatibility of the Intel architecture family to 32 bits. It had 275,000
transistors, over 100 times as many as the 4004. Its top operating speed of 5 million
instructions per seconds (MIPS) won it the designation as the highest-performance
commercial microprocessor ever introduced.
Intel 80486
Introduced in 1989 it weighed in at 1.2 million transistors and offered the
performance of a mainframe computer on a single chip.
Intel Pentium
The first Intel processor not to have a number as a name. Why? It is very
difficult to trademark a number such as 286. So other vendors could manufacture
their own 286 and compete with Intel. Pentium is a registered trademark, meaning other
vendors have to call their comparable chips something like 586. The Pentium was introduced in March, 1993, operated at 66 MHz, had over 3
million transistors and broke the 25 MIPS barrier. Current Pentium processors
have nearly eight times the performance of the 33-MHz 486 DX CPU. Intel
continued to deliver improved Pentium chips. The 90 and 100 MHz chips were introduced
in March, 1994. The 75 MHz chip in December, 1994. The 120 MHz chip in
March, 1995. The 133 MHz chip in June, 1995. The 150 and 166 MHz chips in January,
1996. And the 200 MHz chip in June, 1996.
Intel Pentium Pro
Introduced in 1995 with over 5.5 million transistors, only slightly larger in
die size than the 4004 (about the size of a fingernail). Built for powerful
performance in a 32-bit operating environment.