Evolution of Computer Processor : Intel at a Glance [Part-1]

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The Processor is the heart of a Computer , the development  of processors began in Late 1960s and Intel came out with the first ever Processor 4004 in 1971 which was a 4 bit microprocessor and now we have advanced so much that we use microprocessors like i3 , i5 and i7. So in this post we will explore different phases of microprocessor development .
The Infographic shown below shows the different phases of microprocessors in 1971 and its gradual development  from 4 bit 4004 in 1971 to 2nd Generation i7 in 2012.

History / Evolution of Microprocessors :


1. Intel 4004 :

  • Year of introduction : 1971
  • 4 bit microprocessor with 2300 transistors
  • 4 KB main memory
  •  Used PMOS technology 
2. Intel 8008:
  • Year Of Introduction : 1972
  • First 8 bit microprocessor , 48 instructions
  •  16 KB main memory , was slow.
3. Intel 8080 :
  • Year of introduction : 1973
  • 8-bit microprocessor 
  • 64 Kb main memory
  • It was faster than 8008 and can handle 50k instructions per second.
  • Used NMOS technology.
  • Considered as the first General purpose micro-processor.
4. Intel 8085 :
  • Year of Introduction : 1976
  • Used only one +5V power supply rather than 3 Power supply needed in earlier 8080.
  • 8 bit microprocessor 
  • 40 Pin DIP
5. Intel 8086 :
  •  Year : 1978
  • 16 bit microprocessor.
  • 1 Mb main memory.
  • It became an Industry Standard.
  • 16 bit data bus width.
6. Intel 8088 :
  •  Year : 1979
  • 8088 was a 16 bit microprocessor and contained 29000 transistors.
  • Chosen for the first IBM Pc.
 7. Intel 80286 :
  • Year of Introduction : 1982
  • High Performance - 16 bit microprocessor with memory mgmt. & protection.
  • 16 MB main memory
  • Instruction execution time was low as 250 ns
8. Intel 80386 :
  • Launched in  Year : 1986
  • Intel's First Practical  and advanced 32 bit Microprocessor.
  • Also known as i386 or  386 
  • First Personal Computer that made use of 80386 was developed by Compaq.
  • Max Cpu Clock rate : 12 Mhz to 40 Mhz.
9. Intel 80486 :


  • Launched in 1989
  • 32 Bit microprocessor 
  • 4GB main memory
  • Execute up to 40 million instructions per second.
  • A 8 k byte Cache on the package.
  • By the use of Pipelining , Instruction get executed in 1 clock rather than 2 clocks used in 386.
Rest of the Microprocessor are Continued in the 2nd Part of This post.....
Still more to come , Read how we headed to Powerful  2nd Generation  Intel  Processors  of 2012 with significant improvement in Configuration , memory capacity and Technology.

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