| A
major factor in Intel's success during the Seventies was
when IBM chose Intel's 8088 processor for their personal
computers. The particular computer was called the AT,
or Advanced Technology, and it was a decision that baffled
many, because of the Intel CPU’s awkward design.
The Motorola 68000 microprocessor was chosen for the Apple
Lisa and then the cheaper Macintosh.
In 1979 AMD produced arguably the first
floating point ‘coprocessor’ for microprocessors,
the AMD 9511.
Popularity…
The Intel 286 processor, which was also called the 80286,
was introduced in 1982. This was the first processor
able to run software written for previous processors.
But the best-selling computer Central Processing Unit
of all time was just around the corner. The 386, which
released in 1985, featured 275,000 transistors, more
than 100 times as many as the 4004, and it was the highest
performance commercial processor in the world. It was
32-bit and multi-tasking, which meant that it could
run various programs at the same time. The 386 processor
changed the personal computing market - the 486, Pentium
and even the Pentium III chips are just large 386 chips,
albeit with enhanced features. |
