Intel was founded in 1968. The original
name was M & N Electronics, but was changed to Intel (Integrated Electronics).
Intel i4004 CPU
In 1970, Intel produced the world's first general-purpose microprocessor - the
i4004 CPU.
It was originally designed for a calculator manufactured by a Japanese
company, but after the chip was produced the company rejected it. However,
Intel successfully sold it to other companies and earned a lot of money.
Intel i8088 CPU
In 1979, Intel introduced the 8088 processor that sparked the personal
computer revolution. Starting from this IBM adopts Intel processors in
their personal computers.
Intel OverDrive CPU
If you already have a 486 computer and want a better performance without
changing the whole system, you can consider the OverDrive CPU. Basically,
there are 3 models: the DX2, DX4 and the Pentium OverDrive. Among these
three, Pentium OverDrive offers the highest performance since it features
the same core technology as the Pentium processor.
Intel Pentium CPU
At present, Pentium is the most popular CPU since today's software
applications demand more and more computing power.
FDIV Bug of Pentium
Pentium chips manufactured before November 1994 have a bug in their
floating point unit. It returns less than full precision results for
some combinations of divisor and dividend when performing a Floating
point DIVision.
Intel Pentium Pro P6 CPU
This year, Intel introduced the latest CPU - the Pentium Pro (P6). It
employs the latest technology and is supposed to perform at about twice
the speed of the fastest Pentium. However, the P6 has a dark side. It
runs 16-bit software slower than a Pentium does. This is because Intel
optimized the P6 for 32-bit code, making compromises that severely impair
its performance with older, 16-bit code.
Intel's Rivals
There are other chip makers that produce Intel compatible microprocessors:
AMD holds a second source license to produce Intel CPUs. This is because
IBM requires that it can buy the chips from at least two companies. The
chips of AMD are either cheaper or faster than those of Intel. And the K5
CPU, which is of the same class as the Pentium, will be released next year.
Recently, it has introduced the Am5x86 CPU, which is an upgrade chip for
486 computers.
NexGen is the first company to ship a fifth-generation microprocessor,
the Nx586, to compete with Pentium.
Recently, AMD and NexGen have merged and they will continue the
sixth-generation Nx686 design, which is currently in an advanced state
of development. The product will be marketed as the AMD-K6 microprocessor.
Initially, Cyrix only produced Intel compatible math coprocessors.
Currently, it has released the 6x86 processor. It is faster than Pentium
at the same clock rate.
Coming: Intel P7 CPU
Intel, with partner HP, has begun
development of the next generation processor, the P7 (compatible with
the 80x86 series). It is based on Very Long Instruction Word technology,
which may let the 80x86 series architecture finally fade away.
