- October 12
- Advanced Micro Devices and Intel sign a 10-year technology exchange agreement centering on Intel's x86 microprocessor architecture. [732.73] [1160.D4] (1982 [141] [659.7])
- December
- Intel ships the 8087 math coprocessor. [446.504]
1982
- February
- Intel introduces the 6 MHz 80286 microprocessor. It uses a 16-bit data bus, 134,000 transistors (1.5 microns), and offers protected mode operation. Initial price is US$360 each, in quantities of 100. It can access 16 MB of memory, or 1 GB of virtual memory. Speed is 0.9 MIPS. (Later versions operate at 8 MHz, 10 MHz (1.5 MIPS), and 12 MHz (2.66 MIPS).) [177.102] [296] [540.64] [690.94] [879.116] [947.102] [1635.52] (130,000 transistors [447.144] [477.124]) (June [405.60]) (July [9] [346.263]) (1984 [108] [120])
- June
- Intel announces the 80186 microprocessor. [405.60] [1074] [1146.51] (July [9]) (1984 [108] [120])
1983
-
- Zilog announces the Z80000, a 32-bit microprocessor, with 256 byte on-chip cache, instruction pipelining, memory management, 10-25 MHz speed, for US$150 in 1000 unit quantities. [885.8]
- In Cambridge, England, Advanced RISC Machines begins designing a 16 bit processor. [1058.134]
- Western Design Center introduces the 65C816 processor, a 16-bit extension of the 6502 architecture. [824]
- Rockwell International introduces the R65C02 microprocessor, a CMOS version of the 6502 processor. It also adds a few new instructions. [910]
- October
- National Semiconductor begins shipping its 6 MHz 32-bit NS32032 microprocessor. Price is about US$220 each in large quantities. Speed is about 1 MIPS. [364.37] [910.7] [1349.D3]
- Year
- Shipments of personal computers using Intel 8088 processors during the year: over 1 million. [1006.D5]
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1984
- March 9
- Intel and IBM announce a licensing agreement for IBM to manufacture, for its own use, processors based on Intel designs. [879.128] [1342.35]
- March
- NEC introduces the 8 MHz V20 microprocessor, the first clone of Intel's 8088. It uses 63,000 transistors. [477.125]
- NEC introduces the 8 MHz V30 microprocessor, the first clone of Intel's 8086. It uses 63,000 transistors. [477.125]
- June 28
- Motorola introduces the 16 MHz 68020 processor, a 32-bit version of the 68000, in CMOS, with on-board cache. Estimated performance is 2-3 MIPS. Price is US$487 each. [9] [934] [1349.D1] (1986 [120])
- (month unknown)
- Harris Semiconductor announces the 80C88 processor, a CMOS version of Intel's 8088 processor. [951.10]
- Motorola unveils its 68010 CPU chip. [120]
- Intel introduces the 80188 processor. [108] [120]
1985
-
- National Semiconductor debuts the 32000 32-bit processor. [513]
- In England, Advanced RISC Machines ships a 32-bit ARM processor. Its first application is in an accelerator card for Acorn PCs. [32] [599.15]
- Intel introduces the 80287 math coprocessor. [511.309] (1980 [1064.26])
- Motorola unveils its 68008 CPU chip. [120]
- Intel and IBM sign an agreement allowing IBM to manufacture its own x86 processors and design derivative products, but not to sell them directly on the open market. [979]
- Sun Microsystems begins work on its SPARC processor. [160]
- Intel begins circulating prototype chipsets of the 386 processor. [606.77]
- October 16
- Intel introduces the 16 MHz 80386DX microprocessor. It uses 32-bit registers and a 32-bit (16 MHz) data bus, and incorporates 275,000 transistors (1.5 micron width). Initial price is US$299. It can access 4 gigabytes of physical memory, or up to 64 terabytes of virtual memory. Intel spent US$100 million in development costs. [41] [75] [176.74] [177.102] [296] [347.61] [477.125] [540.64] [62] [690.94] [879.116] [900] [940.106] [947.102] [1389.D4] [1635.52] [1897.128]
1986
-
- AT&T creates the first silicon fabrication of its CRISP architecture CPU, incorporating 172,163 transistors, and operating at 16 MHz. [660.6]
- Inmos releases the T800 Transputer, a RISC processor with integrated floating-point capabilities. [556.24]
- NexGen begins work on the design of a fifth generation x86 processor, called the F86. [206.96] [659.9]
- AT&T produces a 32-bit CISC processor, the WE32100. [660.1]
- Motorola begins work on the 88000 processor. [160]
- MIPS Technologies unveils the 8 MHz R2000 32-bit CPU. With 110,000 transistors, it achieves a speed rating of 5 MIPS. [176.75] (1985 [206.124])
- MIPS Technologies begins volume shipments of the 8 MHz R2000 processor. [160]
- August
- Intel ships the 80386 processor. [31] [108]
- September 18
- Motorola announces the Motorola 68030 microprocessor. It incorporates about 300,000 transistors. [16] [423.136] [1400.D2]
1987
- February
- Intel introduces the 20 MHz 80386DX microprocessor. [62]
- April
- Intel finds a problem in the original 80386 processor. [2359.D4]
- (month unknown)
- AT&T creates a modified silicon fabrication of its CRISP architecture CPU, operating at 20 MHz. [660.6]
- Intel introduces the 80387 math coprocessor. [511.312]
- Motorola unveils the 68030 microprocessor. [120]
- Zilog announces the Z180 processor, integrating serial input/output, direct memory accessing, memory management, and a new multiply instruction. Speed is 6-10 MHz at 5 volts. [824]
- July
- Zilog announces the 16-bit Z280 processor, integrating a 256 byte instruction cache and memory management. Speed is 10-12 MHz at 5 volts. [32] [824]
- August 11
- Advanced Micro Devices introduces its own processor compatible with Intel's 80286. AMD claims its processor is 28% faster. [1402.D4]
1988
-
- Apple Computer pays AT&T Microelectronics to develop a low-power, second-generation version of AT&T's C-machine Reduced Instruction Set Processor (CRISP), for use in Apple Computer's pen-based system. [660.1]
- April
- Intel introduces the 25 MHz 80386DX microprocessor. Speed is 8.5 MIPS. [62]
- Weitek introduces the Weitek 3167 math coprocessor chip as an enhancement to Intel's 386 CPU. The 3167 is a single chip equivalent to Weitek's earlier 1167 circuit board coprocessor. [511.319]
- Motorola unveils the 88000 processor. [160]
- June
- Intel introduces the 16 MHz 80386SX microprocessor, like the 80386 but with a 16-bit data bus. Price is US$219 each, in quantities of 100. Speed is 2.5 MIPS. [177.103] [296] [477.126] [540.64] [62] [627.82] [879.117] (July [1255])
- The computer industry is hit with a world-wide shortage of microprocessors. [1200.1-14]
- (month unknown)
- Motorola releases the 33 MHz 68030 processor. Price is US$697 in 100-unit quantities. [1148.36]
- Intel ships the i960KB, a quasi-RISC processor. [556.24]
- NexGen begins work on the Nx586, an x86-class processor with performance advantages of RISC processing. [776.57]
- An engineering task force at Digital Equipment begins project Alpha, to develop a new processor architecture to succeed the VAX. [2027.61] [754.141] (begins in mid-1989 [661.7])
1989
- January
- Intel introduces the 20 MHz 80386SX microprocessor. Speed is 2.5 MIPS. [62]
- April 4
- IBM announces that it began manufacturing a version of the 80386 processor several months ago. [2164.D4]
- April 10
- At the Comdex show, Intel announces the 25 MHz i486 microprocessor. It integrates the 386, 387 math coprocessor, and adds an 8 kB primary cache. It uses 1.2 million transistors, employing 1-micron technology. Initial price is US$900. Speed is 20 MIPS. Bus speed is 25 MHz. [16] [75] [176.75] [177.103] [296] [310.8] [312.8] [540.64] [62] [620.131] [879.117] [900] [940.106] [947.102] [954.4] [1064.146] [1635.52] [1897.129] [2128.S3.11] [2165.D2] [2166.D4] (US$950 [477.126] [690.94])
- At the Comdex show, Intel introduces the 33 MHz version of the 80386DX microprocessor and 80387 math co-processor. This version of the 387 incorporates new technology, making it inherently faster than previous 387 chips. [62] [312.13] [511.319] [2169.S3.14]
- April
- Motorola releases pre-announcement details about the 32-bit 68040 microprocessor. It will incorporate about 1.2 million transistors. [312.8] [423.136] [1064.246] [338]
- Motorola announces the 50 MHz version of the 68030 microprocessor. [312.14]
- (month unknown)
- Harris Semiconductor introduces a 25 MHz version of the 80286 processor. Price is US$142 each in quantities of 1000. [312.13]
- Hitachi countersues Motorola for patent infringement of Motorola's 68030 processor on Hitachi's H8/532 microcontroller. [548.368] [659.5]
- Cypress Semiconductor introduces the 40 MHz 7C601 RISC processor, based on Sun Microsystem's SPARC design. Performance is about 29 MIPS. Price is US$895 in 100 unit quantities. [1084.18]
- Intel unveils the i860 RISC processor. It is the first microprocessor capable of executing two instructions per clock cycle. It features a RISC core, floating point unit, memory management unit, graphics unit, instruction cache, data cache, 4 GB address space, 40-50 MHz speed, and incorporates over one million transistors. [16] [556.24] [1056.333]
- October
- Cyrix introduces the FasMath 83D87 math coprocessor, pin-compatible with Intel's 387. [511.329] [509.219]
- Motorola releases details of the architecture of the 68040 processor. [338]
- (month unknown)
- Motorola begins large volume shipments of the 88100 processor. [541]
- Integrated Information Technology announces the NP-3C87 math coprocessor, compatible with the Intel 80387 chip, and with extra instructions for 4x4 matrix multiplications and more internal registers. 1064.342]
- At the Microprossor Forum, several conference speakers predict that processor clock speeds will not exceed about 50 MHz. [1056.17]
- John Crawford, chief architect of the Intel 80486 processor, predicts that in 1999, Intel will release a processor incorporating 50 million transistors, and be 386 compatible. [1056.17]
- November
- Weitek introduces the Weitek 4167 math coprocessor chip as an enhancement to Intel's 486 CPU. [511.319]
- (month unknown)
- Intel releases the i960CA, a true superscalar microprocessor, capable of executing two instructions at once. [556.24]
- Intel begins production of the 80486 microprocessor. [477.126]
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