Microprocessor

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Intel 4004, the first commercial microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit !"#$ on a
single integrated circuit I!$,
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or at most a fe( integrated circuits)
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It is a multipurpose,
programma+le device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions
stored in its memory, and provides results as output) It is an e,ample of se-uential digital logic,
as it has internal memory) .icroprocessors operate on num+ers and sym+ols represented in the
+inary numeral system)
/he advent of lo(0cost computers on integrated circuits has transformed modern society)
1eneral0purpose microprocessors in personal computers are used for computation, te,t editing,
multimedia display, and communication over the Internet) .any more microprocessors are part
of em+edded systems, providing digital control over myriad o+2ects from appliances to
automo+iles to cellular phones and industrial process control)
Origins
3uring the &450s, computer processors (ere constructed out of small and medium0scale I!s6
each containing from tens to a fe( hundred transistors) /hese (ere placed and soldered onto
printed circuit +oards, and often multiple +oards (ere interconnected in a chassis) /he large
num+er of discrete logic gates used more electrical po(er6and therefore produced more heat6
than a more integrated design (ith fe(er I!s) /he distance that signals had to travel +et(een I!s
on the +oards limited a computer's operating speed)
In the 7A8A Apollo space missions to the moon in the &450s and &490s, all on+oard
computations for primary guidance, navigation and control (ere provided +y a small custom
processor called :/he Apollo 1uidance !omputer:) It used (ire (rap circuit +oards (hose only
logic elements (ere three0input 7;< gates)
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/he integration of a (hole !"# onto a single chip or on a fe( chips greatly reduced the cost of
processing po(er) /he integrated circuit processor (as produced in large num+ers +y highly
automated processes, so unit cost (as lo() 8ingle0chip processors increase relia+ility as there are
many fe(er electrical connections to fail) As microprocessor designs get faster, the cost of
manufacturing a chip (ith smaller components +uilt on a semiconductor chip the same si>e$
generally stays the same)
.icroprocessors integrated into one or a fe( large0scale I!s the architectures that had previously
+een implemented using many medium0 and small0scale integrated circuits) !ontinued increases
in microprocessor capacity have rendered other forms of computers almost completely o+solete
see history of computing hard(are$, (ith one or more microprocessors used in everything from
the smallest em+edded systems and handheld devices to the largest mainframes and
supercomputers)
/he first microprocessors emerged in the early &490s and (ere used for electronic calculators,
using +inary0coded decimal ?!3$ arithmetic on 40+it (ords) ;ther em+edded uses of 40+it and
@0+it microprocessors, such as terminals, printers, various kinds of automation etc), follo(ed
soon after) Afforda+le @0+it microprocessors (ith &50+it addressing also led to the first general0
purpose microcomputers from the mid0&490s on)
8ince the early &490s, the increase in capacity of microprocessors has follo(ed .oore's la(A this
originally suggested that the num+er of components that can +e fitted onto a chip dou+les every
year) With present technology, it is actually every t(o years,
%4'
and as such .oore later changed
the period to t(o years)
%B'
Embedded applications
/housands of items that (ere traditionally not computer0related include microprocessors) /hese
include large and small household appliances, cars and their accessory e-uipment units$, car
keys, tools and test instruments, toys, light s(itchesCdimmers and electrical circuit +reakers,
smoke alarms, +attery packs, and hi0fi audioCvisual components from 3D3 players to
phonograph turnta+les$) 8uch products as cellular telephones, 3D3 video system and E3/D
+roadcast systems fundamentally re-uire consumer devices (ith po(erful, lo(0cost,
microprocessors) Increasingly stringent pollution control standards effectively re-uire
automo+ile manufacturers to use microprocessor engine management systems, to allo( optimal
control of emissions over (idely varying operating conditions of an automo+ile) 7on0
programma+le controls (ould re-uire comple,, +ulky, or costly implementation to achieve the
results possi+le (ith a microprocessor)
A microprocessor control program em+edded soft(are$ can +e easily tailored to different needs
of a product line, allo(ing upgrades in performance (ith minimal redesign of the product)
3ifferent features can +e implemented in different models of a product line at negligi+le
production cost)
.icroprocessor control of a system can provide control strategies that (ould +e impractical to
implement using electromechanical controls or purpose0+uilt electronic controls) For e,ample, an
engine control system in an automo+ile can ad2ust ignition timing +ased on engine speed, load on
the engine, am+ient temperature, and any o+served tendency for knocking6allo(ing an
automo+ile to operate on a range of fuel grades)
Structure
A block diagram of the internal architecture of the Z80 microprocessor, showing the
arithmetic and logic section, register fle, control logic section, and bufers to
external address and data lines
/he internal arrangement of a microprocessor varies depending on the age of the design and the
intended purposes of the processor) /he comple,ity of an integrated circuit is +ounded +y
physical limitations of the num+er of transistors that can +e put onto one chip, the num+er of
package terminations that can connect the processor to other parts of the system, the num+er of
interconnections it is possi+le to make on the chip, and the heat that the chip can dissipate)
Advancing technology makes more comple, and po(erful chips feasi+le to manufacture)
A minimal hypothetical microprocessor might only include an arithmetic logic unit AF#$ and a
control logic section) /he AF# performs operations such as addition, su+traction, and operations
such as A73 or ;<) Gach operation of the AF# sets one or more flags in a status register, (hich
indicate the results of the last operation >ero value, negative num+er, overflo() or others$) /he
logic section retrieves instruction operation codes from memory, and initiates (hatever se-uence
of operations of the AF# re-uires to carry out the instruction) A single operation code might
affect many individual data paths, registers, and other elements of the processor)
As integrated circuit technology advanced, it (as feasi+le to manufacture more and more
comple, processors on a single chip) /he si>e of data o+2ects +ecame largerA allo(ing more
transistors on a chip allo(ed (ord si>es to increase from 40 and @0+it (ords up to today's 540+it
(ords) Additional features (ere added to the processor architectureA more on0chip registers
speeded up programs, and comple, instructions could +e used to make more compact programs)
Floating0point arithmetic, for e,ample, (as often not availa+le on @0+it microprocessors, +ut had
to +e carried out in soft(are) Integration of the floating point unit first as a separate integrated
circuit and then as part of the same microprocessor chip, speeded up floating point calculations)
;ccasionally, physical limitations of integrated circuits made such practices as a +it slice
approach necessary) Instead of processing all of a long (ord on one integrated circuit, multiple
circuits in parallel processed su+sets of each data (ord) While this re-uired e,tra logic to handle,
for e,ample, carry and overflo( (ithin each slice, the result (as a system that could handle, say,
=*0+it (ords using integrated circuits (ith a capacity for only 4 +its each)
With the a+ility to put large num+ers of transistors on one chip, it +ecomes feasi+le to integrate
memory on the same die as the processor) /his !"# cache has the advantage of faster access
than off0chip memory, and increases the processing speed of the system for many applications)
1enerally, processor speed has increased more rapidly than e,ternal memory speed, so cache
memory is necessary if the processor is not delayed +y slo(er e,ternal memory)
Firsts
/hree pro2ects delivered a microprocessor at a+out the same time: 1arrett Ai<esearch's !entral
Air 3ata !omputer !A3!$ &45@$, /e,as Instruments /I$ /.8 &000 &49& 8eptem+er$, and
Intel's 4004 &49& 7ovem+er$)
CADC
This section relies on references to primary sources. lease add
references to secondar! or tertiar! sources. (March 2010)
"or more details on this topic, see #entral Air $ata #omputer.
In &45@, 1arrett Ai<esearch (hich employed designers <ay Eolt and 8teve 1eller$ (as invited
to produce a digital computer to compete (ith electromechanical systems then under
development for the main flight control computer in the #8 7avy's ne( F0&4 /omcat fighter)
/he design (as complete +y &490, and used a .;80+ased chipset as the core !"#) /he design
(as significantly appro,imately *0 times$ smaller and much more relia+le than the mechanical
systems it competed against, and (as used in all of the early /omcat models) /his system
contained :a *00+it, pipelined, parallel multi0microprocessor:) /he 7avy refused to allo(
pu+lication of the design until &449) For this reason the !A3!, and the ."444 chipset it used,
are fairly unkno(n)
%5'
<ay Eolt graduated !alifornia "olytechnic #niversity in &45@, and +egan
his computer design career (ith the !A3!) From its inception, it (as shrouded in secrecy until
&44@ (hen at Eolt's re-uest, the #8 7avy allo(ed the documents into the pu+lic domain) 8ince
then several
%who?'
have de+ated if this (as the first microprocessor) Eolt has stated that no one has
compared this microprocessor (ith those that came later)
%9'
According to "ara+ et al) *009$,
"The scientific papers and literature published around 1971 reveal that the MP944 digital
processor used for the F-14 Tocat aircraft of the !" #av$ %ualifies as the first icroprocessor&
'lthough interesting( it was not a single-chip processor( as was not the )ntel 4**4 + the$ both
were ore li,e a set of parallel building bloc,s $ou could use to a,e a general-purpose for& )t
contains a -P!( .'M( ./M( and two other support chips li,e the )ntel 4**4& )nteresting it was
ade fro the e0act P--hannel technolog$ and operated at Mil "pec1s with larger chips& 'n
e0cellent coputer engineering design b$ an$ standards& )ts design indicates a a2or advance
over )ntel and two $ear earlier& )t actuall$ wor,ed and was fl$ing in the F-14 when the )ntel
4**4 was announced& )t indicates that toda$3s industr$ thee of converging 4"P-icrocontroller
architectures was started in 1971&"
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/his convergence of 38" and microcontroller architectures
is kno(n as a 3igital 8ignal !ontroller)
%citation needed'
Gilbert Hyatt
1il+ert Eyatt (as a(arded a patent claiming an invention pre0dating +oth /I and Intel,
descri+ing a :microcontroller:)
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/he patent (as later invalidated, +ut not +efore su+stantial
royalties (ere paid out)
%&0'%&&'
TMS 1
/he 8mithsonian Institution says /I engineers 1ary ?oone and .ichael !ochran succeeded in
creating the first microcontroller also called a microcomputer$ and the first lone0chipped !"# in
&49&) /he result of their (ork (as the /.8 &000, (hich (ent commercial in &494)
%&*'
/I stressed
the 40+it /.8 &000 for use in pre0programmed em+edded applications, introducing a version
called the /.8&@0*7! on 8eptem+er &9, &49& that implemented a calculator on a chip)
/I filed for a patent on the microprocessor) 1ary ?oone (as a(arded #)8) "atent =,9B9,=05 for
the single0chip microprocessor architecture on 8eptem+er 4, &49=) In &49& and again in &495,
Intel and /I entered into +road patent cross0licensing agreements, (ith Intel paying royalties to
/I for the microprocessor patent) A history of these events is contained in court documentation
from a legal dispute +et(een !yri, and Intel, (ith /I as intervenor and o(ner of the
microprocessor patent)
A computer0on0a0chip com+ines the microprocessor core !"#$, memory, and IC; inputCoutput$
lines onto one chip) /he computer0on0a0chip patent, called the :microcomputer patent: at the
time, #)8) "atent 4,094,=B&, (as a(arded to 1ary ?oone and .ichael J) !ochran of /I) Aside
from this patent, the standard meaning of microcomputer is a computer using one or more
microprocessors as its !"#s$, (hile the concept defined in the patent is more akin to a
microcontroller)
!ntel ""
The %00% with co&er remo&ed 'left( and as actuall! used 'right(
)ain article* +ntel %00%
/he Intel 4004 is generally regarded as the first commercially availa+le microprocessor,
%&='%&4'
and
cost H50)
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/he first kno(n advertisement for the 4004 is dated 7ovem+er &B, &49& and
appeared in Glectronic 7e(s)
%&5'
/he pro2ect that produced the 4004 originated in &454, (hen
?usicom, a Japanese calculator manufacturer, asked Intel to +uild a chipset for high0performance
desktop calculators) ?usicom's original design called for a programma+le chip set consisting of
seven different chips) /hree of the chips (ere to make a special0purpose !"# (ith its program
stored in <;. and its data stored in shift register read0(rite memory) /ed Eoff, the Intel
engineer assigned to evaluate the pro2ect, +elieved the ?usicom design could +e simplified +y
using dynamic <A. storage for data, rather than shift register memory, and a more traditional
general0purpose !"# architecture) Eoff came up (ith a fourIchip architectural proposal: a <;.
chip for storing the programs, a dynamic <A. chip for storing data, a simple IC; device and a 40
+it central processing unit !"#$) Although not a chip designer, he felt the !"# could +e
integrated into a single chip, +ut as he lacked the technical kno(0ho( the idea remained 2ust a
(ish for the time +eing)
While the architecture and specifications of the .!804 came from the interaction of Eoff (ith
8tanley .a>or, a soft(are engineer reporting to him, and (ith ?usicom engineer .asatoshi
8hima, during &454, .a>or and Eoff moved on to other pro2ects) In April &490, Intel hired
Italian0+orn engineer Federico Faggin as pro2ect leader, a move that ultimately made the single0
chip !"# final design a reality 8hima instead designed the ?usicom calculator firm(are and
assisted Faggin during the first si, months of the implementation$) Faggin, (ho originally
developed the silicon gate technology 81/$ in &45@ at Fairchild 8emiconductor
%&9'
and designed
the (orldJs first commercial integrated circuit using 81/, the Fairchild =90@, had the correct
+ackground to lead the pro2ect into (hat (ould +ecome the first commercial general purpose
microprocessor, since it (as his very o(n invention, 81/ in addition to his ne( methodology for
random logic design, that made it possi+le to implement a single0chip !"# (ith the proper
speed, po(er dissipation and cost) /he manager of Intel's .;8 3esign 3epartment (as Feslie F)
DadKs>) at the time of the .!804 development, +ut Dadas>'s attention (as completely focused on
the mainstream +usiness of semiconductor memories and he left the leadership and the
management of the .!804 pro2ect to Faggin, (ho (as ultimately responsi+le for leading the
4004 pro2ect to its reali>ation) "roduction units of the 4004 (ere first delivered to ?usicom in
.arch &49& and shipped to other customers in late &49&)
#ico$General !nstrument
The +#,-./+010 chip introduced in -23-. This was designed b! ico 4lectronics
'/lenrothes, 5cotland( and manufactured b! /eneral +nstrument of 6icks&ille 78
In &49& "ico Glectronics
%&@'
and 1eneral Instrument 1I$ introduced their first colla+oration in
I!s, a complete single chip calculator I! for the .onroeCFitton <oyal 3igital III calculator) /his
chip could also argua+ly lay claim to +e one of the first microprocessors or microcontrollers
having <;., <A. and a <I8! instruction set on0chip) /he layout for the four layers of the
".;8 process (as hand dra(n at ,B00 scale on mylar film, a significant task at the time given
the comple,ity of the chip)
"ico (as a spinout +y five 1I design engineers (hose vision (as to create single chip calculator
I!s) /hey had significant previous design e,perience on multiple calculator chipsets (ith +oth
1I and .arconi0Glliott)
%&4'
/he key team mem+ers had originally +een tasked +y Glliott
Automation to create an @ +it computer in .;8 and had helped esta+lish a .;8 <esearch
Fa+oratory in 1lenrothes, 8cotland in &459)
!alculators (ere +ecoming the largest single market for semiconductors and "ico and 1I (ent
on to have significant success in this +urgeoning market) 1I continued to innovate in
microprocessors and microcontrollers (ith products including the !"&500, I;?&5@0 and
"I!&5B0)
%*0'
In &4@9 the 1I .icroelectronics +usiness (as spun out into the .icrochip "I!
microcontroller +usiness)
Four%#&ase Systems A'1
/he Four0"hase 8ystems AF& (as an @0+it +it slice chip containing eight registers and an AF#)
%*&'
It (as designed +y Fee ?oysel in &454)
%**'%*='%*4'
At the time, it formed part of a nine0chip, *40
+it !"# (ith three AF&s, +ut it (as later called a microprocessor (hen, in response to &440s
litigation +y /e,as Instruments, a demonstration system (as constructed (here a single AF&
formed part of a courtroom demonstration computer system, together (ith <A., <;., and an
input0output device)
%*B'
(%bit designs
This section and the sections below needs additional citations for
)eri*cation. lease help impro&e this article b! adding citations to reliable
sources. 9nsourced material ma! be challenged and remo&ed. (June 2011)
/he Intel 4004 (as follo(ed in &49* +y the Intel @00@, the (orld's first @0+it microprocessor)
/he @00@ (as not, ho(ever, an e,tension of the 4004 design, +ut instead the culmination of a
separate design pro2ect at Intel, arising from a contract (ith !omputer /erminals !orporation, of
8an Antonio /L, for a chip for a terminal they (ere designing,
%*5'
the 3atapoint **00 6
fundamental aspects of the design came not from Intel +ut from !/!) In &45@, !/!'s Dic "oor
and Earry "yle developed the original design for the instruction set and operation of the
processor) In &454, !/! contracted t(o companies, Intel and /e,as Instruments, to make a
single0chip implementation, kno(n as the !/! &*0&)
%*9'
In late &490 or early &49&, /I dropped
out +eing una+le to make a relia+le part) In &490, (ith Intel yet to deliver the part, !/! opted to
use their o(n implementation in the 3atapoint **00, using traditional //F logic instead thus the
first machine to run M@00@ codeN (as not in fact a microprocessor at all and (as delivered a year
earlier$) Intel's version of the &*0& microprocessor arrived in late &49&, +ut (as too late, slo(,
and re-uired a num+er of additional support chips) !/! had no interest in using it) !/! had
originally contracted Intel for the chip, and (ould have o(ed them HB0,000 for their design
(ork)
%*9'
/o avoid paying for a chip they did not (ant and could not use$, !/! released Intel
from their contract and allo(ed them free use of the design)
%*9'
Intel marketed it as the @00@ in
April, &49*, as the (orld's first @0+it microprocessor) It (as the +asis for the famous :.ark0@:
computer kit advertised in the maga>ine .adio-5lectronics in &494)
/he @00@ (as the precursor to the very successful Intel @0@0 &494$, (hich offered much
improved performance over the @00@ and re-uired fe(er support chips, Oilog O@0 &495$, and
derivative Intel @0+it processors) /he competing .otorola 5@00 (as released August &494 and
the similar .;8 /echnology 5B0* in &49B +oth designed largely +y the same people$) /he 5B0*
family rivaled the O@0 in popularity during the &4@0s)
A lo( overall cost, small packaging, simple computer +us re-uirements, and sometimes the
integration of e,tra circuitry e)g) the O@0's +uilt0in memory refresh circuitry$ allo(ed the home
computer :revolution: to accelerate sharply in the early &4@0s) /his delivered such ine,pensive
machines as the 8inclair OL0@&, (hich sold for #8H44) A variation of the 5B0*, the .;8
/echnology 5B&0 (as used in the !ommodore 54 and yet another variant, the @B0*, po(ered the
!ommodore &*@)
/he Western 3esign !enter, Inc W3!$ introduced the !.;8 5B!0* in &4@* and licensed the
design to several firms) It (as used as the !"# in the Apple IIe and IIc personal computers as
(ell as in medical implanta+le grade pacemakers and defi+rillators, automotive, industrial and
consumer devices) W3! pioneered the licensing of microprocessor designs, later follo(ed +y
A<. and other microprocessor Intellectual "roperty I"$ providers in the &440s)
.otorola introduced the .!5@04 in &49@, an am+itious and thought0through @0+it design source
compati+le (ith the 5@00 and implemented using purely hard0(ired logic) 8u+se-uent &50+it
microprocessors typically used microcode to some e,tent, as !I8! design re-uirements (ere
getting too comple, for purely hard0(ired logic only)$
Another early @0+it microprocessor (as the 8ignetics *5B0, (hich en2oyed a +rief surge of
interest due to its innovative and po(erful instruction set architecture)
A seminal microprocessor in the (orld of spaceflight (as <!A's <!A &@0* aka !3"&@0*,
<!A !;8.A!$ introduced in &495$, (hich (as used on +oard the 1alileo pro+e to Jupiter
launched &4@4, arrived &44B$) <!A !;8.A! (as the first to implement !.;8 technology)
/he !3"&@0* (as used +ecause it could +e run at very lo( po(er, and +ecause a variant (as
availa+le fa+ricated using a special production process 8ilicon on 8apphire$, providing much
+etter protection against cosmic radiation and electrostatic discharges than that of any other
processor of the era) /hus, the 8;8 version of the &@0* (as said to +e the first radiation0
hardened microprocessor)
/he <!A &@0* had (hat is called a static design, meaning that the clock fre-uency could +e
made ar+itrarily lo(, even to 0 E>, a total stop condition) /his let the 1alileo spacecraft use
minimum electric po(er for long uneventful stretches of a voyage) /imers or sensors (ould
a(aken the processor in time for important tasks, such as navigation updates, attitude control,
data ac-uisition, and radio communication) !urrent versions of the Western 3esign !enter
5B!0* and 5B!@&5 have static cores, and thus retain data even (hen the clock is completely
halted)
1+%bit designs
/he Intersil 5&00 family consisted of a &*0+it microprocessor the 5&00$ and a range of
peripheral support and memory I!s) /he microprocessor recognised the 3G! "3"0@
minicomputer instruction set) As such it (as sometimes referred to as the CMOS-PDP8) 8ince it
(as also produced +y Earris !orporation, it (as also kno(n as the Harris HM-6100) ?y virtue
of its !.;8 technology and associated +enefits, the 5&00 (as +eing incorporated into some
military designs until the early &4@0s)
1,%bit designs
/he first multi0chip &50+it microprocessor (as the 7ational 8emiconductor I."0&5, introduced
in early &49=) An @0+it version of the chipset (as introduced in &494 as the I."0@)
;ther early multi0chip &50+it microprocessors include one that 3igital G-uipment !orporation
3G!$ used in the F8I0&& ;G. +oard set and the packaged "3" &&C0= minicomputer6and the
Fairchild 8emiconductor .icroFlame 4440, +oth introduced in &49B0&495) In &49B, 7ational
introduced the first &50+it single0chip microprocessor, the 7ational 8emiconductor "A!G, (hich
(as later follo(ed +y an 7.;8 version, the I78@400)
Another early single0chip &50+it microprocessor (as /I's /.8 4400, (hich (as also compati+le
(ith their /I0440 line of minicomputers) /he 4400 (as used in the /I 440C4 minicomputer, the
/I044C4A home computer, and the /.440 line of ;G. microcomputer +oards) /he chip (as
packaged in a large ceramic 540pin 3I" package, (hile most @0+it microprocessors such as the
Intel @0@0 used the more common, smaller, and less e,pensive plastic 400pin 3I") A follo(0on
chip, the /.8 44@0, (as designed to compete (ith the Intel @0@0, had the full /I 440 &50+it
instruction set, used a plastic 400pin package, moved data @ +its at a time, +ut could only address
&5 P?) A third chip, the /.8 444B, (as a ne( design) /he family later e,panded to include the
44&0B and 44&&0)
/he Western 3esign !enter W3!$ introduced the !.;8 5B@&5 &50+it upgrade of the W3!
!.;8 5B!0* in &4@4) /he 5B@&5 &50+it microprocessor (as the core of the Apple IIgs and later
the 8uper 7intendo Gntertainment 8ystem, making it one of the most popular &50+it designs of
all time)
Intel :upsi>ed: their @0@0 design into the &50+it Intel @0@5, the first mem+er of the ,@5 family,
(hich po(ers most modern "! type computers) Intel introduced the @0@5 as a cost effective (ay
of porting soft(are from the @0@0 lines, and succeeded in (inning much +usiness on that
premise) /he @0@@, a version of the @0@5 that used an @0+it e,ternal data +us, (as the
microprocessor in the first I?. "!) Intel then released the @0&@5 and @0&@@, the @0*@5 and, in
&4@B, the =*0+it @0=@5, cementing their "! market dominance (ith the processor family's
+ack(ards compati+ility) /he @0&@5 and @0&@@ (ere essentially versions of the @0@5 and @0@@,
enhanced (ith some on+oard peripherals and a fe( ne( instructionsA they (ere not used in I?.0
compati+le "!s +ecause the +uilt0in perpherals and their locations in the memory map (ere
incompati+le (ith the I?. design) /he @0@5 and successors had an innovative +ut limited
method of memory segmentation, (hile the @0*@5 introduced a full0featured segmented memory
management unit ..#$) /he @0=@5 introduced a flat =*0+it memory model (ith paged
memory management)
/he Intel ,@5 processors up to and including the @0=@5 do not include floating0point units
F"#s$) Intel introduced the @0@9, @0*@9, and @0=@9 math coprocessors to add hard(are
floating0point and transcendental function capa+ilities to the @0@5 through @0=@5 !"#s) /he
@0@9 (orks (ith the @0@5C@0@@ and @0&@5C@0&@@,
%*@'
the @0&@9 (orks (ith the @0&@5C@0&@@, the
@0*@9 (orks (ith the @0*@5 and @0=@5,
%*4'
and the @0=@9 (orks (ith the @0=@5 yielding +etter
performance than the @0*@9$) /he com+ination of an ,@5 !"# and an ,@9 coprocessor forms a
single multi0chip microprocessorA the t(o chips are programmed as a unit using a single
integrated instruction set)
%=0'
/hough the @0@9 coprocessor is interfaced to the !"# through IC;
ports in the !"#'s address space, this is transparent to the program, (hich does not need to kno(
a+out or access these IC; ports directlyA the program accesses the coprocessor and its registers
through normal instruction opcodes) 8tarting (ith the successor to the @0=@5, the @04@5, the
F"# (as integrated (ith the control unit, ..#, and integer AF# in a pipelined design on a
single chip in the @04@53L version$, or the F"# (as eliminated entirely in the @04@58L
version$) An ostensi+le coprocessor for the @04@58L, the @04@9 (as actually a complete
@04@53L that disa+led and replaced the coprocessorless @04@58L that it (as installed to
upgrade)
-+%bit designs
9pper interconnect la!ers on an +ntel 80%8:$;0 die
&50+it designs had only +een on the market +riefly (hen =*0+it implementations started to
appear)
/he most significant of the =*0+it designs is the .otorola .!5@000, introduced in &494) /he
5@P, as it (as (idely kno(n, had =*0+it registers in its programming model +ut used &50+it
internal data paths, = &50+it Arithmetic Fogic #nits, and a &50+it e,ternal data +us to reduce pin
count$, and e,ternally supported only *40+it addresses internally it (orked (ith full =* +it
addresses$) In "!0+ased I?.0compati+le mainframes the .!5@000 internal microcode (as
modified to emulate the =*0+it 8ystemC=90 I?. mainframe)
%=&'
.otorola generally descri+ed it as
a &50+it processor, though it clearly has =*0+it capa+le architecture) /he com+ination of high
performance, large &5 mega+ytes or *
*4
+ytes$ memory space and fairly lo( cost made it the
most popular !"# design of its class) /he Apple Fisa and .acintosh designs made use of the
5@000, as did a host of other designs in the mid0&4@0s, including the Atari 8/ and !ommodore
Amiga)
/he (orld's first single0chip fully =*0+it microprocessor, (ith =*0+it data paths, =*0+it +uses, and
=*0+it addresses, (as the A/Q/ ?ell Fa+s ?GFF.A!0=*A, (ith first samples in &4@0, and
general production in &4@*
%=*'%=='
After the divestiture of A/Q/ in &4@4, it (as renamed the WG
=*000 WG for Western Glectric$, and had t(o follo(0on generations, the WG =*&00 and WG
=**00) /hese microprocessors (ere used in the A/Q/ =?B and =?&B minicomputersA in the =?*,
the (orld's first desktop supermicrocomputerA in the :!ompanion:, the (orld's first =*0+it laptop
computerA and in :Ale,ander:, the (orld's first +ook0si>ed supermicrocomputer, featuring <;.0
pack memory cartridges similar to today's gaming consoles) All these systems ran the #7IL
8ystem D operating system)
Intel's first =*0+it microprocessor (as the iA"L 4=*, (hich (as introduced in &4@& +ut (as not a
commercial success) It had an advanced capa+ility0+ased o+2ect0oriented architecture, +ut poor
performance compared to contemporary architectures such as Intel's o(n @0*@5 introduced
&4@*$, (hich (as almost four times as fast on typical +enchmark tests) Eo(ever, the results for
the iA"L4=* (as partly due to a rushed and therefore su+optimal Ada compiler)
%citation needed'
/he A<. first appeared in &4@B) /his is a <I8! processor design, (hich has since come to
dominate the =*0+it em+edded systems processor space due in large part to its po(er efficiency,
its licensing model, and its (ide selection of system development tools) 8emiconductor
manufacturers generally license cores such as the A<.&& and integrate them into their o(n
system on a chip productsA only a fe( such vendors are licensed to modify the A<. cores) .ost
cell phones include an A<. processor, as do a (ide variety of other products) /here are
microcontroller0oriented A<. cores (ithout virtual memory support, as (ell as 8."
applications processors (ith virtual memory)
.otorola's success (ith the 5@000 led to the .!5@0&0, (hich added virtual memory support)
/he .!5@0*0, introduced in &4@B added full =*0+it data and address +uses) /he 5@0*0 +ecame
hugely popular in the #ni, supermicrocomputer market, and many small companies e)g), Altos,
!harles <iver 3ata 8ystems$ produced desktop0si>e systems) /he .!5@0=0 (as introduced
ne,t, improving upon the previous design +y integrating the ..# into the chip) /he continued
success led to the .!5@040, (hich included an F"# for +etter math performance) A 5@0B0
failed to achieve its performance goals and (as not released, and the follo(0up .!5@050 (as
released into a market saturated +y much faster <I8! designs) /he 5@P family faded from the
desktop in the early &440s)
;ther large companies designed the 5@0*0 and follo(0ons into em+edded e-uipment) At one
point, there (ere more 5@0*0s in em+edded e-uipment than there (ere Intel "entiums in "!s)
%=4'
/he !oldFire processor cores are derivatives of the venera+le 5@0*0)
3uring this time early to mid0&4@0s$, 7ational 8emiconductor introduced a very similar &50+it
pinout, =*0+it internal microprocessor called the 78 &50=* later renamed =*0&5$, the full =*0+it
version named the 78 =*0=*) Fater, 7ational 8emiconductor produced the 78 =*&=*, (hich
allo(ed t(o !"#s to reside on the same memory +us (ith +uilt in ar+itration) /he 78=*0&5C=*
outperformed the .!5@000C&0, +ut the 78=*==*6(hich arrived at appro,imately the same
time as the .!5@0*06did not have enough performance) /he third generation chip, the
78=*B=*, (as different) It had a+out dou+le the performance of the .!5@0=0, (hich (as
released around the same time) /he appearance of <I8! processors like the A.*4000 and
.!@@000 no( +oth dead$ influenced the architecture of the final core, the 78=*954)
/echnically advanced6(ith a superscalar <I8! core, 540+it +us, and internally overclocked6it
could still e,ecute 8eries =*000 instructions through real0time translation)
When 7ational 8emiconductor decided to leave the #ni, market, the chip (as redesigned into
the 8(ordfish Gm+edded processor (ith a set of on chip peripherals) /he chip turned out to +e
too e,pensive for the laser printer market and (as killed) /he design team (ent to Intel and there
designed the "entium processor, (hich is very similar to the 78=*954 core internally) /he +ig
success of the 8eries =*000 (as in the laser printer market, (here the 78=*!1&5 (ith
microcoded ?it?lt instructions had very good priceCperformance and (as adopted +y large
companies like !anon) ?y the mid0&4@0s, 8e-uent introduced the first symmetric multiprocessor
8."$ server0class computer using the 78 =*0=*) /his (as one of the design's fe( (ins, and it
disappeared in the late &4@0s) /he .I"8 <*000 &4@4$ and <=000 &4@4$ (ere highly successful
=*0+it <I8! microprocessors) /hey (ere used in high0end (orkstations and servers +y 81I,
among others) ;ther designs included the interesting Oilog O@0000, (hich arrived too late to
market to stand a chance and disappeared -uickly)
In the late &4@0s, :microprocessor (ars: started killing off some of the microprocessors
%citation
needed'
) Apparently
%vague'
, (ith only one +igger design (in, 8e-uent, the 78 =*0=* 2ust faded out of
e,istence, and 8e-uent s(itched to Intel microprocessors
%citation needed'
)
From &4@B to *00=, the =*0+it ,@5 architectures +ecame increasingly dominant in desktop,
laptop, and server markets, and these microprocessors +ecame faster and more capa+le) Intel had
licensed early versions of the architecture to other companies, +ut declined to license the
"entium, so A.3 and !yri, +uilt later versions of the architecture +ased on their o(n designs)
3uring this span, these processors increased in comple,ity transistor count$ and capa+ility
instructionsCsecond$ +y at least three orders of magnitude) Intel's "entium line is pro+a+ly the
most famous and recogni>a+le =*0+it processor model, at least (ith the pu+lic at +road)
,"%bit designs in personal computers
While 540+it microprocessor designs have +een in use in several markets since the early &440s
including the 7intendo 54 gaming console in &445$, the early *000s sa( the introduction of 540
+it microprocessors targeted at the "! market)
With A.3's introduction of a 540+it architecture +ack(ards0compati+le (ith ,@5, ,@5054 also
called AMD64$, in 8eptem+er *00=, follo(ed +y Intel's near fully compati+le 540+it e,tensions
first called IA0=*e or G.54/, later renamed Intel 64$, the 540+it desktop era +egan) ?oth
versions can run =*0+it legacy applications (ithout any performance penalty as (ell as ne( 540
+it soft(are) With operating systems Windo(s L" ,54, Windo(s Dista ,54, Windo(s 9 ,54,
Finu,, ?83, and .ac ;8 L that run 540+it native, the soft(are is also geared to fully utili>e the
capa+ilities of such processors) /he move to 54 +its is more than 2ust an increase in register si>e
from the IA0=* as it also dou+les the num+er of general0purpose registers)
/he move to 54 +its +y "o(er"! processors had +een intended since the processors' design in
the early 40s and (as not a ma2or cause of incompati+ility) G,isting integer registers are
e,tended as are all related data path(ays, +ut, as (as the case (ith IA0=*, +oth floating point and
vector units had +een operating at or a+ove 54 +its for several years) #nlike (hat happened (hen
IA0=* (as e,tended to ,@5054, no ne( general purpose registers (ere added in 540+it "o(er"!,
so any performance gained (hen using the 540+it mode for applications making no use of the
larger address space is minimal)
%citation needed'
Multicore designs
)ain article* )ulti<core 'computing(
This section and the sections below needs additional citations for
)eri*cation. lease help impro&e this article b! adding citations to reliable
sources. 9nsourced material ma! be challenged and remo&ed. (March 2012)
A different approach to improving a computer's performance is to add e,tra processors, as in
symmetric multiprocessing designs, (hich have +een popular in servers and (orkstations since
the early &440s) Peeping up (ith .oore's Fa( is +ecoming increasingly challenging as chip0
making technologies approach their physical limits) In response, microprocessor manufacturers
look for other (ays to improve performance so they can maintain the momentum of constant
upgrades)
A multi0core processor is simply a single chip that contains more than one microprocessor core)
/his effectively multiplies the processor's potential performance +y the num+er of cores as long
as the operating system and soft(are is designed to take advantage of more than one processor
core$) 8ome components, such as +us interface and cache, may +e shared +et(een cores) ?ecause
the cores are physically very close to each other, they can communicate (ith each other much
faster than separate processors in a multiprocessor system, (hich improves overall system
performance)
In *00B, the first personal computer dual0core processors (ere announced) As of *0&*, dual0core
and -uad0core processors are (idely used in home "!s and laptops (hile -uad, si,, eight, ten,
t(elve, and si,teen0core processors are common in the professional and enterprise markets (ith
(orkstations and servers)
8un .icrosystems has released the 7iagara and 7iagara * chips, +oth of (hich feature an eight0
core design) /he 7iagara * supports more threads and operates at &)5 1E>)
Eigh0end Intel Leon processors that are on the F1A 99&, F1A&==5, and F1A *0&& sockets and
high0end A.3 ;pteron processors that are on the !=* and 1=4 sockets are 3" dual processor$
capa+le, as (ell as the older Intel !ore * G,treme RL499B also used in an older .ac "ro +y
Apple and the Intel 8kulltrail mother+oard) A.3's 1=4 mother+oards can support up to four
!"#s and Intel's F1A &B59 mother+oards can support up to eight !"#s)
/he modern desktop sockets do not support systems (ith multiple !"#s +ut very fe(
applications outside of the professional market can make good use of more than four cores and
+oth Intel and A.3 currently offer fast -uad0 and si,0core desktop !"#s so this is generally a
moot point any(ay) A.3 also offers the first and still currently the only eight core desktop
!"#s (ith the FL0@,,, line +ut anything (ith more than four cores is generally not very useful
in home desktops) As of *0&* January *4, these FL processors are generally inferior to similarly
priced and sometimes cheaper Intel -uad0core 8andy ?ridge models)
/he desktop market has +een in a transition to(ards -uad0core !"#s since Intel's !ore * Ruads
(ere released and no( are -uite common although dual0core !"#s are still more prevalent) /his
is largely +ecause of people using older or mo+ile computers, +oth of (hich have a much lo(er
chance of having more than t(o cores than ne(er desktops and +ecause of ho( most computer
users are not heavy users) A.3 offers !"#s (ith more cores for a given amount of money than
similarly priced Intel !"#s6+ut the A.3 cores are some(hat slo(er, so the t(o trade +lo(s in
different applications depending on ho( (ell0threaded the programs running are)
For e,ample, Intel's cheapest 8andy ?ridge -uad0core !"#s often cost almost t(ice as much as
A.3's cheapest Athlon II, "henom II, and FL -uad0core !"#s +ut Intel has dual0core !"#s in
the same price ranges as A.3's cheaper -uad core !"#s) In an application that uses one or t(o
threads, the Intel dual cores outperform A.3's similarly priced -uad0core !"#s6and if a
program supports three or four threads the cheap A.3 -uad0core !"#s outperform the similarly
priced Intel dual0core !"#s)
Eistorically, A.3 and Intel have s(itched places as the company (ith the fastest !"# several
times) Intel currently (in on the desktop side of the computer !"# market, (ith their 8andy
?ridge and Ivy ?ridge series) In servers, A.3's ne( ;pterons seem to have superior
performance for their price points) /his means that A.3 are currently more competitive in lo(0
to mid0end servers and (orkstations that more effectively use fe(er cores and threads)
.!SC
)ain article* =educed instruction set computing
In the mid0&4@0s to early0&440s, a crop of ne( high0performance <educed Instruction 8et
!omputer <I8!$ microprocessors appeared, influenced +y discrete <I8!0like !"# designs such
as the I?. @0& and others) <I8! microprocessors (ere initially used in special0purpose
machines and #ni, (orkstations, +ut then gained (ide acceptance in other roles)
In &4@5, E" released its first system (ith a "A0<I8! !"#) /he first commercial <I8!
microprocessor design (as released either +y .I"8 !omputer 8ystems, the =*0+it <*000 the
<&000 (as not released$ or +y Acorn computers, the =*0+it A<.* in &4@9)
%citation needed'
/he <=000
made the design truly practical, and the <4000 introduced the (orld's first commercially
availa+le 540+it <I8! microprocessor) !ompeting pro2ects (ould result in the I?. ";WG< and
8un 8"A<! architectures) 8oon every ma2or vendor (as releasing a <I8! design, including the
A/Q/ !<I8", A.3 *4000, Intel i@50 and Intel i450, .otorola @@000, 3G! Alpha)
In the late &440s, only t(o 540+it <I8! architectures (ere still produced in volume for non0
em+edded applications: 8"A<! and "o(er I8A, +ut as A<. has +ecome increasingly po(erful,
in the early *0&0's, it +ecame the third <I8! architecture in the general computing segment)
Special%purpose designs
A microprocessor is a general purpose system) 8everal speciali>ed processing devices have
follo(ed from the technology) .icrocontrollers integrate a microprocessor (ith peripheral
devices in em+edded systems) A digital signal processor 38"$ is speciali>ed for signal
processing) 1raphics processing units may have no, limited, or general programming facilities)
For e,ample, 1"#s through the &440s (ere mostly non0programma+le and have only recently
gained limited facilities like programma+le verte, shaders)
Mar/et statistics
In *00=, a+out H44 +illion #83$ (orth of microprocessors (ere manufactured and sold)
%=B'
Although a+out half of that money (as spent on !"#s used in desktop or laptop personal
computers, those count for only a+out *S of all !"#s sold)
%=5'
A+out BBS of all !"#s sold in the (orld are @0+it microcontrollers, over t(o +illion of (hich
(ere sold in &449)
%=9'
As of *00*, less than &0S of all the !"#s sold in the (orld are =*0+it or more) ;f all the =*0+it
!"#s sold, a+out *S are used in desktop or laptop personal computers) .ost microprocessors
are used in em+edded control applications such as household appliances, automo+iles, and
computer peripherals) /aken as a (hole, the average price for a microprocessor, microcontroller,
or 38" is 2ust over H5)
%=5'
A+out ten +illion !"#s (ere manufactured in *00@) A+out 4@S of ne( !"#s produced each
year are em+edded)