Evolution of the Processor



1971
Intel launched its first microprocessor, the 4004. The first commercial product to use a microprocessor was the Busicom calculator 141-PF.

1972
The company announced the first 8-bit microprocessor – the 8008. The 8008 was the CPU for the very first commercial, non-calculator personal computers: the US SCELBI kit and the pre-built French Micral N and Canadian MCM/70. 

1974
The Intel 8080 microprocessor was introduced, considered by many to be the first true general-purpose microprocessor. The 8080 was used in many early microcomputers, such as the MITS Altair 8800 Computer, Processor Technology SOL-20 Terminal Computer and IMSAI 8080 Microcomputer.

1976
The Intel 8085 microprocessor was introduced, delivering a 5-volt power supply advantage.

1978
Introduced the 8086 16-bit microprocessor which became an industry standard.

1982
Launched the high-performance 16-bit 80286 microprocessor with 134,000 transistors. Also known as the Intel 286. The 80286 was employed for the IBM PC/AT, introduced in 1984, and then widely used in most PC/AT compatible computers until the early 1990s.

 

1985
A 32-bit chip, the advanced Intel 386 processor was launched. The first versions had 275,000 transistors and were the CPU of many workstations and high-end personal computers of the time.

1989
Introduced the Intel i860 processor, the commercial microprocessor with more than 1 million transistors. The i860 never achieved commercial success and the project was terminated in the mid-1990s.
 

 

1992
Introduced the first Overdrive processors which allowed the users of certain upgradable PCs to boost system performance.

1993
Intel Pentium Processors arrives. Five times more powerful than the original Intel i486 processor.

 

1995
The Intel Pentium Pro processor high-performance chip for 32-bit workstations and servers. The Pentium Pro was capable of both dual- and quad-processor configurations. It only came in one form factor, the relatively large rectangular Socket 8.
 

 

1998
Intel rolls out the Intel Pentium II Xeon processor for workstation and server markets.
The Intel Celeron processor is introduced for the value PV market segment.

Intel announced its first high-performance, low-power processors based on the Intel StrongARM technology for handheld computing and communication devices.

 

   
1999
Intel Pentium III and Pentium III Xeon processors hit the market. The most notable differences were the addition of the SSE instruction set and the introduction of a controversial serial number embedded in the chip during the manufacturing process.

 

 
2000
The Intel Pentium 4 Processor heralds new performance with 42 million transistors. Pentium 4 CPUs introduced the SSE2 and SSE3 instruction sets to accelerate calculations, transactions, media processing, 3D graphics, and games. Later versions featured Hyper-Threading Technology (HTT), a feature to make one physical CPU work as two logical CPUs.

 

 

2001
Server workhorses; Intel Itanium Processor and Intel Xeon Processors launched. Intel markets the processors for enterprise servers and high-performance computing systems. The Itanium architecture originated at Hewlett-Packard (HP), and was later jointly developed by HP and Intel.

2002
Intel delivered its first chip 0.13 micron technology on 300mm (12-inch) wafers.

 

2003
Introduced Intel Centrino Processor Technology: High performance, battery life and integrated wireless capability to thinner laptop PCs.
 

2006
The worlds first Quad-Core Processor for desktop & mainstream servers and more. Intel Centrino Duo Mobile technology, Intel VIIV technology and Intel Core 2 Duo processor is launched.

2007
Launched Core 2 Quad processors. This year also sees breakthrough in 45nm (nanometer) process technology that allows more than 2 million Intel 45nm transistors to fit in a sentence period.

2008
Energy-efficient computer chip, Intel Atom processor introduced to provide wireless capability to small mobile computing devices. Atom processors became available to system manufacturers in 2008. Because they are soldered onto a mainboard, like northbridges and southbridges, Atom processors are not available to home users or system builders as separate processors, although they may be obtained preinstalled on some ITX motherboards.

 

2011
“Visibly Smart” 2nd Generation Intel Core processors (Sandy Bridge) launched. With the introduction of the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, Intel also introduced the Intel Data Plane Development Kit (Intel DPDK) to help developers of communications applications take advantage of the platform in packet processing applications, and network processors.

2012
Intel 3rd Generation Core processor (IVY Bridge) launched. Ivy Bridge processors are backwards compatible with the Sandy Bridge platform, but such systems might require a firmware update.