x86 turns 30

[TetsuoShima]

That's right, today the x86 basic instructionset turns 30.

 

The first commercial processor using this instructionset was called 8086, it was the first 16-bit processor available by Intel. This meant it could address a whole MegaByte of memory. O_O

This chip was built with the incredible amount of 29,000 transistors on the process node size of 3200nm. ^^

The chip got its power from a 5V-line and consumed a maximum of 2.5W of power when running at the original clockspeed of 5 MHz!

 

Now, why is this chip so important?

The legacy of this chip is so large, that programs written 30 years ago for this little chip, could still work on current day computers and chances are that 30 years from now those programs would still run ok on future computers.

 

The instructionset on which the x86 instructionset is based wasn't "invented" by Intel btw, but by Computer Terminal Corporation, who invented a product called 8008.

 

The 8086 was designed in only 2 years and IBM made a deal with Intel to use a cheaper type (8088, which only had an 8-bit external interface) for its "personal computer". The start of an "industry" that's currently responsible for the larger part of generated income in the computer industry.

 

Unfortunately this 'legacy' also has some negative side-effects such as the fact that even though the x86 "standard" really is nothing more than a bunch of tightly knit together jumbles of instructions, the 30-year old coding legacy is so large, that no newcomer in this market even stands the slightest chance of making a dent in this bastion of obsoleteness, not even when they have the best "fresh" ideas you could imagine (in terms of introducing a new instructionset commercially).

 

Anyway, happy 30th birthday legacy x86. ^^

[Guest]

wow, thats a long time for a computer chip to dominate the market.. I wonder what direction the market could of taken if different chip sets had been adopted more so.

[bbbb]

I'd say the monopoly of IBM clones and Apple was complete by the 90s, maybe even earlier. How much earlier is hard to say.

 

I much prefer buying a computer today than say 30 years ago. Cost notwithstanding, I prefer buying a machine that is relevant in the market than some startup computer that is incompatible with nearly every other computer in the industry. No offence to startup computers.

 

Congratulations to the old x86 for turning 30!