My Intel processors. From the 1970s to the Present Day

I have several old processors from Intel and other manufacturers and in this article I will tell you what processors used to be and what their main characteristics were.

The very first processor from which we can keep track is the 4-bit Intel4004 processor from 1971. It contained 2300 transistors and was made using 10000 nm technology.

The next significant processor was the Intel8080 of 1974, an improved analogue of the Intel8008, the first 8-bit processor. This 8-bit processor contained 4758 transistors using 6000 nm technology, with a clock frequency of 2-4 MHz. One of the processor developers quit Intel and founded the Zilog company. In 1976, this company released the Z80 processor, based on the 8080. The Z80 turned out to be more popular than the 8080, and was even used in phones in the 90s with automatic caller ID, computers like the Spectrum, in portable radios, etc.

The first 16-bit processor is the intel8086 from 1978. This processor was the first to implement the x86 architecture. Contained 29 thousand transistors, 3000 nm technology, frequency 4-16 MHz.

Next was the second generation i286 processor. Third generation i386, without a math coprocessor. Intel i486 processor-4th generation, 32-bit with a math coprocessor, manufactured in 1989. Number of transistors 1.185-1.6 million, process technology 1000-600 nm, frequency 16-100 MHz

The i486 processors with a multiplier could be overclocked by clock frequency, from which "overclocking of the processor" or overclocking came. This processor has an improved analogue of the AMD company, which were released a little later than Intel.

Fifth generation processors - Intel Pentium (five). They were produced since 1993, the process technology is 800-250 nm. In the photo, the MMX TECH processor contains 4.5 million transistors, frequency 200 MHz, technology 350 nm

Another Pentium processor that was used in computers of the 90s, Pentium2, manufactured in 1997-1999. Looks like a cartridge, contains a processor and a board with memory cache chips.

Pentium3 processors. They were produced from 1999 to 2003, they contained 9.5-44 million transistors using a 250-130 nm process technology and operated at frequencies of 450-1400 MHz. By this time, cheaper AMD processors for desktop computers had become popular, so Intel began producing inexpensive but less efficient processors called Celeron, thereby creating competition for AMD in this niche

Intel Pentium4 - the flagship of 2000-2005, a single-core processor of the 7th generation. it was presented as a powerful multimedia processor for working on the Internet, watching movies, games and for running programs of that time. It was released in 2000-2008 in various modifications, frequency 1.3-3.8 GHz, process technology 180-65 nm, contains from 42 to 125 million transistors. In the photo, the Pentium 4 processor of 2002, made on the Northwood core, contains 55 million transistors and a process technology of 130 nm

Then Intel released a dual-core Pentium D processor and it was unsuccessful.

The eighth generation of Intel processors was called Core2. They were released from 2006 to 2011, 65-45 nm process technology, at frequencies of 1-3.5 GHz, containing 1-2-4 cores. In the photo on the right is Core2 QUAD. This is a 4-core processor, contains 820 million transistors in one core, 45 nm process technology

In 2009, Intel announced the discontinuation of various variants of the Core 2 brand and the introduction of their successors, the new Core I3, Core I5, and Core I7 processors. These processors are now the main ones in modern computers (Intel), and generally contain an integrated graphics processor. Core I3 for entry-level and mid-range, I5 for mid-range, and the more powerful I7