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General => Reference => Topic started by: zedd on May 23, 2024, 12:42:13 AM

Title: x86 history
Post by: zedd on May 23, 2024, 12:42:13 AM
Brief history of x86 (https://www.computerworld.com/article/1575191/timeline-a-brief-history-of-the-x86-microprocessor.html)

An interesting read.
Title: Re: x86 history
Post by: K_F on May 25, 2024, 07:29:08 AM
1985, we got our first IBM 8086 PC with 640K ram at the Uni ElecEng Dept.
It was built like a tank, I repaired it many times via DOS listings, CCT diags, memory chips and very expensive analysers and equip.
We got our PCAD (circuit design) programs at the same time...
We were happy as pigs in shit  :biggrin:

From then onwards, the race to upgrade took place.
Who had the latest 'toy', much like phones today. :joking:
Title: Re: x86 history
Post by: NoCforMe on May 25, 2024, 12:32:59 PM
Better history of x86 (https://www.righto.com/2023/08/datapoint-to-8086.html).
This one is interesting, as it shows how the x86, starting with the 8008, owes so much of its workings to the Datapoint 2200 minicomputer, of all things.
Title: Re: x86 history
Post by: NoCforMe on May 25, 2024, 12:53:44 PM
Good article (https://www.righto.com/2024/04/intel-8088-bus-state-machine.html) for anyone interesting in the gory details of how the innards of the 8088 work.
It's complicated.
Title: Re: x86 history
Post by: daydreamer on May 28, 2024, 04:57:34 AM
Try code on 250 kHz 8008,with lot of clock cycles per instructions and compare how spoiled you are coding on x64 3+GHz  :)
Title: Re: x86 history
Post by: NoCforMe on May 28, 2024, 05:53:03 AM
Quote from: daydreamer on May 28, 2024, 04:57:34 AMTry code on 250 kHz 8008,with lot of clock cycles per instructions and compare how spoiled you are coding on x64 3+GHz  :)
I don't think that would be possible.
The 8008 was too deficient to be used as a general-purpose microprocessor. Wasn't until the 8080 that it was usable.
Title: Re: x86 history
Post by: daydreamer on May 29, 2024, 04:46:14 PM
Quote from: NoCforMe on May 28, 2024, 05:53:03 AM
Quote from: daydreamer on May 28, 2024, 04:57:34 AMTry code on 250 kHz 8008,with lot of clock cycles per instructions and compare how spoiled you are coding on x64 3+GHz  :)
I don't think that would be possible.
The 8008 was too deficient to be used as a general-purpose microprocessor. Wasn't until the 8080 that it was usable.
In school digital electronics and education and final project took place on 8008 board ,with hexadecimal keyboard to enter machine code
Predecessor to arduino board,control things and two made breakout game using oscilloscope ala vector graphics, with help of two digital/analog converters
Me and my friend draw circle on oscilloscope with help of luts
But without many years of write assembly on other CPU before we couldn't make something like that,has resulted in crap instead

Part of education was build add,sub circuits with nand gates ,even more low level than assembler ,more like build own CPU