The Birth of x86 (PCGH Retro, June 08)

…1978: It’s not the first microchip, nor is it the first Intel product. It’s not even particularly advanced and actually only intended as an interim solution: the Intel 8086, which was launched on June 8, 1978. The 8086, which initially runs at 5 MHz, is Intel’s first full 16-bit processor and is primarily intended to distract from the strong competition from Motorola or Zilog – until the iAPX 432, the first 32-bit processor with its completely new architecture is finished. The structure of the 8086 is similar to that of its predecessors, programs for the widespread 8080 can be rewritten for the 8086 without great effort – however, it is not completely backwards compatible. And yet it establishes an architecture that will become the most successful CPU architecture in computer history in the coming decades, the architecture that later receives its name: x86, also proudly called “Intel Architecture” (IA) by its inventor. The most important reason for this success is the little brother of the 8086, called the 8088, which only has an 8-bit data bus, but is cheaper – and is used in a computer that founds the PC industry: IBM’s personal computer.