(microprocessors)

<architecture> (Or "micro") A computer whose entire CPU is contained on one (or a small number of) integrated circuits. The important characteristics of a microprocessor are the widths of its internal and external address bus and {data bus} (and instruction), its clock rate and its {instruction set}. Processors are also often classified as either RISC or CISC. The first commercial microprocessor was the Intel 4004 which appeared in 1971. This was the CPU member of a set of four LSI integrated circuits called the MCS-4, which was originally designed for use in a calculator but was marketed as "programmable controller for logic replacement". The 4004 is referred to as a 4-bit microprocessor since it processed only 4 bits of data at a time. This very short word size is due mainly to the limitations imposed by the maximum integrated circuit density then achievable. As integrated circuit densities increased with the rapid development of integrated circuit manufacturing technology, the power and performance of the microprocessors also increased. This is reflected in the increase in the CPU word size to 4, 8, 16, and by mid-1980s, 32 bits. The smaller microprocessors have relatively simple instruction sets, e.g., no floating point instructions, but they are nevertheless suitable as controllers for a very wide range of applications such as car engines and microwave ovens. The Intel 4004 was followed with, among others the 4040, 8008, 8080, 8086, 80186, 80286, 80386, 486 and Pentium. Other families include the Motorola 6800 and 680x0 families, National Semiconductor 16000 and {National Semiconductor 32000}, SPARC, ARM, MIPS, Zilog Z8000, PowerPC and the Inmos Transputer family. The larger, more recent microprocessors families have gradually acquired most of the features of large computers. As the microprocessor industry has matured, several families of microprocessors have evolved into de facto industrial standards with multiple manufacturers and numerous "support" chips including RAM, ROM, I/O controllers etc. A single chip microprocessor may include other components such as memory (RAM, ROM, PROM), memory management, caches, floating-point unit, input/output ports and timers. Such devices are also known as microcontrollers. The one-chip microcomputer is in many respects, a landmark development in computer technology because it reduces the computer to a small, inexpensive, and easily replaceable design component. Microcomputers have given rise to a new class of general-purpose machines called personal computers. These are small low cost computers that are designed to sit on an ordinary office desk or to be portable and fuelled the computer boom of the late 1980s. The most widespread example is the also IBM PC, based on microprocessors from {Intel Corporation}. Apple Computers, Inc. have also produced a range of personal computers, as have several other companies. See also killer micro, minicomputer, CPU Info Center. (2002-07-16)

A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry required to perform the functions of a computer's central processing unit.

IBM Power microprocessors (originally POWER prior to Power10) are designed and sold by IBM for servers and supercomputers. The name "POWER" was originally presented as an acronym for "Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC".

VEGA Microprocessors are a portfolio of indigenous processors developed by C-DAC. The portfolio includes several 32-bit/64-bit Single/Multi-core Superscalar In-order/Out-of-Order high performance processors based on the RISC-V ISA.

The AMD K6 microprocessor is the 2nd generation of x86-compatible 32-bit processors designed by AMD. The K6 core was derived from the NexGen Nx686 core being developed based on the RISC86 architecture.

Athlon is the name of a family of CPUs designed by AMD, targeted mostly at the desktop market. It has been largely unused as just "Athlon" since 2001 when AMD started naming its processors Athlon XP, but in 2008 began referring to single core 64-bit processors from the AMD Athlon X2 and AMD Phenom product lines.

The microchip revolution had its beginnings with the inventions of integrated circuit (IC) and the microprocessor.

The AMD Phenom family is a 64-bit microprocessor family from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), based on the K10 microarchitecture. It includes the AMD Phenom II X6 hex-core series, Phenom X4 and Phenom II X4 quad-core series, Phenom X3 and Phenom II X3 tri-core series, and Phenom II X2 dual-core series.