Re: Ia32

From: Beth (BethStone21_at_hotmail.NOSPICEDHAM.com)
Date: 08/25/04 

Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 18:19:36 GMT

Kleidemos wrote:
> Can anyone list me the Cpus that the IA32 include?

Any 32-bit x86 compatible processor, basically, is "IA32"...but if you want
a list, then I'll give you a list...

[ I do not make any claims that this list is exhaustive...nor even accurate
(Hopefully, though, it's mostly accurate...the "year of release"
notoriously and weirdly gets listed as different things by different people
but it's one year either way from that listed, anyway, as it's probably
just strange "rounding"...surely everyone knows that you only round
downward for years? Obviously not ;)...it's compiled through just throwing
the names of processors into Google and then trying to piece together the
list...pardon the "gaps" but finding the information was either difficult
or the CPUs are only "mild improvements" to those before them that they
don't warrant much comment ;) ]

Intel:

Pre-IA32:
Intel 8086 1979 16-bit The original chip that started
everything
Intel 8088 1979 16-bit Cheap version of 8086 with 8-bit
external bus
Intel 80186 16-bit Never actually used in PCs (IBM
skipped over it)
Intel 80286 1982 16-bit Introduced "Protected Mode" (16MB
address space)

IA32:
Intel 80386 1985 32-bit First 32-bit x86 chip (4GB address
space)
Intel 80486 1989 32-bit FPU co-processor integrated into
main CPU
Intel Pentium 1993 32-bit Dual pipeline architecture
Intel Pentium Pro 1995 32-bit 36-bit (PAE) addressing (64GB
address space)
Intel Pentium MMX 1997 32-bit Introduced SIMD "multimedia"
extensions
Intel Pentium II 1997 32-bit
Intel Pentium II Xeon 1998 32-bit High-end "server" version of PII
Intel Celeron 1998 32-bit Cheap version of chip to compete
with AMD
Intel Pentium III 32-bit More SIMD in SSE
Intel Pentium III Xeon 32-bit High-end "server" version of PIII
Intel Pentium IV 2000 32-bit "Hyperthreading" and SSE2
Intel Pentium M 2003 32-bit Mobile version of PIV

Post-IA32 (IA64):
Intel Itanium 2001 64-bit New 64-bit architecture
Intel Itanium 2 2004 64-bit

[ Note: The reason why Intel switched from "80x86" names to "Pentium"
names - and from "x86" to "IA" ("Intel Architecture") - was because,
simply, you're not allowed to patent or trademark numbers in law...yup, so
realising that they couldn't legally control how "80x86" was being used,
they switched to calling things by _names_ - "Pentium" - rather than
numbers to give them some legal control over their own processor
names...although, "Pent" means "five", of course, and is meant to suggest
'586...and I think it's simply a "marketing move" to call the later
processors "Pentium II", "Pentium III", "Pentium IV" rather than "Sextium",
"Septium" and "Octium" (although, in fact, a "Pentium III", despite the
name, is NOT a "Septium" - 80786 - but still a further enhanced "Sextium" -
80686 - so there is, in fact, currently no "Octium", anyway ;) so that it
was clear to people buying the chips - all the clueless "Great Unwashed"
out there - that they were "the same thing but improved" CPUs rather than a
completely different product...and the easiest way to make that clear is to
re-use the same name - your "recognised product brand name" - but call it
"Mark 2" / "Mark 3" and so forth ;) ]

AMD:

[ AMD were originally one of Intel's "contracted" CPU manufacturers to help
Intel make their "production figures" and actually worked for Intel, as
their official "2nd x86 producer"...AMD decided, though, to start making
their own independent x86 designs with the AM486, separate from Intel
(though retaining "compatibility" with Intel and IA32)...notoriously
producing chips that were actually cheaper and faster than Intel's
own...oops...interestingly, unlike Intel, AMD's 64-bit chips are "IA32 with
64-bit registers" rather than a brand new 64-bit design, meaning that AMD
and Intel are beginning to "part company" with each other over the 64-bit
stuff... ]

IA32 (compatible):
AMD AM486 32-bit 486 clone

AMD K5 1996 32-bit Pentium clone
AMD K6 1997 32-bit Pentium clone (MMX included)
AMD K6-II 1998 32-bit Introduced "3D Now!" instructions
AMD K6-III 1999 32-bit L2 cache "on-chip" (big
performance boost)
AMD Athlon (K7) 1999 32-bit
AMD Athlon (K750) 32-bit
AMD Athlon "Thunderbird" 32-bit
AMD Duron 32-bit Budget version of Athlon
"Thunderbird"
AMD Athlon XP 32-bit
AMD Sempron 32-bit "Mobile" AMD chip

Post-IA32 (AMD64; Though IA-32 compatible):
AMD Athlon 64 64-bit
AMD Opteron 64-bit

Cyrix / VIA:
(VIA bought Cyrix but release chips as IDT, who are actually Centaur
Designs and they call their chips "WinChips"...confusing, huh? ;)

[ Like AMD, Cyrix used to be an official "contracted" x86 CPU manufacturer
to Intel to help them make enough chips to meet demands...and, like AMD,
they decided to be "adventurous" with the 486 and actually develop their
chips independently...and, again, they are "compatible" with the IA32
(although, Cyrix were notorious for having the odd "problem" with
compatibility and overheating problems here and there)...as noted, VIA
bought up Cyrix and also bought up Centaur Designs (who release as IDT) but
the Centaur Designs stuff won out... ]

IA32 (compatible):
Cyrix 486 32-bit 486 clone
Cyrix 5x86 32-bit despite name, still 486 clone (DX)
Cyrix 6x86 1995 32-bit Pentium clone
Cyrix 6x86MX / MII 1997 32-bit Pentium MMX clone (renamed during
takeovers)

Cyrix MediaGX 32-bit Built-in controllers (targetting
embedded use)

IDT WinChip (C6) 1997 32-bit Pentium MMX clone
IDT WinChip 2 1998 32-bit Pentium MMX clone (just an
improved C6)

These are the three "main" manufacturers of note...there are others...for
instance, IBM have been known to make x86 chips too...but this list is long
enough and you'll probably never meet any of the more "obscure"
chips...and, well, compiling this list is actually more difficult than I
thought it would be, as the information seems spread out all over the
place...

Although, the idea of a simple "table" of all this information isn't
actually a bad idea...to be honest, I was slightly surprised that I
couldn't locate a website that already does this on the web somewhere
(well, if such a site exists, then I couldn't find it with Google, anyway
;)...

Beth :)