P1 (086) First-Generation Processors

The first generation of processors represents the series of chips from Intel that were found in the first
PCs. IBM, as the architect of the PC at the time, chose Intel processors and support chips to build the
PC motherboard, setting a standard that would hold for many subsequent processor generations to
come.

8088 and 8086 Processors

Intel introduced a revolutionary new processor called the 8086 back in June of 1978. The 8086 was one
of the first 16-bit processor chips on the market; at the time virtually all other processors were 8-bit
designs. The 8086 had 16-bit internal registers and could run a new class of software using 16-bit
instructions. It also had a 16-bit external data path, which meant it could transfer data to memory 16
bits at a time.
The address bus was 20 bits wide, meaning that the 8086 could address a full 1MB (220) of memory.
This was in stark contrast to most other chips of that time that had 8-bit internal registers, an 8-bit
external data bus, and a 16-bit address bus allowing a maximum of only 64KB of RAM (216).
Unfortunately, most of the personal computer world at the time was using 8-bit processors, which ran
8-bit CP/M (Control Program for Microprocessors) operating systems and software. The board and
circuit designs at the time were largely 8-bit as well. Building a full 16-bit motherboard and memory
system would be costly, pricing such a computer out of the market.
The cost was high because the 8086 needed a 16-bit data bus rather than a less expensive 8-bit bus.
Systems available at that time were 8-bit, and slow sales of the 8086 indicated to Intel that people
weren't willing to pay for the extra performance of the full 16-bit design. In response, Intel introduced a
kind of crippled version of the 8086, called the 8088. The 8088 essentially deleted 8 of the 16 bits on
the data bus, making the 8088 an 8-bit chip as far as data input and output were concerned. However,
because it retained the full 16-bit internal registers and the 20-bit address bus, the 8088 ran 16-bit
software and was capable of addressing a full 1MB of RAM.
For these reasons, IBM selected the 8-bit 8088 chip for the original IBM PC. Years later, IBM was
criticized for using the 8-bit 8088 instead of the 16-bit 8086. In retrospect, it was a very wise decision.
IBM even covered up the physical design in its ads, which at the time indicated its new PC had a "high-
speed 16-bit microprocessor." IBM could say that because the 8088 still ran the same powerful 16-bit
software the 8086 ran, just a little more slowly. In fact, programmers universally thought of the 8088 as
a 16-bit chip because there was virtually no way a program could distinguish an 8088 from an 8086.
This allowed IBM to deliver a PC capable of running a new generation of 16-bit software, while
retaining a much less expensive 8-bit design for the hardware. Because of this, the IBM PC was
actually priced less at its introduction than the most popular PC of the time, the Apple II. For the trivia
buffs out there, the IBM PC listed for $1,265 and included only 16KB of RAM, while a similarly
configured Apple II cost $1,355.
The original IBM PC used the Intel 8088. The 8088 was introduced in June 1979, but the IBM PC did
not appear until August 1981. Back then, there was often a significant lag time between the
introduction of a new processor and systems that incorporated it. That is unlike today, when new
processors and systems using them are often released on the same day.
The 8088 in the IBM PC ran at 4.77MHz, or 4,770,000 cycles (essentially computer heartbeats) per
second. Each cycle represents a unit of time to the system, with different instructions or operations
requiring one or more cycles to complete. The average instruction on the 8088 took 12 cycles to
complete.
Computer users sometimes wonder why a 640KB conventional-memory barrier exists if the 8088 chip
can address 1MB of memory. The conventional-memory barrier exists because IBM reserved 384KB
of the upper portion of the 1,024KB (1MB) address space of the 8088 for use by adapter cards and
system BIOS. The lower 640KB is the conventional memory in which DOS and software applications
execute.

80186 and 80188 Processors

After Intel produced the 8086 and 8088 chips, it turned its sights toward producing a more powerful
chip with an increased instruction set. The company's first efforts along this line—the 80186 and 80188
—were unsuccessful. But incorporating system components into the CPU chip was an important idea
for Intel because it led to faster, better chips, such as the 286.
The relationship between the 80186 and 80188 is the same as that of the 8086 and 8088; one is a
slightly more advanced version of the other. Compared CPU to CPU, the 80186 is almost the same as
the 8088 and has a full 16-bit design. The 80188 (like the 8088) is a hybrid chip that compromises the
16-bit design with an 8-bit external communications interface. The advantage of the 80186 and 80188
is that they combine on a single chip 15 to 20 of the 8086–8088 series system components—a fact that
can greatly reduce the number of components in a computer design. The 80186 and 80188 chips were
used for highly intelligent peripheral adapter cards of that age, such as network adapters.

8087 Coprocessor
Intel introduced the 8086 processor in 1976. The math coprocessor that was paired with the chip—the
8087—often was called the numeric data processor (NDP), the math coprocessor, or simply the math
chip. The 8087 is designed to perform high-level math operations at many times the speed of the main
processor. The primary advantage of using this chip is the increased execution speed in number-
crunching programs, such as spreadsheet applications.