Computing · 1978

x86 (Intel 8086)

The instruction set that still runs most PCs and servers.

Intel's 16-bit 8086 introduced an architecture extended through the 386, Pentium and Core generations. The IBM PC made it the industry standard, and it has kept backward compatibility for over 45 years.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 1

Intel 8080 1974

What it led to 3

IBM PC 1981
Linux 1991
x86 virtualization 1999

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Transistors per microprocessor Latest: 58.2B transistors (2021) Source: Our World in Data

Computation per constant dollar, 1850-2006 Latest: 7.3B million units of computer power per 2006 $ (2003) Source: Nordhaus 2007, Two Centuries of Productivity Growth in Computing, J. Econ. Hist. 67(1), Table 6