A Scourge is Born The History of the Microcomputer -- Invention and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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A Scourge is Born The History of the Microcomputer -- Invention and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dec 29, 2023 194 likes •339 views

A Scourge is Born The History of the Microcomputer -- Invention and Evolution Intel 1968 - Intel is born out of Fairchild Semi. Is an early leader in DRAMs 1971 - Introduce 4004 1972 - Introduces 8008 1974 -

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SLIDE 1

A Scourge is Born

The History of the Microcomputer -- Invention and Evolution

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SLIDE 2

Intel

  • 1968 - Intel is born out of Fairchild Semi.
  • Is an early leader in DRAMs
  • 1971 - Introduce 4004
  • 1972 - Introduces 8008
  • 1974 - Introduces 8080
  • 1978 - Introduces 8086
  • DRAMs become commoditized
  • 1983 - They shift to processors because there’s more money

in it.

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SLIDE 3

Intel

  • World’s largest semi-conductor

manufacturer

  • Technology leader
  • Really a manufacturing company
  • With a tiny piece of architecture on top
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SLIDE 4

The 0404

  • Born out of necessity.
  • A customer wanted a calculator
  • Intel couldn’t design a bunch of

controllers

  • But they could supply custom memories

(i.e., they could store programs!)

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SLIDE 5

0404 Features

  • A call stack -- because code lived in a ROM
  • Previous calling conventions overwrote

parts of program memory

  • Intelligent memory chips.
  • Snooped a bus looking for commands
  • 16 pin packaging.
  • This was a real constraint
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SLIDE 6

0404 Legacy

  • The first single-chip processor
  • An important exercise in reductionist

computing

  • Follow on products are everywhere.
  • 8048 integrated ROM and RAM into one

chip

  • Found use in > 1 Billion keyboards
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SLIDE 7

The 8008

  • This is a real computer
  • Programs in RAM
  • 16KB of memory
  • Vastly more expensive
  • 40 auxiliary chips
  • 2 more pins!!! huzzah!
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SLIDE 8
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SLIDE 9

And so it began...

  • Even at the beginning x86 was legacy.
  • Other horrors
  • Little-endianness
  • Complicated register rules
  • Segments
  • M. Shima perhaps deserves “credit” for x86
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SLIDE 10

Technology

  • DRAM in the CPU
  • SSI vs. MSI vs. LSI
  • Interesting gap in capability between SSI

and MSI

  • TTL was scalable but expensive
  • MSI was cheaper but not scalable
  • Leads to a huge gap in capabilities/$
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SLIDE 11

Closing the Gap

  • Systems with more components
  • “Minis” “super minis” “main frames”
  • Systems with fewer components
  • “micro” “personal” etc.
  • There’s a clear migration of architectural

features from “big iron” to “the desktop”

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SLIDE 12

In context

  • This was the start of the industry that

architects study.

  • We don’t pay much attention to

mainframe (for better or worse).

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SLIDE 13

Intel’s 3T memory cell

1970 1972