Microprocessor chronology
1970s
The first microprocessors were designed and manufactured in the 1970s. Designers predominantly used MOSFET transistors with pMOS logic in the early 1970s, and then predominantly used NMOS logic from the mid-1970s. They also experimented with various word lengths. Early on, 4-bit processors were common. Later in the decade, 8-bit processors such as the MOS 6502 superseded the 4-bit chips. 16-bit processors emerged by the decade's end. Some unusual word lengths were tried, including 12-bit and 20-bit. Intel's 4004 is widely regarded as the first-ever commercial microprocessor.| Date | Name | Developer | Max clock | Word size | Process | Chips | Transistors | MOSFET | |
| 1971 | 4004 | Intel | 740 kHz | 4 | 10 μm | 1 | 2,250 | pMOS | |
| 1972 | PPS-25 | Fairchild | 400 kHz | 4 | 2 | pMOS | |||
| 1972 | μPD700 | NEC | 4 | 1 | |||||
| 1972 | 8008 | Intel | 500 kHz | 8 | 10 μm | 1 | 3,500 | pMOS | |
| 1972 | PPS-4 | Rockwell | 200 kHz | 4 | 1 | pMOS | |||
| 1973 | μCOM-4 | NEC | 2 MHz | 4 | 7.5 μm | 1 | 2,500 | NMOS | |
| 1973 | TLCS-12 | Toshiba | 1 MHz | 12 | 6 μm | 1 | 2,800 silicon gates | pMOS | |
| 1973 | Mini-D | Burroughs | 1 MHz | 8 | 1 | pMOS | |||
| 1974 | IMP-8 | National | 715 kHz | 8 | 3 | pMOS | |||
| 1974 | 8080 | Intel | 2 MHz | 8 | 6 μm | 1 | 6,000 | NMOS | |
| 1974 | μCOM-8 | NEC | 2 MHz | 8 | 1 | NMOS | |||
| 1974 | 5065 | Mostek | 1.4 MHz | 8 | 1 | pMOS | |||
| 1974 | μCOM-16 | NEC | 2 MHz | 16 | 2 | NMOS | |||
| 1974 | IMP-4 | National | 500 kHz | 4 | 3 | pMOS | |||
| 1974 | 4040 | Intel | 740 kHz | 4 | 10 μm | 1 | 3,000 | pMOS | |
| 1974 | 6800 | Motorola | 1 MHz | 8 | - | 1 | 4,100 | NMOS | |
| 1974 | TMS 1000 | Texas Instruments | 400 kHz | 4 | 8 μm | 1 | 8,000 | ||
| 1974 | PACE | National | 16 | 1 | pMOS | ||||
| 1974 | ISP-8A/500 | National | 1 MHz | 8 | 1 | pMOS | |||
| 1975 | 6100 | Intersil | 4 MHz | 12 | - | 1 | 4,000 | CMOS | |
| 1975 | TLCS-12A | Toshiba | 1.2 MHz | 12 | - | 1 | pMOS | ||
| 1975 | 2650 | Signetics | 1.2 MHz | 8 | 1 | NMOS | |||
| 1975 | PPS-8 | Rockwell | 256 kHz | 8 | 1 | pMOS | |||
| 1975 | F-8 | Fairchild | 2 MHz | 8 | 1 | NMOS | |||
| 1975 | CDP 1801 | RCA | 2 MHz | 8 | 5 μm | 2 | 5,000 | CMOS | |
| 1975 | 6502 | MOS Technology | 1 MHz | 8 | - | 1 | 3,510 | NMOS | |
| 1975 | IMP-16 | National | 715 kHz | 16 | 5 | pMOS | |||
| 1975 | PFL-16A | Panafacom | 2 MHz | 16 | - | 1 | NMOS | ||
| 1975 | BPC | Hewlett Packard | 10 MHz | 16 | - | 1 | 6,000 | NMOS | |
| 1975 | MCP-1600 | Western Digital | 3.3 MHz | 16 | - | 3 | NMOS | ||
| 1975 | CP1600 | General Instrument | 3.3 MHz | 16 | 1 | NMOS | |||
| 1976 | CDP 1802 | RCA | 6.4 MHz | 8 | 1 | CMOS | |||
| 1976 | Z-80 | Zilog | 2.5 MHz | 8 | 4 μm | 1 | 8,500 | NMOS | |
| 1976 | TMS9900 | Texas Instruments | 3.3 MHz | 16 | - | 1 | 8,000 | ||
| 1976 | 8x300 | Signetics | 8 MHz | 8 | 1 | Bipolar | |||
| 1977 | Bellmac-8 | Bell Labs | 2.0 MHz | 8 | 5 μm | 1 | 7,000 | CMOS | |
| 1977 | 8085 | Intel | 3.0 MHz | 8 | 3 μm | 1 | 6,500 | ||
| 1977 | MC14500B | Motorola | 1.0 MHz | 1 | 1 | CMOS | |||
| 1978 | 6809 | Motorola | 1 MHz | 8 | 5 μm | 1 | 40,000 | ||
| 1978 | 8086 | Intel | 5 MHz | 16 | 3 μm | 1 | 29,000 | ||
| 1978 | 6801 | Motorola | - | 8 | 5 μm | 1 | 35,000 | ||
| 1979 | Z8000 | Zilog | - | 16 | - | 1 | 17,500 | ||
| 1979 | 8088 | Intel | 5 MHz | 8/16 | 3 μm | 1 | 29,000 | NMOS | |
| 1979 | 68000 | Motorola | 8 MHz | 16/32 | 3.5 μm | 1 | 68,000 | NMOS |
1980s
In the 1980s, 16-bit and 32-bit microprocessors were common among new designs, and CMOS technology overtook NMOS. Transistor count increased dramatically during the decade.The home computers of the 1980s predominantly used processors that were introduced in the 1970s. Versions of the MOS 6502, first released in 1975, and the Zilog Z80, were at the core of many of the home computers, such as the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum. Even the first-generation IBM PC used a processor from the 1970s, the Intel 8088.
It was not until Intel's 80286, and later the 80386, that processors designed in the 1980s drove the computers of the 1980s. These processors offered higher clock speeds and 32-bit word length as well as new operating modes, such as protected mode, that were not available in earlier chips. Critically, protected mode allowed the use of virtual memory and brought the graphical user interface to business computers, beginning with Windows 2.0.
| Date | Name | Developer | Clock | Word size | Process | Transistors |
| 1980 | 16032 | National Semiconductor | - | 16/32 | - | 60,000 |
| 1981 | 6120 | Harris Corporation | 10 MHz | 12 | - | 20,000 |
| 1981 | ROMP | IBM | 10 MHz | 32 | 2 μm | 45,000 |
| 1981 | T-11 | DEC | 2.5 MHz | 16 | 5 μm | 17,000 |
| 1982 | RISC-I | UC Berkeley | 1 MHz | - | 5 μm | 44,420 |
| 1982 | FOCUS | Hewlett Packard | 18 MHz | 32 | 1.5 μm | 450,000 |
| 1982 | 80186 | Intel | 6 MHz | 16 | - | 55,000 |
| ? | 80C186 | Intel | 6 MHz | 16 | - | |
| 1982 | 80188 | Intel | 8 MHz | 8/16 | - | 29,000 |
| 1982 | 80286 | Intel | 6 MHz | 16 | 1.5 μm | 134,000 |
| 1983 | RISC-II | UC Berkeley | 3 MHz | - | 3 μm | 40,760 |
| 1983 | MIPS | Stanford University | 2 MHz | 32 | 3 μm | 25,000 |
| 1984 | 68020 | Motorola | 16 MHz | 32 | 2 μm | 190,000 |
| 1984 | 32032 | National Semiconductor | - | 32 | - | 70,000 |
| 1984 | V20 | NEC | 5 MHz | 8/16 | - | 63,000 |
| 1985 | 80386 | Intel | 16–40 MHz | 32 | 1.5 μm | 275,000 |
| 1985 | MicroVax II 78032 | DEC | 5 MHz | 32 | 3.0 μm | 125,000 |
| 1985 | R2000 | MIPS | 8 MHz | 32 | 2 μm | 115,000 |
| 1985 | Novix NC4016 | Harris Corporation | 8 MHz | 16 | 3 μm | 16,000 |
| 1986 | Z80000 | Zilog | - | 32 | - | 91,000 |
| 1986 | SPARC MB86900 | Fujitsu | 40 MHz | 32 | 0.8 μm | 800,000 |
| 1986 | V60 | NEC | 16 MHz | 16/32 | 1.5 μm | 375,000 |
| 1987 | CVAX 78034 | DEC | 12.5 MHz | 32 | 2.0 μm | 134,000 |
| 1987 | ARM2 | Acorn | 8 MHz | 32 | 2 μm | 25,000 |
| 1987 | Gmicro/200 | Hitachi | - | - | 1 μm | 730,000 |
| 1987 | 68030 | Motorola | 16 MHz | 32 | 1.3 μm | 273,000 |
| 1987 | V70 | NEC | 20 MHz | 16/32 | 1.5 μm | 385,000 |
| 1988 | R3000 | MIPS | 12 MHz | 32 | 1.2 μm | 120,000 |
| 1988 | 80386SX | Intel | 12–33 MHz | 16/32 | - | - |
| 1988 | i960 | Intel | 10 MHz | 33/32 | 1.5 μm | 250,000 |
| 1989 | i960CA | Intel | 1633 MHz | 33/32 | 0.8 μm | 600,000 |
| 1989 | VAX DC520 "Rigel" | DEC | 35 MHz | 32 | 1.5 μm | 320,000 |
| 1989 | 80486 | Intel | 25 MHz | 32 | 1 μm | 1,180,000 |
| 1989 | i860 | Intel | 25 MHz | 32 | 1 μm | 1,000,000 |
1990s
The 32-bit microprocessor dominated the consumer market in the 1990s. Processor clock speeds increased by more than tenfold between 1990 and 1999, and 64-bit processors began to emerge later in the decade. In the 1990s, microprocessors no longer used the same clock speed for the processor and the RAM. Processors began to have a front-side bus clock speed used in communication with RAM and other components. Typically, the processor itself ran at a clock speed that was a multiple of the FSB clock speed. Intel's Pentium III, for example, had an internal clock speed of 450–600 MHz and a FSB speed of 100–133 MHz. Only the processor's internal clock speed is shown here.| Date | Name | Developer | Clock | Word size | Process | Transistors | Threads |
| 1990 | 68040 | Motorola | 40 MHz | 32 | - | 1.2 | |
| 1990 | POWER1 | IBM | 20–30 MHz | 32 | 1,000 nm | 6.9 | |
| 1991 | R4000 | MIPS Computer Systems | 100 MHz | 64 | 800 nm | 1.35 | |
| 1991 | NVAX | DEC | 62.5–90.91 MHz | - | 750 nm | 1.3 | |
| 1991 | RSC | IBM | 33 MHz | 32 | 800 nm | 1.0 | |
| 1992 | SH-1 | Hitachi | 20 MHz | 32 | 800 nm | 0.6 | |
| 1992 | Alpha 21064 | DEC | 100–200 MHz | 64 | 750 nm | 1.68 | |
| 1992 | microSPARC I | Sun | 40–50 MHz | 32 | 800 nm | 0.8 | |
| 1992 | PA-7100 | Hewlett Packard | 100 MHz | 32 | 800 nm | 0.85 | |
| 1992 | 486SLC | Cyrix | 40 MHz | 16 | |||
| 1993 | HARP-1 | Hitachi | 120 MHz | - | 500 nm | 2.8 | |
| 1993 | PowerPC 601 | IBM, Motorola | 50–80 MHz | 32 | 600 nm | 2.8 | |
| 1993 | Pentium | Intel | 60–66 MHz | 32 | 800 nm | 3.1 | |
| 1993 | POWER2 | IBM | 55–71.5 MHz | 32 | 720 nm | 23 | |
| 1994 | microSPARC II | Fujitsu | 60–125 MHz | - | 500 nm | 2.3 | |
| 1994 | 68060 | Motorola | 50 MHz | 32 | 600 nm | 2.5 | |
| 1994 | Alpha 21064A | DEC | 200–300 MHz | 64 | 500 nm | 2.85 | |
| 1994 | R4600 | QED | 100–125 MHz | 64 | 650 nm | 2.2 | |
| 1994 | PA-7200 | Hewlett Packard | 125 MHz | 32 | 550 nm | 1.26 | |
| 1994 | PowerPC 603 | IBM, Motorola | 60–120 MHz | 32 | 500 nm | 1.6 | |
| 1994 | PowerPC 604 | IBM, Motorola | 100–180 MHz | 32 | 500 nm | 3.6 | |
| 1994 | PA-7100LC | Hewlett Packard | 100 MHz | 32 | 750 nm | 0.90 | |
| 1995 | Alpha 21164 | DEC | 266–333 MHz | 64 | 500 nm | 9.3 | |
| 1995 | UltraSPARC | Sun | 143–167 MHz | 64 | 470 nm | 5.2 | |
| 1995 | SPARC64 | HAL Computer Systems | 101–118 MHz | 64 | 400 nm | - | |
| 1995 | Pentium Pro | Intel | 150–200 MHz | 32 | 350 nm | 5.5 | |
| 1996 | Alpha 21164A | DEC | 400–500 MHz | 64 | 350 nm | 9.7 | |
| 1996 | K5 | AMD | 75–100 MHz | 32 | 500 nm | 4.3 | |
| 1996 | R10000 | MTI | 150–250 MHz | 64 | 350 nm | 6.7 | |
| 1996 | R5000 | QED | 180–250 MHz | - | 350 nm | 3.7 | |
| 1996 | SPARC64 II | HAL Computer Systems | 141–161 MHz | 64 | 350 nm | - | |
| 1996 | PA-8000 | Hewlett-Packard | 160–180 MHz | 64 | 500 nm | 3.8 | |
| 1996 | P2SC | IBM | 150 MHz | 32 | 290 nm | 15 | |
| 1997 | SH-4 | Hitachi | 200 MHz | - | 200 nm | 10 | |
| 1997 | RS64 | IBM | 125 MHz | 64 | ? nm | ? | |
| 1997 | Pentium II | Intel | 233–300 MHz | 32 | 350 nm | 7.5 | |
| 1997 | PowerPC 620 | IBM, Motorola | 120–150 MHz | 64 | 350 nm | 6.9 | |
| 1997 | UltraSPARC IIs | Sun | 250–400 MHz | 64 | 350 nm | 5.4 | |
| 1997 | S/390 G4 | IBM | 370 MHz | 32 | 500 nm | 7.8 | |
| 1997 | PowerPC 750 | IBM, Motorola | 233–366 MHz | 32 | 260 nm | 6.35 | |
| 1997 | K6 | AMD | 166–233 MHz | 32 | 350 nm | 8.8 | |
| 1998 | RS64-II | IBM | 262 MHz | 64 | 350 nm | 12.5 | |
| 1998 | Alpha 21264 | DEC | 450–600 MHz | 64 | 350 nm | 15.2 | |
| 1998 | MIPS R12000 | SGI | 270–400 MHz | 64 | 250–180 nm | 6.9 | |
| 1998 | RM7000 | QED | 250–300 MHz | - | 250 nm | 18 | |
| 1998 | SPARC64 III | HAL Computer Systems | 250–330 MHz | 64 | 240 nm | 17.6 | |
| 1998 | S/390 G5 | IBM | 500 MHz | 32 | 250 nm | 25 | |
| 1998 | PA-8500 | Hewlett Packard | 300–440 MHz | 64 | 250 nm | 140 | |
| 1998 | POWER3 | IBM | 200 MHz | 64 | 250 nm | 15 | |
| 1999 | Emotion Engine | Sony, Toshiba | 294–300 MHz | - | 180–65 nm | 13.5 | |
| 1999 | Pentium III | Intel | 450–600 MHz | 32 | 250 nm | 9.5 | |
| 1999 | RS64-III | IBM | 450 MHz | 64 | 220 nm | 34 | 2 |
| 1999 | PowerPC 7400 | Motorola | 350–500 MHz | 32 | 200–130 nm | 10.5 | |
| 1999 | Athlon | AMD | 500–1000 MHz | 32 | 250 nm | 22 |
2000s
processors became mainstream in the 2000s. Microprocessor clock speeds reached a ceiling because of the heat dissipation barrier. Instead of implementing expensive and impractical cooling systems, manufacturers turned to parallel computing in the form of the multi-core processor. Overclocking had its roots in the 1990s, but came into its own in the 2000s. Off-the-shelf cooling systems designed for overclocked processors became common, and the gaming PC had its advent as well. Over the decade, transistor counts increased by about an order of magnitude, a trend continued from previous decades. Process sizes decreased about fourfold, from 180 nm to 45 nm.| Date | Name | Developer | Clock | Process | Transistors | Cores per die / Dies per module |
| 2000 | Athlon XP | AMD | 1.33–1.73 GHz | 180 nm | 37.5 | 1 / 1 |
| 2000 | Duron | AMD | 550 MHz–1.3 GHz | 180 nm | 25 | 1 / 1 |
| 2000 | RS64-IV | IBM | 600–750 MHz | 180 nm | 44 | 1 / 2 |
| 2000 | Pentium 4 | Intel | 1.3–2 GHz | 180–130 nm | 42 | 1 / 1 |
| 2000 | SPARC64 IV | Fujitsu | 450–810 MHz | 130 nm | - | 1 / 1 |
| 2000 | z900 | IBM | 918 MHz | 180 nm | 47 | 1 / 12, 20 |
| 2001 | MIPS R14000 | SGI | 500–600 MHz | 130 nm | 7.2 | 1 / 1 |
| 2001 | POWER4 | IBM | 1.1–1.4 GHz | 180–130 nm | 174 | 2 / 1, 4 |
| 2001 | UltraSPARC III | Sun | 750–1200 MHz | 130 nm | 29 | 1 / 1 |
| 2001 | Itanium | Intel | 733–800 MHz | 180 nm | 25 | 1 / 1 |
| 2001 | PowerPC 7450 | Motorola | 733–800 MHz | 180–130 nm | 33 | 1 / 1 |
| 2002 | SPARC64 V | Fujitsu | 1.1–1.35 GHz | 130 nm | 190 | 1 / 1 |
| 2002 | Itanium 2 | Intel | 0.9–1 GHz | 180 nm | 410 | 1 / 1 |
| 2003 | PowerPC 970 | IBM | 1.6–2.0 GHz | 130–90 nm | 52 | 1 / 1 |
| 2003 | Pentium M | Intel | 0.9–1.7 GHz | 130–90 nm | 77 | 1 / 1 |
| 2003 | Opteron | AMD | 1.4–2.4 GHz | 130 nm | 106 | 1 / 1 |
| 2004 | POWER5 | IBM | 1.65–1.9 GHz | 130–90 nm | 276 | 2 / 1, 2, 4 |
| 2004 | PowerPC BGL | IBM | 700 MHz | 130 nm | 95 | 2 / 1 |
| 2005 | Opteron "Athens" | AMD | 1.6–3.0 GHz | 90 nm | 114 | 1 / 1 |
| 2005 | Pentium D | Intel | 2.8–3.2 GHz | 90 nm | 115 | 1 / 2 |
| 2005 | Athlon 64 X2 | AMD | 2–2.4 GHz | 90 nm | 243 | 2 / 1 |
| 2005 | PowerPC 970MP | IBM | 1.2–2.5 GHz | 90 nm | 183 | 2 / 1 |
| 2005 | UltraSPARC IV | Sun | 1.05–1.35 GHz | 130 nm | 66 | 2 / 1 |
| 2005 | UltraSPARC T1 | Sun | 1–1.4 GHz | 90 nm | 300 | 8 / 1 |
| 2005 | Xenon | IBM | 3.2 GHz | 90–45 nm | 165 | 3 / 1 |
| 2006 | Core Duo | Intel | 1.1–2.33 GHz | 90–65 nm | 151 | 2 / 1 |
| 2006 | Core 2 | Intel | 1.06–2.67 GHz | 65–45 nm | 291 | 2 / 1, 2 |
| 2006 | Cell/B.E. | IBM, Sony, Toshiba | 3.2–4.6 GHz | 90–45 nm | 241 | 1+8 / 1 |
| 2006 | Itanium "Montecito" | Intel | 1.4–1.6 GHz | 90 nm | 1720 | 2 / 1 |
| 2007 | POWER6 | IBM | 3.5–4.7 GHz | 65 nm | 790 | 2 / 1 |
| 2007 | SPARC64 VI | Fujitsu | 2.15–2.4 GHz | 90 nm | 543 | 2 / 1 |
| 2007 | UltraSPARC T2 | Sun | 1–1.4 GHz | 65 nm | 503 | 8 / 1 |
| 2007 | TILE64 | Tilera | 600–900 MHz | 90–45 nm | ? | 64 / 1 |
| 2007 | Opteron "Barcelona" | AMD | 1.8–3.2 GHz | 65 nm | 463 | 4 / 1 |
| 2007 | PowerPC BGP | IBM | 850 MHz | 90 nm | 208 | 4 / 1 |
| 2008 | Phenom | AMD | 1.8–2.6 GHz | 65 nm | 450 | 2, 3, 4 / 1 |
| 2008 | z10 | IBM | 4.4 GHz | 65 nm | 993 | 4 / 7 |
| 2008 | PowerXCell 8i | IBM | 2.8–4.0 GHz | 65 nm | 250 | 1+8 / 1 |
| 2008 | SPARC64 VII | Fujitsu | 2.4–2.88 GHz | 65 nm | 600 | 4 / 1 |
| 2008 | Atom | Intel | 0.8–1.6 GHz | 65–45 nm | 47 | 1 / 1 |
| 2008 | Core i7 | Intel | 2.66–3.2 GHz | 45–32 nm | 730 | 2, 4, 6 / 1 |
| 2008 | TILEPro64 | Tilera | 600–866 MHz | 90–45 nm | ? | 64 / 1 |
| 2008 | Opteron "Shanghai" | AMD | 2.3–2.9 GHz | 45 nm | 751 | 4 / 1 |
| 2009 | Phenom II | AMD | 2.5–3.2 GHz | 45 nm | 758 | 2, 3, 4, 6 / 1 |
| 2009 | Opteron "Istanbul" | AMD | 2.2–2.8 GHz | 45 nm | 904 | 6 / 1 |