All of today's mighty CPUs owe a debt of gratitude to the Intel 8080, which just turned 50

HardwareProcessorsAll of today’s mighty CPUs owe a debt of gratitude to the Intel 8080, which just turned 50When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Intel Corporation)

A photo of two Intel 8080 processors, side-by-side, resting on a clear box

Just six years after its founding, Intel created a milestone in the history of computing. Instead of making chips for very specific purposes, it designed a processor that could be used in any scenario. Launched as the Intel 8080, it would go on to be recognised as the world’s first general-purpose microprocessor and 50 years on, Team Blue is celebrating the success of the little chip.

For anyone relatively new to the world of gaming PCs or just computers in general, it’s probably hard to picture just how much processing technology has changed over the years. But as someone who’s four years older than the Intel 8080, I’ve been fortunate to live through the advancements and experience them first-hand on appearance.

Anyway, leaping forward to the present, Intel hasmarked the 50th anniversary of the 8080with a short blog and a somewhat spurious infographic, in which some of the specifications of the world’s first general-purpose processor are compared to those of Intel’s latestCore Ultra 200Schips.

For example, where an Arrow Lake CPU comprises 17.8 billion transistors, with a minimum feature size of 3 nanometres, the Intel 8080 housed up to 6,000 transistors and a feature size no smaller than 6 micrometres. Or, if you want to use the same scale as the Core Ultra chip, the old processor had 0.000006 billion transistors and a minimum feature size of 6,000 nanometres.

Naturally, the modern CPU is quite a chunky fella in comparison to the old boy, with a total die area of 243 square millimetres. The Intel 8080 was just 20 square millimetres. But while Arrow Lake takes up 12 times more area, it does pack in roughly three million times more transistors. Thank the advances in silicon lithography for that, or in the case of Arrow Lake, thank TSMC.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Intel 8080 Microprocessor #intel #8080 #semiconductor - YouTubeWatch On

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Intel 8080 Microprocessor #intel #8080 #semiconductor - YouTube

Modern chip manufacturing allows transistors to switch at ridiculous speeds, across the whole processor, and the P-cores in the likes of theCore Ultra 9 285Kcan reach 5.8 GHz. The Intel 8080 initially launched with a 2 MHz (0.002 GHz) clock speed, though later versions could reach over 3 MHz.

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The Intel 8080 wasn’t just for PCs, though, as it used to power devices like electronic cash registers and arcade game machines, and in some respects that hasn’t changed. Intel’s processors are the norm for embedded systems across the world, though when it comes to gaming machines, that market almost entirely belongs to AMD.

Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.

Best CPU for gamingBest gaming motherboardBest graphics cardBest SSD for gaming

Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.

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