The 8086 and its cost-reduced 8088 variant powered the IBMInternational Business Machines — a major computer and enterprise technology company since the early 20th century. PCPersonal computer — a computer designed for individual use, especially desktop or laptop machines. and every compatible clone — the ISA developers still target today in compatibility mode. Segmented addressing and the instruction set defined PCPersonal computer — a computer designed for individual use, especially desktop or laptop machines. software for decades. From DOSDisk Operating System — an OS centered on disk storage; often refers to MS-DOS on PCs. to Windows to Linux on x86Intel's dominant CPU architecture family — the instruction set behind most PCs and servers for decades. servers, the lineage starts here.

The 8086 established the x86Intel's dominant CPU architecture family — the instruction set behind most PCs and servers for decades. instruction set that still underpins most desktop and server CPUs.

IBMInternational Business Machines — a major computer and enterprise technology company since the early 20th century. chose the 8088 for the PCPersonal computer — a computer designed for individual use, especially desktop or laptop machines., making Intel's architecture the industry standard.