March 22, 1993
Intel Pentium introduced
Intel announced the Pentium processor on March 22, 1993 — the first x86Intel's dominant CPU architecture family — the instruction set behind most PCs and servers for decades. CPUCentral processing unit — the primary chip that executes program instructions. marketed by brand name instead of model number.
What it was for
The Pentium doubled performance over 486 chips with superscalar execution — Windows NT, Linux, and early 3D games demanded the extra headroom. The infamous FDIV bug made headlines, but Pentium became synonymous with PCPersonal computer — a computer designed for individual use, especially desktop or laptop machines. CPUs through the 1990s. Developers optimizing for desktop performance targeted Pentium pipelines for years.
Companies
- Intel
Why it's here
Pentium was Intel's defining consumer CPUCentral processing unit — the primary chip that executes program instructions. brand of the 1990s PCPersonal computer — a computer designed for individual use, especially desktop or laptop machines. boom.
Why it mattered
It brought superscalar x86Intel's dominant CPU architecture family — the instruction set behind most PCs and servers for decades. performance to mainstream desktops and workstations.
What it solved
486-class CPUs could not keep pace with multimedia, GUIs, and server workloads of the early 1990s.
Media
- ImagePentium
Intel Corporation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- Intel 80386 introducedOctober 1985
- Intel 8086 introducedJune 1978
- AMD Opteron — first x86-64 CPU — launchedApril 22, 2003