CPU Designations

[Ken Rossman]

On Wednesday, March 17, 2004, at 10:26 AM, Krautkramer, John wrote:
> What are the CPU designations expressed by:
>
>     i286, i386, i486, i586, i686, etc.
>
> I assume the first 2 are Pentium II and Pentium III respectively.

Actually, Pentium starts with the i586.  The first three are short forms
of Intel 80286, 80386, and 80486 processors.  I think Intel wanted a
more "marketable" name, so they went with Pentium as of 80586.  I'm sure
someone else will come along and will be able to fill in many more of
the blanks and history.

Meantime, here's a place to get more background:

   http://lowendpc.com/tech/pentium.shtml

K