The 8086 is a 16-bit microprocessor chip designed by Intel between early 1976 and June 8, 1978, when it was released. The Intel 8088, released July 1, 1979, is a slightly modified chip with an external 8-bit data bus, and is notable as the processor used in the original IBM PC design.
A rare Intel C8086 processor in purple ceramic DIP package with side-brazed pins
Intel 8086 CPU die image
A ceramic D8086 variant
A plastic P8086 variant
A microprocessor is a computer processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry required to perform the functions of a computer's central processing unit (CPU). The IC is capable of interpreting and executing program instructions and performing arithmetic operations. The microprocessor is a multipurpose, clock-driven, register-based, digital integrated circuit that accepts binary data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and provides results as output. Microprocessors contain both combinational logic and sequential digital logic, and operate on numbers and symbols represented in the binary number system.
Texas Instruments TMS1000
Intel 4004
Motorola 6800 (MC6800)
A modern 64-bit x86-64 processor (AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X, based on Zen 4, 2023)