Gregory's ServerThe Intel 386 processor (1985) was a key step in the evolution of x86, moving to 32 bits as well as a CMOS implementation. A less visible design change is its use of standard cell logic (marked in red), building many circuits from standardized building blocks. 1/17
Ken Shirriff
7 comments
Ken Shirriff
Early chips had every transistor drawn by hand. Federico Faggin, designer of the popular Z80 processor (1976), spent three weeks drawing transistors but the last few transistors wouldn't fit so he had to erase everything and start over. The result was dense and chaotic. 3/17
Hugh
@kenshirriff is this thread something that will be continuing at a later date? Or maybe a federation issue - I’m only seeing up to 3/17
Ken Shirriff
@hugh The whole thread is there but sometimes people have trouble seeing all of my threads.
Hugh
@kenshirriff weird. Will see if I can get at it if I’m not logged in, or maybe just on the web. Thanks  |
The 386 was originally scheduled for 50 person-years of development time, but it fell behind schedule. The designers made a risky decision to use "automatic place and route", letting software do some layout. This worked and the chip was completed ahead of schedule. 2/17