This article is about the Intel microprocessor architecture in general. For the 32-bit generation of this architecture that is also referred to as "x86", see IA-32.
Partly. For some advanced features, x86 may require license from Intel; x86-64 may require an additional license from AMD. The Pentium Pro processor (and NetBurst) has been on the market for more than 21 years[1] and so cannot be subject to patent claims. The i686 subset of the x86 architecture is therefore fully open. The Opteron 1000 series processors have been on the market for more than 21 years, and so cannot be subject to patent claims. The AMD K8 subset of the x86 architecture is therefore fully open.
Registers
General-purpose
16-bit: 6 semi-dedicated registers, BP and SP are not general-purpose
32-bit: 8 GPRs, including EBP and ESP
64-bit: 16 GPRs, including RBP and RSP
Floating point
16-bit: optional separate x87 FPU
32-bit: optional separate or integrated x87 FPU, integrated SSE units in later processors
64-bit: integrated x87 and SSE2 units, later implementations extended to AVX2 and AVX512
The x86 architectures were based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor chip, initially released in 1978.Intel Core 2 Duo, an example of an x86-compatible, 64-bit multicore processorAMD Athlon (early version), a technically different but fully compatible x86 implementation
x86 (also known as 80x86[2] or the 8086 family[3]) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures[a] initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introduced in 1978 as a fully 16-bit extension of Intel's 8-bit 8080 microprocessor, with memory segmentation as a solution for addressing more memory than can be covered by a plain 16-bit address. The term "x86" came into being because the names of several successors to Intel's 8086 processor end in "86", including the 80186, 80286, 80386 and 80486 processors. Colloquially, their names were "186", "286", "386" and "486".
The term is not synonymous with IBM PC compatibility, as this implies a multitude of other computer hardware. Embedded systems and general-purpose computers used x86 chips before the PC-compatible market started,[b] some of them before the IBM PC (1981) debut.
As of June 2022[update], most desktop and laptop computers sold are based on the x86 architecture family,[4] while mobile categories such as smartphones or tablets are dominated by ARM. At the high end, x86 continues to dominate computation-intensive workstation and cloud computing segments.[5] The fastest supercomputer in the TOP500 list for June 2022 was the first exascale system, Frontier,[6] built using AMD Epyc CPUs based on the x86 ISA; it broke the 1 exaFLOPS barrier in May 2022.[7]
^Pryce, Dave (May 11, 1989). "80486 32-bit CPU breaks new ground in chip density and operating performance. (Intel Corp.) (product announcement) EDN" (Press release).
^Rao, P.V.S. (2009). Computer System Architecture. Prentice-Hall of India. p. 402 (Section 19.1, The x86 family of processors). ISBN 978-81-203-3594-3.
^Mhatre, Swapneel Chandrakant (2012). Microprocessors and Interfacing Techniques: For S. E. (Computer Engineering) Semester II of University of Pune. Jaico Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-8495-325-1.
^Alcorn, Paul (February 9, 2022). "AMD Sets All-Time CPU Market Share Record as Intel Gains in Desktop and Notebook PCs". Tom's Hardware.
^Brandon, Jonathan (April 15, 2015). "The cloud beyond x86: How old architectures are making a comeback". ICloud PE. Business Cloud News. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2020. Despite the dominance of x86 in the datacentre it is difficult to ignore the noise vendors have been making over the past couple of years around non-x86 architectures like ARM...
^"June 2022". TOP500.
^Larabel, Michael (May 30, 2022). "AMD-Powered Frontier Supercomputer Tops Top500 At 1.1 Exaflops, Tops Green500 Too". Phoronix. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
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