Usually called Brain of Computer.

Carry out instructions in a computer program.

Perform arithmetic/logic operations along with
input/output operations.
This term has been in use in the computer
industry at least since the early 1960s.
Instruction : A sequence of bits in a specific format to instruct the
computer to perform a specific operation.
Program : A sequence of instructions to perform a specific task on the
computer.
Clock : It is the frequency of the crystal oscillator of the computer. It
determines how the processor is.
Word Length :It is basically a fixed sized group of bits that are
handled as a unit by the instruction set and/or hardware of the
processor.
Transistor Count : It is the no. of transistors fabricated in the processor.
It is a measure of complexity of the processor.
Given by Gordon Moore, co-founder and former chairman of
Intel Corporation.
It states : The number of transistors that can be placed
inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately
every two years.
This trend has continued for more than half a century and is
expected to continue until 2015 or 2020 or later.
The capabilities of many digital electronic devices are strongly
linked to Moore's law: processing speed, memory capacity,
sensors and even the number and size of pixels in digital
cameras.
Intel 4004 :
o First single-chip microprocessor.
o Introduced November 15, 1971
o Clock rate 740 kHz
.
o 0.07 MIPS
o Instruction set contained 46 instructions
o Number of Transistors 2,300 at 10 m
o Addressable Memory 640 bytes
o Bus Width 4 bits (multiplexed address/data due to limited
pins)
o Originally designed to be used in Busicom calculator
Intel 8008 :
o Introduced April 1, 1972.
o First 8-bit processor.
o Clock rate 800 kHz
o Instruction set contained 48 instructions
o Number of Transistors 3,500 at 10 m
o Addressable Memory 16 KB
o Originally intended for use in Datapoint 2200
microcomputer
Intel 8086 :
o Introduced June 8, 1978.
o Introduction of x86 architecture.
o Clock rate 4.77 - 10 MHz
o 16-bit data bus, 20-bit address bus
o Number of Transistors 29,000 at 3 m
o Addressable Memory 1 MB.
o Used in portable computing, and in the IBM PS/2
computers
Intel 8088 :
o Introduced June 1, 1979.
o Backward compatible 8086.
o Internal architecture 16-bit.
o External architecture 8-bit.
o Address bus 20-bit.
o Highly successful due to pivotal sale of IBM-PC.
Intel 80386 :
o Introduced October 17, 1985.
o Clock rates : 16 33 MHz.
o 32-bit data & address bus
o Addressable Memory 4GB
o Virtual Memory 64 TB
o No. of transistors : 275,000 at1 m
o Backward compatible with x86 (16-bit)
o Used in Desktop Computing
Intel Pentium:
o Introduced March 22,1993.
o Clock rates : 60 - 66 MHz.
o 64-bit data bus
o 32-bit address bus
o Addressable Memory 4GB
o Virtual Memory 64 TB
o No. of transistors : 3.1 million at 0.8 m
o Superscalar Architecture
o 273 pin PGA package
o 16 KB L1 cache
Pentium MMX:
o Introduced January 8, 1997.
o Clock rates : 66 MHz
o 32 KB L1 cache
o 296/321 pin PGA.
o No. of transistors : 4.5 million at 0.35 m
o Intel MMX (SIMD Instruction set) support
Pentium Pro (1995):
Pentium II (1997):
Pentium III (1999):
o Introduction of L2 cache (512 KB).
o Clock rates : upto 600 MHz.
o Introduction of Internet Streaming SIMD Instruction
o No. of transistors : 9.5 million at 0.25 m
Pentium IV (2000 - 2008):
o Clock rate : upto 3.8 GHz
o L2 cache increased upto 512 KB
o Introduction of SSE2 SIMD Extension
o No. of transistors : 42 million at 0.18 m
o In 2004, the 32-bit x86 architecture was extended to
64-bit x86-64 set
o Used greatly in the desktop & laptop computers.
Two Line of Processors:
The Core 2 series:
Core 2 Duo
Core 2 Quad
Core 2 Extreme
The Core i Series:
Core i3
Core i5
Core i7
Core i7 Extreme
Features:
o Pure 64-bit architecture
o Introduction of SSSE3 SIMD Instructions
o Multiple cores on single die.
o Large L2 cache (2 12 MB)
o Use of LGA packaging
o Fabrication process in nm (65/45/32 nm)
o Introduction of L3 cache (core i series)
o Technologies such as hyper-threading, turbo-boost,etc.
Hyper-Threading:
It is a technology used to improve parallelization of computations
performed on PC microprocessors. For each processor core that is
physically present, the operating system addresses two virtual
processors. In short, one core handles 2 threads at once.
Turbo-Boost:
It is a technology in latest Intel processors to dynamically increase
the performance of the processor at the need of the user.
Otherwise it saves energy/power by operating at a lower
frequency.
The clock rates have increased upto 3.8 GHz.
The Fabrication Process has reduced upto 32nm, thus
saving power and space.
L3 caches have been introduced, as large as 12 MB.
The no. of cores on a single die has reached upto 6.
Even the memory controllers have been integrated into
the processor die itself.