Intel 8080, 8-bit microprocessor, during the evolvement of processors

Intel 8080, 8-bit microprocessor, during the evolvement of processors

Intel 8080 is one of the earliest microprocessor created by Intel.

It is an 8-bit microprocessor that is designed and manufactured by Intel in mid 1970s.

Here are its specifications for your own personal reference:

Intel 8080 Specifications

• Number of transistors – 6,000 transistor on die
• Clock speed – 2 MHz
• Instruction set – 75 instructions
• Registers- 7 8-bit registers
• Introduction date – January 4, 1974
• Initial cost – $360 each

Like competing microprocessors, for example the Motorola 6800, Intel 8080 uses registers that are only 8-bit wide. The 8080 is the lineal ancestor of Intel’s later designs, the 8088, 8086, 186, 286, 386, 486 and all of Intel’s Pentium processors. The 8080 was the lineal descendant of the Intel 4004 and Intel 8008 microprocessors.

Later integrated circuits intended for embedded computer applications, like the Intel 8052, integrated the Intel 8080 architecture, memory, and what had previously been various support chips on a single chip, allowing a "computer on a chip". The 8052 was embedded in non-computer devices like microwave ovens, and electronic fuel ignitions.