Introduction
Prior to 1970, there was no standard "byte" size or configuration. The word "bit", from binary digit, first appeared in 1948, but the byte, apparently first defined in 1956 at IBM as a "6-bit alpha-numeric character", varied between manufacturers and their machines. Memory was accessed via its "word address" with 36 bit words being fairly common. And after 1956, magnetic tapes and disks at IBM measured their capacity in bytes.
In 1964 IBM redefined the byte as 8 bits with their proprietary, universal EBCDIC codesets with multibyte sequences for Japanese characters. Still in use on IBM's 10,000 or so mainframes today, 60 years later.
In contrast to EBCDIC, between 1963-1968 the US American Standards Association defined ASCII, a 7-bit character that included control codes, punctuation marks, single digits, the upper case and the lower case alphabet, evolving from their 5-bit Baudot code or TTY (teletype) standard used in telecommunications worldwide and throughout the US and in particular the US Military.
ASCII was employed by Dennis Ritchie in 1971 at AT&T Bell to encode C, the software language that became the basis of C++, Java, Javascript, the Unix and Linux operating systems, Email, HTML, Google, and the Internet.
Also in 1971 Intel built the world's first commercially produced microprocessor based on a tiny integrated circuit first seen in 1958-1959.
In 1975, Byte magazine was launched. The word had arrived.
End of intro
| Year First Released ▲▼ | Code name Microarchitecture | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Intel 4004 | BCD encoded 4 bit word with 16 pins Click here for details on its layout, with RAM ROM and I/O chips |
| 1972 | Intel 8008 | An early 8 bit byte processor 18 pins CPU had only a 14-bit address bus and an 8-bit data bus |
| 1974 | Intel 8080 | 40 pins 16-bit address bus and an 8-bit data bus Used by Gary Kildall to write the |
| 1978 | Intel 8086 | 40 pins Click here for a pin diagram and here for its bus cycles (timing). Used in early IBM compatibles 20-bit address bus and a 16-bit data bus |
| 1979 | Intel 8088 | 40 pins Used in original ASCII-based IBM PC 20-bit address bus and an 8-bit data bus |
| 1982 | Intel 80286 | 68 pins 24-bit address bus and a 16-bit data bus |
| 1985 | 132 pins 32-bit address bus and a 32-bit data bus SX model had a 24-bit address and 16-bit data |
|
| 1989 | Intel i486 | 196 pins and incorporating Math Coprocessor unit 32-bit address and 32-bit data |
| 1993 | Intel Pentium | 273 pins 32-bit address and 32-bit data |
| 2006 | 775 pins (in Conroe) to 1700 pins (in Raptor Lake in 2024) 64-bit address bus and a 64-bit data bus |
Are code names today even important?
Extract from www.tomshardware.com May 2020
...
We spoke with both official current Intel Senior Strategic Planner Jeff Tripp, who gave us the official company line, and former Principal Engineer Francois Piednoel, who provided an inside scoop.
Both Piednoel and Tripp agreed that Intel code names shouldn't matter as much to the public as they do. The official name, both told us, should take precedence. But Piednoel was the only one to go into why he thinks it doesn't.
"It's proving something that people are getting attached more to the code names than the brand of Intel processors. It's that the branding is terrible," he said.
Since introducing its Core line of processors in 2006, Intel's main line of consumer end CPUs have maintained that same naming scheme for more than a decade, simply updating the generation number on the box. For example, the company officially branded 2018's Coffee Lake line of processors as "9th Generation Intel Core" processors, while it called this year's (2019) Comet Lake line of processors "10th Generation Intel Core" processors. It's to the point, but according to Piednoel, it's not descriptive enough to be useful to customers, so they don't.
"It's like in the movie 'Airplane' where there is a poster for Rocky 23 or 24. We're getting there, right," he told us. "Like, we're the 10th generation Core i7. In 10 years, we're going to be at 21," he posited.
More seriously, he said "Maybe people don't understand this, but the biggest competitor for Intel is a four years old PC from Intel," with the idea that simply updating the generation number on a product gives the impression that it is simply a slightly improved version of a last-gen processor, rather than a unique piece of hardware with specialized abilities of its own.
Effective March 18, 2025, Intel appointed Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO. Tan, a former Intel board member, was hired to turn around the company, focusing on strengthening the engineering culture, cutting bureaucracy, and accelerating AI initiatives.
| Year First Released ▲▼ | Code name Microarchitecture | Nanometers | Official name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | P5 | 80nm | Pentium IA-32 |
| 1995 | P6 | 50nm | 1997 Pentium II 35nm 1999 Pentium III 25nm |
| 2000 | Netburst | 180nm | 2000 Pentium 4 180nm 2002 Pentium 4 130nm 2004 Pentium 4 90nm |
| 2006 | Conroe | 65nm | Now x86-64 Core 2, Celeron, Pentium, Xeon |
| 2008 | Wolfdale | 45nm | Core 2, Pentium, Xeon |
| 2008 | Nehalem 1g | 45nm | Core, Xeon |
| 2008 | Bloomfield 1g | 45nm | Core |
| 2009 | Lynnfield 1g | 45nm | Core |
| 2009 | Clarksfield 1g | 45nm | Core |
| 2010 | Gulftown or Westmere-EP | 32nm | Core |
| 2010 | Arrandale 1g | 32nm | Core |
| 2010 | Clarkdale 1g | 32nm | Core |
| 2010 | Pineview | 45nm | Atom |
| 2010 | Lincroft | 45nm | Atom |
| 2011 | Sandy Bridge 2g | 32nm | Core, Xeon, Celeron |
| 2011 | Cedarview | 32nm | Atom |
| 2012 | Sandy Bridge EN | 32nm | Pentium, Xeon |
| 2012 | Ivy Bridge 3g | 22nm | Core, Xeon, Pentium, Celeron |
| 2012 | Centerton | 32nm | Atom |
| 2012 | Knights Corner | 22nm | Xeon Phi |
| 2013 | Gladden | 22nm | Core, Xeon |
| 2013 | Haswell 4g | 22nm | Core, Xeon, Pentium, Celeron |
| 2013 | Bay Trail | 22nm | Atom, Celeron, Pentium |
| 2013 | Rangely | 22nm | Atom |
| 2013 | Avoton | 22nm | Atom |
| 2014 | Crystal Well | 22nm | Core |
| 2014 | Broadwell 5g | 14nm | Core, Xeon, Pentium, Celeron |
| 2015 | Braswell | 14nm | Celeron, Atom, Pentium |
| 2015 | Skylake 6g | 14nm | Core, Xeon, Pentium, Celeron |
| 2015 | Cherry Trail | 14nm | Atom |
| 2016 | Kaby Lake 7g | 14nm | Core, Pentium, Celeron |
| 2016 | Apollo Lake | 14nm | Atom, Pentium, Celeron |
| 2016 | Knights Landing | 14nm | Xeon Phi |
| 2017 | Kaby Lake R | 14nm | Core, Pentium, Celeron |
| 2017 | Whiskey Lake | 14nm | Core, Celeron |
| 2017 | Coffee Lake 8g,9g | 14nm | Core, Pentium, Celeron |
| 2017 | Gemini Lake | 14nm | Celeron, Pentium |
| 2017 | Denverton | 14nm | Atom |
| 2017 | Knights Mill | 14nm | Xeon Phi |
| 2018 | Cannon Lake | 10nm | Core |
| 2019 | Gemini Lake Refresh | 14nm | Pentium, Celeron |
| 2019 | Amber Lake Y | 14nm | Core |
| 2019 | Cascade Lake | 14nm | Core, Xeon |
| 2019 | Ice Lake 10g | 10nm | Core |
| 2020 | Comet Lake | 14nm | Core, Pentium, Celeron |
| 2020 | Snow Ridge | 10nm | Atom |
| 2020 | Tiger Lake 11g | 10nm | Core |
| 2021 | Alder Lake 12g | 7nm | Core |
| 2022 | Raptor Lake 13g,14g | 7nm | Core |
| 2023 | Meteor Lake Series 1 | 7nm | Core Ultra Designed for AI and improved power efficiency, Intel replaced the traditional "i" naming convention with Core Ultra 5, 7, and 9 branding |
| 2024 | Arrow Lake Series 2 | 3nm | Core Ultra |
| 2026 | Panther Lake Series 3 | 1.8nm | Core Ultra |
** End of List