The History of the CPU
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The History of the CPU
The central processing unit is responsible for coordinating all of the activities of the computer. The CPU or microprocessor was first released as a single chip by the Intel Corporation in 1971. This chip was called the Intel 4004 and was extremely slow compared to today's standards.
From this stage, Intel went on to release the Intel 8080 in 1974, and the Intel 8088 in 1979. The Intel 8088 was incorporated into IBM computers, and Intel went on to make the 80286, 80386, and 80486. Computers with these types of chips were referred to as 286, 386, and 486 computers respectively. After the 486 chips, came the introduction of the Pentiums I, II, and III, and IV microprocessors. The Pentium M and D microprocessors were released in 2004 and 2005.
