As a lover of computer game, Just like many of my mates during our undergraduate days, we considered playing a game on our computer systems as a course which no guy must carry over, that was more than a decade ago, so, the quest for a fast and reliable computer system, which will not only deliver quality image on a monitor, but also deliver better gaming performance bothered my state of mind during those days, especially when I wanted to buy my second computer system (Laptop), having started with desktop.
This my inquisitive state of mind was not supposed to be far from solution, having studied Intel i860 microprocessors among other processors in one of our courses (computer architecture), but my concern was to choose which is the best processor when it comes to gaming and that definitely goes beyond course curriculum then.
The fundamental basic building blocks of any general purpose computer are The Processor, The memory, and The input and output (I/O) devices. While the processor consists of the control unit and basic arithmetic and logic unit (A.L.U), the microprocessor consists of the processor and other processing unit such as graphic processor unit, network card, and sound card.
A processor which is commonly referred to as Central Processing Unit (C.P.U) is part of microprocessor and that is why some people including those in computing field, usually used the two words (Microprocessor and CPU) interchangeably, however not all microprocessors are processors, for instance: Neural Processing Unit (NPUs) is a specialized microprocessor that combine all the required control unit and arithmetic and logic unit that are essential to implement machine learning algorithms.
Graphics Processing Unit (GPUs) is another microprocessor including its latest version that comes with a lot of possibilities in gaming, creative production, content creation and artificial intelligence (AI).
Another specialized microprocessor is Accelerated Processing Unit (APUs), it combines both central processing unit and the graphics processing unit (GPUs) together on a single computer chip in order to enhance its processing power.
Historical background of Microprocessor (Before Modern Computing)
The history of Microprocessor can be traced back to Fairchild semiconductors, which was established in 1957. Fairchild was the first to developed the so called Integrated Circuit (ICs) in 1959, however the intel trinity: Gordan Moore, Robert Noyce and Andrew Grove took a bold step in 1968 to step down from Fairchild semiconductor and established the popularly known company 'Integrated Electronics (Intel)' in 1971 and that led to the invention of first microprocessor known as Intel 4004.
Generations of microprocessor
This era has been referred to as the first generation of modern microprocessors. After the Intel trinity: Gordan Moore, Robert Noyce and Andrew Grove founded Intel in 1971, they thereafter invented the first modern 4-bit microprocessors called 'Intel 4004' with 740 KH clock speed, 2,300 transistors and 60K instruction per second and 16 number of pins on the microprocessors. During this era, 1972 precisely, the second microprocessor of 8 bits INTEL-8008 with 500 KHz clock speed, and 50K instruction per second was also invented, Rockwell international also invented the third microprocessor called Parallel Processing System (a 4-bit word) PPS-4, and lastly, National semiconductors produced the first multi chip 16 bit microprocessor (IMP-16) in the early 1973, thus, making it fourth microprocessor in series.
The second generation of microprocessors came to existence between 1973 and 1978, during this period, powerful and effective 8-bit microprocessors were developed for commercial use, Motorola 6800 ('sixty-eight hundred') and 6801 were launched in 1974, M6800 is an 8- bit microprocessor, followed by INTEL-8085 ('eighty-eighty-five') by Intel inc. was developed in March 1976 using an N-channel metal-oxide semiconductor (NMOS) technology. It was used in developing microwave ovens, washing machines, mobile phones among others. Zilog’s-Z80: An an 8-bit microprocessor was also produced by Zilog in 1976, it was widely used and compatible with Intel 8080. It was commercially accepted for production and many homes were confirmed to make use of computers with Z80 implementation, including Amstrad CPC, he ZX Spectrum,arcade games, Pac-Man, MSX, TRS-80 e.t.c.
This is the era of High performance Metal Oxide Semiconductor (HMOS) technology, 16 bits microprocessors were developed during the era, including the likes of INTEL 8086 which is a 16-bit microprocessor chip developed by Intel inc. It was released around July 1979. The advancement of 8086 microprocessor lead to Intel's most successful line of processors 'the x86 architecture'.Motorola 68000 microprocessor ('sixty-eight-thousand'): A 16/32-bit complex instruction set computer (CISC) was also invented in 1979 by Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector. The advancement of Motorola 68000 led to the invention of Motorola MC68010 in 1982.
This is the era of 32 bit microprocessors using High performance Metal Oxide Semiconductor (HMOS) fabrication. some of the popular microprocessors around this era are INTEL 80386 (a 32-bit microprocessor), however it was renamed later into i386, a 32-bit Mororola 68020 microprocessor from Motorola was also released in 1984.
Final Remarks!
Having surveyed through historical background of microprocessor before modern computing till date, Intel inc. was the first to invent modern microprocessor. While Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processor was far from competing with Intel from inception, since AMD was known to be supplying second-source chips for the Intel inc. Today, AMD is leading in best processor for gaming applications, the likes of AMD's Zen 3 by Ryzen 5000 processors have been ranked as the fastest gaming microprocessors in the tech industry.
Although I chose Intel processor then, because it was the best then. If I am to choose now, I will definitely look for AMD microprocessor, unless I consider other things aside gaming applications.
Thanks for reading through and I hope you are enjoying your weekend, have fun and don't forget to play your usual game.
1. National Semiconductor IMP-16
2. What is a Microprocessor and How Does it Work?
3. What is a Microprocessor?
4. Microprocessor – Complete History of the Microprocessor
5. Evolution of Microprocessor:
6. Lecture-1 An Overview of Microprocessor
7. Evolution of Microprocessor – Types of Microprocessors
8. Microprocessor History and Its Generations
9. The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2021
