v3 Chapter 788： Eight thousand eighty eight microprocessor (1/2)

As soon as the voice fell, it was not Dixie who emerged this time, but a senior engineer in another software development department, a stubborn white youth.

This person, Xia Yu remembered his name, and his name was Tim Patterson.

This guy was told by Andy Rose, a talented engineer in the company, now only twenty-four years old, but the ability to shoot the top three of all engineers, is the elite of the software development department.

It's just that he spends most of the time studying techniques of forgetting to sleep and eat, so he ignores personal hygiene and other things. In order to save time, he doesn't even hang his beard. This has resulted in his sloppy image with long hair and stubble face. .

”President, I have a question. If we want to develop an operating system, what kind of microprocessor are we developing an operating system based on?”

Tim Patterson asked.

The microprocessor company giant is not only Intel, but also chasers Zilog and Motorola.

Among them, Intel has introduced a series of microprocessors, such as the 4004 microprocessor, the 8008 microprocessor, and the 8080 microprocessor. Of course, these are relatively old, and the performance has not kept up with the times.

The two latest masterpieces today are the 8086 microprocessor introduced in 1978 and the 8088 microprocessor introduced in 1979.

Among them, the 8086 microprocessor is quasi-sixteen-bit. Of course, it is advertised as a sixteen-bit microprocessor. It is Intel’s first sixteen-bit microprocessor with 40,000 transistors on the chip.

The 8088 microprocessor introduced in 1979 is actually a simplified version of the 8086 microprocessor. The biggest difference between the two is that the 8086 microprocessor is a sixteen-bit data bus, while the 8088 microprocessor is an eight-bit data bus.

In the face of transistors, the 8088 microprocessor has only 29,000, which is much less than the 8086 microprocessor.

Intel has two microprocessors, Zilog’s sixteen-bit microprocessor is Z8000, and Motorola’s microprocessor is 68000.

In addition to these three, there are other companies in the microprocessor market.

Operating systems developed based on different microprocessors have different performances.

Since you want to catch on IBM's rocket, then IBM's choice on the microprocessor is the key.

If the microprocessor chosen by IBM is Motorola’s 68000, and Seattle Computer Products has developed an operating system based on Intel’s 8086 microprocessor, it’s definitely not compatible.

Tim Patterson and others do not know how IBM chooses, but Xia Yu is very clear.

Although IBM’s current microcomputer R&D department has not determined which microprocessor to choose, Xia Yu knows that later IBM has reached a cooperation with Intel and chose a simplified version of the 8088 microprocessor.

And the operating system 86-DOS independently developed by Thyssen Patterson in his free time was based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor.

The 8088 microprocessor is a simplified version of the 8086 microprocessor. Although there are differences in performance, the overall framework is roughly the same.

It is for this reason that Paul Allen found Thyssen Patterson in his previous life, and spent 59,000 US dollars to buy the 86-DOS operating system he independently developed, and then improved it to fit the 8088 Micro Processor, the new system is named MS-DOS.

Now that Xia Yu knows it, he will definitely not make detours anymore. From the very beginning, he pointed to the 8088 microprocessor to develop the operating system.

Xia Yu smiled slightly and said: ”The operating system we developed is based on Intel's 8088 microprocessor.”

As soon as Xia Yu finished speaking, not only Thyssen Patterson frowned, but also CTO Andy Rose sitting next to Xia Yu frowned. He couldn't figure out why it was the 8088 microprocessor instead of the better-performing 8086 micro Processor?

And why is it Intel’s microprocessor instead of Zilog or Motorola’s products?

So Andy Rose asked everyone on behalf of the question: ”President, why is the Intel 8088 microprocessor? Not Zilog and Motorola? And even with Intel’s microprocessors, if IBM wants to enter the microcomputer The market, logically, will use the best configuration to compete with Apple for the market, otherwise it will be difficult to shine.”

After speaking, he hesitated for a while, looked at Xia Yu tightly, and asked again: ”Is it because IBM has decided to use the 8088 microprocessor?”

Xia Yu shook his head and smiled: ”Andy, if nothing happens, IBM will choose the 8088 microprocessor.”

”You should be very clear that the performance of a computer and the processor are only part of the influencing factors. The key is also the overall adaptability. If other components can't keep up, no matter how good the microprocessor is, it will not be able to exert all the performance.”

”Instead of this, it is better to choose the most suitable one instead of the most expensive, which can not only reduce costs, but also achieve a balance of product performance.”