Revision as of 05:35, 21 January 2009 edit Rilak (talk \| contribs) 9,848 edits →The 1980s to Mid-1990s: Old processor architectures did not fall, x86 and S/360 (circa 1964) are still active. Many modern "commodity computing" ISAs are gone though. ← Previous edit		Revision as of 05:41, 21 January 2009 edit undo Rilak (talk \| contribs) 9,848 edits →The 1980s to Mid-1990s: Gate-arrays, used in computers with CPUs built from discrete logic, are semiconductors, but did not have the same density as VLSI CMOS Next edit →
Line 13: The [[IBM PC]] was introduced in 1981 and immediately began displacing Apple II's in the corporate world, but commodity computing as we know it today truly began when [[Compaq]] developed the first true IBM PC compatible. More and more PC compatible microcomputers began coming into big companies through the front door and commodity computing was well established. During the 1980s microcomputers began displacing "real" computers in a serious way. At first, price was the key justification but by the ~~mid~~late 1980s and early 1990s, VLSI semiconductor technology had evolved to the point where microprocessor performance began to eclipse the performance of discrete logic designs. These traditional designs were limited by speed-of-light delay issues inherent in any CPU larger than a single chip, and performance alone began driving the success of microprocessor-based systems. By the mid 1990s, every computer made were based on microprocessors, and the majority of general purpose microprocessors were implementations of the x86 ISA. Although there was a time when every traditional computer manufacturer had its own proprietary micro-based designs there are only a few manufacturers of non-commodity computer systems today. However, super microcomputers (large-scale computer systems based on one or more microprocessors, like those of the IBM p, i, and z series) still own the high-end of the market.

Commodity computing: Difference between revisions