Intel 8088

What Does Intel 8088 Mean?

The Intel 8088 is a type of microprocessor that is part of the Intel 8086 series of microprocessors. It was released in 1979 and has identical architecture to the Intel 8086, with the exception of a reduced external data bus width size from 16-bit to 8-bit.

Techopedia Explains Intel 8088

Being an 8-bit microprocessor, the Intel 8088 requires two cycles to process 16-bit data. The Intel 8088 has a clock speed from 5-10 MHz, with 16-bit registers, a 20-bit address bus, a 16-bit external data bus, and supports 1 mb of memory. The Intel 8088 also supports the Intel 8087 numeric co-processor that enables it to recognize and process floating point data and instructions.

The Intel 8088 was developed primarily using high density, short channel MOS (HMOS) technology with some CHMOS versions too. It came in 40- and 44-pin designs.

The Intel 8088 was the processor used in the original IBM PCs.

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Margaret Rouse

Technology Specialist

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

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