What does Pentium mean?

[Merethrond]

Yes, I know you are probably think "how can someone be so stupid" but I want to know. So can someone explain to me what is actually meant by Pentium 1, 2, 3 and 4? Thank you.

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: Merethrond
Yes, I know you are probably think "how can someone be so stupid" but I want to know. So can someone explain to me what is actually meant by Pentium 1, 2, 3 and 4? Thank you.

"Pentium" as far as I was aware was just the name Intel created for their CPU's

 

[Corporate Thug]

i think danny boy is right, just a name

 

[jbond04]

I think the "Pent" part of "Pentium" denotes that it was the 5th generation x86 processor (286, 386, 486, 586). This is only a guess, but it seems logical enough to me.

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: jbond04
I think the "Pent" part of "Pentium" denotes that it was the 5th generation x86 processor (286, 386, 486, 586). This is only a guess, but it seems logical enough to me.

Thats an interesting response to the question.

I must say im interested.

Could well be? Anyone fancy e-mailing Intel

 

[DannyBoy]

dub post :| - 2nd today :|

 

[Vadatajs]

Originally posted by: jbond04
I think the "Pent" part of "Pentium" denotes that it was the 5th generation x86 processor (286, 386, 486, 586). This is only a guess, but it seems logical enough to me.

That's exactly what it means. The name just stuck. Pentium Pro would have been sextium, as would pentium 2 & 3. Pentium 4 would be septium.

 

[adeno]

I believe jbond04's right.. the Pentium is also known as the P5, or 5th generation x86, hence the name.

and I think the only reason why we still have the Pentium name today is that it just stuck when they first used it

edit: beaten by two minutes.. darn

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: Vadatajs

Originally posted by: jbond04
I think the "Pent" part of "Pentium" denotes that it was the 5th generation x86 processor (286, 386, 486, 586). This is only a guess, but it seems logical enough to me.

That's exactly what it means. The name just stuck. Pentium Pro would have been sextium, as would pentium 2 & 3. Pentium 4 would be septium.

Really?

Out of interest how did you find that out?

I cant imagine what it would be like having a Septium 2.0Bghz Northwood lol

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: Vadatajs

Originally posted by: jbond04
I think the "Pent" part of "Pentium" denotes that it was the 5th generation x86 processor (286, 386, 486, 586). This is only a guess, but it seems logical enough to me.

That's exactly what it means. The name just stuck. Pentium Pro would have been sextium, as would pentium 2 & 3. Pentium 4 would be septium.

PPro should have been "Hexium" me thinks, sounds kinda cool.
Septium OTOH...Septium...Septic....

 

[sciencewhiz]

Originally posted by: Sunner


PPro should have been "Hexium" me thinks, sounds kinda cool.

I remember a friend of mine swearing that the next intel processor was going to be call hexium. I said they wouldn't.

I beleive the term pentium came as a result of trademark issues. Intel wasn't allowed to trademark the numbers 486, 586, etc, so they had to come up with another naming scheme.

 

[ElFenix]

i'd have rather it been sexium. like sextuplets?

anyway, yup, it was trademarks. see, back in the days of the 486, there were quite a few companies making 486s. intel, amd, cyrix, ibm, etc. (the origins of them making x86 processors stemmed from intel not having enough fab capacity). intel couldn't really say that their 486 was superior to anyone elses (it really wasn't, as they were all exactly the same except for cyrix's SLC). so intel prematurely killed the 486 and came out with the 586, which they trademarked as the "pentium." now they had a brand, and its one of the more successful and recognized brands in north america. in addition, they won sole rights to manufacture the new processor in various court procedures (though other companies were allowed to make x86 processors in other court procedures). so now they had a brand and a processor which did perform a bit better than the previous one on a mhz to mhz basis. anyway, they've just continued to use the strength of the brand for its later processors. intel doesn't really keep it a secret as to when it makes a wholly new architecture, so thats how we know that the pentium iv is, essentially, the 786, and even that we're on the second version of that processor, which went under the code-name "northwood"

interesting to note is that the engineering group that made the pentium pro (the 686) also made the pentium iv (the 786), while the group that made the pentium (the 586) went on to design the first IA-64 processor, the itanium (which was originally the 786 until intel realized it would be horribly late and also unmarketable to the vast majority of computer consumers)

 

[RobCur]

The Pentium is made up name like athlon, for athletic?
Today, the Pent still lives up to its name and is still the most powerful processor.

 

[0roo0roo]

eh, i know they have those big books that explain the latin meaning of all the prefix/suffix cr@p we use. pent is obviously 5, what ium is i dunno.

 

[ndee]

It means: Athlonisfaster.

And if you gonna start a flame-war now, you're utterly stupid.

 

[dpopiz]

pentium does indeed denote the 5th generation (586). the only reason it wasn't called 586 is because the supreme court decided that intel couldn't copyright a number

 

[thorin]

Originally posted by: Vadatajs

Originally posted by: jbond04
I think the "Pent" part of "Pentium" denotes that it was the 5th generation x86 processor (286, 386, 486, 586). This is only a guess, but it seems logical enough to me.

That's exactly what it means. The name just stuck. Pentium Pro would have been sextium, as would pentium 2 & 3. Pentium 4 would be septium.

That'd make Itanium actually be Octium which is a pretty cool name (compared to Itanium) WTF was Intel thinking? And the PPro/2/3 woulda been the Hexium which is also pretty kewl......too bad they didn't stick with it.

Thorin

 

[Lynx516]

Fraid Intanium is not an x86 architecture so it cannor be 886 or octium

 

[Ichinisan]

The name "Octium 4" has already been used...in the short-lived X-Files spinoff: The Lone Gunmen

The [retarded] first episode is full of anti-Intel propaganda. It was obviously influenced by Intel's choice to implement a processor serial number, a necessary feature. Probably created by those Mac-addicts in the media.

"It has a built-in modem. It tells them everything about you."

 

[WildDreamer]

Found this old Reg article that mentions that the Pentium might have been named after Vladimir Pentkovski, one of Intel's processor architects:

Link

 

[vash]

ElFenix is completely right on this note.

Intel branded computers with 286, 386, 486. By the time a number of competitors were around, they took similar names to Intel counterparts since they were all a clone of Intel's x86 anyhow. Low and behold, AMD 486, Cyrix 486, etc. Intel was upset, took them to court only to find that Intel cannot get a trademark for "486". So, when they launched their new chip, they named it Pentium (5th gen) and that name could be trademarked.

Also, there was an old floating point bug in the Pentium 60s and 66s (possibly the 75s and 90s as well), that had a math problem with division. The old joke went like:

Why did Intel call their new chip "Pentium"? Because when you added 100 to 486, you got 586.657654132167...

Aw, geek humor, someone has to remember that one.

vash

 

[Spook]

Ok, I heard this a long time ago, and had to go hunt it down...

Pentium was the name of Craig Barret's Horse...

Old Register article on the matter

 

[thorin]

Originally posted by: Lynx516
Fraid Intanium is not an x86 architecture so it cannor be 886 or octium

1) It is a 8th generation Processor therefore Oct definately applies.
2) Nobody has suggested that ium represents x86.

Thorin

 

[stncttr908]

Interesting. I had wondered about this myself many-a-time.

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: Spook
Ok, I heard this a long time ago, and had to go hunt it down...

Pentium was the name of Craig Barret's Horse...

Old Register article on the matter

LOL! Would be funny if that was true