Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun computing Any of a family of instruction set architectures based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

The x functions as a wildcard; many similar processors also had names ending in 86.

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Examples

  • I am a power user running a x64 copy of Vista (x86 is not practical in my environment).

    Why I Didn’t Buy A Mac | Lifehacker Australia 2009

  • Post-x86 is by no means a forgone conclusion, and Intel is doing the right things to forestall such an eventuality, but it is far from preposterous — especially from a user device perspective.

    Is a Post-x86 World “Preposterous”? 2009

  • But most calculating jobs will be handled by general-purpose microprocessors -- known by the designation x86 -- that are a mainstay of personal computers.

    Intel Offers Details 2008

  • Mr. Gelsinger made it clear that the standard Intel circuitry used by most of its chips -- known by the designation x86 -- will do much of the work associated with graphics, though the chip will include a more specialized component called a vector processing unit.

    Intel Plans to Pack Many Brains Into One Chip 2008

  • David, either you work for Intel or you’re wearing blinders. x86 is a wasteful architecture and the needless energy consumption is problematic for large data centres.

    TI Wants to Use DSPs for Low-power Computing 2009

  • Intel can’t stop Nvidia on all fronts, but it hasn’t been one to take its intellectual property or its near monopoly in x86 chips for granted — even if x86 computing is losing its ubiquity.

    Intel/Nvidia Catfight Is About More Than IP 2009

  • It can certainly be said that the argument for software momentum preserving x86 is less compelling in the mobile realm (and I’m referring to platforms smaller than netbooks here).

    Can Intel Thrive in a Post x86 World? 2009

  • While existing virtualization on x86 is not great, I’d much rather put 4-8 VMs on x86 blades and call it a day than modify/recompile everything and try to get closed-source ISVs to support yet another microarchitecture. —

    Data Centers Are Becoming Big Polluters, Study Finds - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • The Itanium chip, which was developed as a joint effort between Intel and H-P in the 1990s, is a separate strain of technology from the so-called x86 chips used in most personal computers and servers.

    H-P's Payments to Intel for Chip Detailed in Oracle Suit Ben Worthen 2012

  • The graphics chips are used to accelerate the number-crunching functions most often carried out by so-called x86 chips, which evolved from personal computing and have long dominated supercomputing.

    U.S. Plans Supercomputer Push Shara Tibken 2011

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