Asianometry Legends of the RISC Wars
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Dec 7, 2025 Dive into the intense world of the RISC Wars, where giants like IBM and Intel clashed alongside fledgling startups. Discover the birth of RISC from IBM's 801 project and the contributions of Berkeley and Stanford. Learn about MIPS’ breakthroughs, DEC's Alpha ambitions, and the rise of PowerPC amidst fierce market competition. Explore how Intel grappled with adaptation while x86 forged ahead, ultimately reclaiming dominance. A gripping tale of innovation, rivalry, and the ever-shifting landscape of computing technology.
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Optimize The 80/20 Of Instructions
- Studies showed a small subset of instructions account for most executions, so optimizing the common ones yields big gains.
- Berkeley and Stanford translated that into RISC: slim down the ISA and optimize the hot path.
HP Carried 801's Torch To PA-RISC
- After IBM canceled 801, several team members moved to Hewlett-Packard and built what became PA-RISC.
- HP published their High Precision Architecture in 1985 and commercialized a major RISC entry.
Sun's Rapid SPARC Development
- Sun built SPARC in about three years using semi-custom CMOS gate arrays and LSI Logic help.
- The Sun 4 hit 10 MIPS and dramatically improved price-performance for workstations.