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Motorola
Processors |
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The Motorola 680X0 (68000, 68010, 68020, 68030, 68040, AND 68050)
are the most commonly encountered alternatives to Intel-style processors. They are
the processors used in the Apple Macintosh systems, as well as several proprietary, non-PC
systems. though chip construction and microcode instruction sets are different, they
work in the same fashion as Intel microprocessors. |
| 68000
The 68000 chip set is usually associated with
Apple computers. Although Motorola is not well known for microprocessors, they are
well respected in the mini-computer of larger marketplace. The 68000
chip was a 32-bit chip but was used with a 16-bit data bus.
The 68000 chip was introduced in 1979 and was
well ahead of Intel technology in its original implementation. |
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| 68010
Motorola updated the 68000 to the 68010
in 1982. The basic difference is that Motorola added virtual memory support.
This chip also adopted a three-instruction cache that enabled subroutines to react much
more quickly. Although not a widely used chip in the computer industry, it was used
much more in Motorola's components-level division. |
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| 68020
The 68020 was introduced in 1984 as the first
32-bit chip in the Motorola family. This chip was mostly used in the Macintosh II
series of personal computers. It was also widely used in mini-computers because of
its ability to access 4Gb of RAM and its floating point processing capabilities.
Note: Some Motorola chips also are used in Sega Genesis gaming system.
the 68020 chip is roughly equivalent to the Intel 386SX. |
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| 68030
The 68030 was introduced in 1987, incorporating
all the features of the 68020 and adding demand-page memory
management. Other features were added that increased data and instruction
speed. This chip, equivalent to the 386DX chip, was later widely used in the
Macintosh II series of computers. |
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| 68040
The 68040 was introduced in 1989, as Motorola's
competitive answer to Intel's 486 chip. However, the design is totally
different. Without going into the internal design of the chip, it is safe to say
that Motorola missed its "window of opportunity" in competing against
Intel. They have yet to command a considerable market share in the PC industry. |
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