 2 definitions found
From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:
Pentium n. The name given to Intel's P5 chip, the successor to the
80486. The name was chosen because of difficulties Intel had in
trademarking a number. It suggests the number five (implying 586) while
(according to Intel) conveying a meaning of strength "like titanium".
Among hackers, the plural is frequently 'pentia'. See also {Pentagram
Pro}.
Intel did not stick to this convention when naming its P6 processor
the Pentium Pro; many believe this is due to difficulties in selling a
chip with "hex" or "sex" in its name. Successor chips have been called
'Pentium II', 'Pentium III', and 'Pentium IV'.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
Pentium
{Intel}'s {superscalar} successor to the {486}.
It has two 32-bit 486-type integer {pipelines} with dependency
checking. It can execute a maximum of two instructions per
cycle. It does pipelined {floating-point} and performs
{branch prediction}. It has 16 {kilobytes} of on-chip
{cache}, a 64-bit memory interface, 8 32-bit general-purpose
{registers} and 8 80-bit {floating-point} registers. It is
built from 3.1 million transistors on a 262.4 mm^2 die with
~2.3 million transistors in the core logic. Its {clock rate}
is 66MHz, heat dissipation is 16W, integer performance is 64.5
{SPECint92}, {floating-point} performance 56.9 {SPECfp92}.
It is called "Pentium" because it is the fifth in the 80x86
line. It would have been called the 80586 had a US court not
ruled that you can't trademark a number.
The successors are the {Pentium Pro} and {Pentium II}.
A {floating-point division bug
(ftp://ftp.isi.edu/pub/carlton/pentium/FAQ)} was discovered in
October 1994.
[Internal implementation, "Microprocessor Report" newsletter,
1993-03-29, volume 7, number 4].
[Pentium based computers, PC Magazine, 1994-01-25].
(1997-11-21)
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