Every AMD CPU Ever! - Summary

Summary

Here is a concise summary of AMD's CPU history:

* **1975**: AMD founded, initially producing Intel 8080 clone (AM9080)
* **1980s**: AMD produces more Intel clones (AM8086, AM80286) with some variations
* **1995**: First fully in-house designed x86 CPU, K5 (initially unsuccessful)
* **1997**: K6 CPU released, offering competitive performance to Intel at a lower price
* **1999**: Athlon (K7) CPU launched, outperforming Intel for several years and gaining market share
* **2003-2004**: Athlon 64 and Athlon 64 X2 released, introducing 64-bit and dual-core computing
* **2007**: Phenom (K10) CPU released, marking a decline for AMD due to focus on multi-core over single-core performance
* **2011-2016**: AMD struggles with Bulldozer architecture, leading to a decline in market share
* **2017**: Zen architecture (Ryzen, Threadripper, EPYC) released, revitalizing AMD's competitiveness with Intel, eventually reclaiming significant market share by 2020.

Facts

Here are the key facts extracted from the text, numbered and in short sentences, without opinions:

**Early Years**

1. AMD was founded in 1975.
2. AMD's first CPU, the AM 9080, was a clone of Intel's 8080.
3. The AM 9080 was sold to the defense industry for approximately 1400 times its production cost of 50 cents.
4. In 1975, AMD also released the AM 2900, a non-x86 CPU used in the Xerox Star computer.

**Intel Clones and Early Original CPUs**

5. AMD produced clones of Intel's 8086 (1982) and 186 (1984) CPUs.
6. The AM 286, released in 1984, was initially identical to Intel's 286 but later offered higher clock speeds.
7. AMD's last major non-x86 release was the AM 29000 in 1987, used primarily in laser printers.

**Transition to Original CPUs**

8. The AM 386, released in 1991, was AMD's first CPU designed through reverse engineering.
9. The AM 486, released in 1993, was faster and more power-efficient than Intel's version.
10. The K5, released in 1995, was AMD's first fully original x86 CPU design.

**K6, Athlon, and Subsequent Releases**

11. The K6, released in 1997, provided equivalent performance to Intel's Pentium 2 at a lower cost.
12. The Athlon (K7 architecture) was released in 1999 and was extremely successful.
13. The Athlon 64, released in 2003, was the first 64-bit desktop CPU.
14. The Athlon 64 X2, released in 2004, introduced dual-core computing to the masses.

**Later Releases and Market Shifts**

15. AMD released the Phenom (K10 architecture) in 2007, marking their entry into quad-core computing.
16. The Bulldozer architecture was introduced in 2011, but faced performance issues.
17. AMD released the Zen architecture in 2017, marketed as Ryzen, which significantly improved single-core performance.
18. By the end of 2020, AMD had regained parity with Intel in desktop market share.