Intel 8080

The Intel 8080 was the second 8-bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel and was released in April 1974. It was an extended and enhanced variant of the earlier 8008 design, although without binary compatibility. The initial specified clock frequency limit was 2 MHz and with common instructions having execution times of 4, 5, 7, 10 or 11 cycles this meant a few hundred thousand instructions per second. The 8080 has sometimes been labeled "the first truly usable microprocessor", although earlier microprocessors were used for calculators and other applications. The architecture of the 8080 strongly influenced Intel's 8086 CPU architecture, which spawned the x86 family of processors.

The 8080 was implemented using non-saturated enhancement-load NMOS, demanding an extra +12 volt and a −5 volt supply.