[PDF] Intel 8086 Family Users Manual October 1979

Why 8086 is called 16 bit microprocessor?

As we know that a microprocessor performs arithmetic and logic operations. And an 8086 microprocessor is able to perform these operations with 16-bit data in one cycle. Hence is a 16-bit microprocessor. Thus the size of the data bus is 16-bit as it can carry 16-bit data at a time.

What is the difference between 8085 and 8086 microprocessor?

The differences between 8085 and 8086 microprocessors are: 8085 microprocessor was developed in 1977 whereas 8086 was developed in 1978. 8085 microprocessor is a 8 bit microprocessor whereas 8086 is a 16 bit microprocessor. 8085 contains 16 bit address bus and 8086 microprocessor contains 20 bit address bus.

Why is 8086 microprocessor is of 16 bit?

There are also four 16-bit segment registers (see figure) that allow the 8086 CPU to access one megabyte of memory in an unusual way. Rather than concatenating the segment register with the address register, as in most processors whose address space exceeds their register size, the 8086 shifts the 16-bit segment only four bits left before adding it to the 16-bit offset (16×segment + offset), therefore producing a 20-bit external (or effective or physical) address from the 32-bit segment ...