Vintage CPU

I collect vintage CPU’s (central processing unit) and associated chips for fun. My collection started out by accident really. Through the 90′s I was upgrading my computer every couple of months, and so built up a wide range of CPU’s.

It’s also thanks to eBay and Yahoo UK Auctions ( anyone remember them?? ) where I found the majority of pieces in my collection. I also picked up some nice pieces in the forum of CPU World. The rest of my chips were acquired from other collectors and friends.

I now focus my collection on Intel processors, specifically:

The information and exhibits I have within these processor family groups are arranged by family, speed and by sSpec. The sSpec number is also known as the specification number and SL code. It is a five character string (SL36W, XL2XL, etc.) that is printed on the processor for identification. The sSpec is typically found on the top side of the processor.

Processors within a family of the same speed can have different sSpecs. The reason is because when a processor stepping change occurs, a new sSpec is generated for that stepping. It is also true that the same stepping level can also have more than one sSpec associated with it.

A stepping is essentially a revision of the processor silicon. These are divided into two types. One type is called a full-layer stepping in which all the masks used to create the silicon can change. The other type is called a metal-layer stepping in which only the masks which are regenerated are the metal layers, allowing for fewer possible changes. Each stepping gets a different name. The usual naming convention is to change the letter of a stepping on each full-layer stepping and change the number of a stepping on the metal-layer stepping. As an example, the first full-layer stepping from A0 would typically be B0 and the first metal-layer stepping from A0 would be A1.

Please contact me if you have any questions regarding chip collecting. To navigate the chips in my online museum, use the menu on the left under CONTENTS.