x86 (i386 and above) support

The Intel i386 architecture, introduced in 1985, was a significant advancement over its predecessors, marking the transition from 16-bit to 32-bit processing. The Intel 80386 was the first x86 processor to support 32-bit general-purpose registers, 32-bit data paths, and a 32-bit address bus, allowing it to address up to 4GB of memory, which was a significant improvement for the time. The i386 also introduced a more advanced memory management system, including support for paging, which is fundamental for modern operating systems to manage memory effectively.

This processor laid the groundwork for the x86 architecture's dominance in personal computing, as it offered greater performance, expanded memory capabilities, and enhanced multitasking support compared to the previous generation (like the i286). The i386’s protected mode allowed for the implementation of more robust operating systems, with features like virtual memory, multitasking, and memory protection. In addition to the core features of the i386, Intel introduced the real mode for backward compatibility with earlier x86 processors, ensuring software written for older CPUs could still run on the i386.

Over time, the i386 architecture was cloned and extended by other companies, with manufacturers like AMD and Cyrix producing their versions of the processor. AMD, in particular, became known for offering i386-compatible processors that were often more affordable and sometimes featured additional performance improvements or innovations.

x86-64 (AMD64 / EMT64)

The transition from 32-bit to 64-bit computing began with the AMD64 (also known as x86-64) architecture, introduced by AMD in 2003. This extension of the x86 architecture was fully compatible with existing 32-bit software, but it added support for 64-bit instructions, larger memory addressing (up to 16 exabytes), and additional registers, improving performance for 64-bit applications and operating systems. The AMD64 architecture was designed to be a superset of the i386 and its 32-bit successors, meaning it could run all previous software while also enabling future 64-bit applications to take advantage of the increased register set and expanded memory addressing.

Intel later adopted the AMD64 architecture under the name Intel 64, and it became the industry standard for 64-bit computing, used in virtually all modern desktop and server processors. The shift to 64-bit computing brought significant improvements in performance, particularly for applications requiring large amounts of memory or processing power, such as databases, scientific simulations, and high-end gaming.

Today, the legacy of the i386 architecture continues in the x86-64 architecture, which has evolved over decades into the dominant architecture for personal computers, laptops, and servers.