Intel optimizes slimmed-down X86S instruction set — revision 1.2 eliminates 16-bit and 32-bit features
Intel continues to work on its not-yet-released redo of the x86 architecture called X86S and has released its version 1.2 specification of the ISA (via InstLatX64 on X).
The chip titan proposed last year that it was about time to introduce a slimmed-down, 64-bit-only version of the x86 architecture, which Intel created alongside the famous 8086 chip back in the 1970s. Since Intel and AMD added tons of capabilities to the long-lived ISA, many features have become “outdated,” according to Intel.
The new version 1.2 of X86S largely touts the many things that have been removed, especially the 16-bit and 32-bit features. Intel did add a “32-bit compatibility mode,” but it’s unclear what exactly it does; we’ve reached out to Intel for comment.
Most importantly, the new X86S ISA would remove native 32-bit support, which has become less valuable since the first 64-bit CPUs arrived in the early 2000s, followed by 64-bit operating systems like Windows 7 a few years later. As of February, the biggest digital games distributor globally, Steam, no longer supports 32-bit MacOS devices.
