news archive


note: The most recent news can be found here.

date description
2006/05/21 Happy 10th anniversary! That's right -- this website has been around for a decade. And it is alive and kicking. I still need to wade through the backlog of P4 and K8 intro dates, and let the VMX and SVM dust settle a bit, but everything else is once again up-to-date. Especially the Intel and AMD docs, the PM and Core pages, as well as the ever-growing CPUID page. There even is a new 3-byte opcode page due to the advent of SSSE3.

date description
2004/07/09 Dito.
2004/03/04 I have finally managed to catch up with a rather large backlog of Intel and AMD documents. In addition I have updated the CPUID information, as well as the PM, P4, and K8 pages, and I have added EM64T information to the x86-64 section. With that, the website is up to date once more. And I can return to my other project...

date description
2003/11/19 Yes, the website is up to date once more. So please stop asking. And yes, I am busy with another project...
2003/07/10 A while ago someone mentioned in this anonymous sandpile.org forum message that the May 2003 edition of Microsoft's DDK -- which is available for a relatively modest shipping & handling fee -- seems to contain a version of MASM with x86-64 support. Back then I offered to host those files, and today I'm making good on my offer: check out ml64.zip (3.5 MB). This link will expire in a few weeks, or when my quota runs out. Enjoy!
2003/06/19 I have added a page with Pentium M details. However, a few of those details remain sketchy, because Intel continues to shroud itself in secrecy when it comes to this "P6 on steroids with a P4 bus interface". Enjoy!
2003/05/15 Everything is up to date once more. Especially the P3, P4, and K7 pages, as well as the Intel docs. Enjoy!
2003/05/14 Intel has published a third version of their PNI document. If you compare it with its predecessor, then you will notice that the remaining hidden opcodes were removed from table A-2 in appendix A. You can still find them at the sandpile.org website though: just check the SSE3, FISTTP, and MONITOR/MWAIT instructions. Enjoy!
2003/04/22 It's Hammer time. Enjoy!
2003/02/26 Now that The Inquirer has run a second story, covering the disappearence of the PNI document, Intel has put back both the web page and a new version of the PDF file. If you compare this new version with the original, then you will notice that the hidden opcodes were removed throughout section 3.2, but not from table A-2 in appendix A. Check it out for yourself here (620 KB ZIP). This link will also expire in a few weeks. Enjoy!
2003/02/24 Within 24 hours after The Inquirer had run a brief story about the PNI document, Intel decided to remove both the web page and the PDF file it was pointing to. A copy of the file -- which had originally been published on February 7th 2003 -- can be downloaded here (288 KB gzipped). This link will expire in a few weeks. Enjoy!
2003/02/22 Intel has published the Prescott New Instructions Software Developer's Guide, order #252490-001, which provides details about the new features of their upcoming 0.09 µm Pentium 4 core, code-named Prescott. You can download said document by following this link. Note that Intel decided to protect the PDF file, and hide the actual opcodes of the 13 new instructions. However, you could use a tool like xpdf (with a patch) to extract the full text, including the hidden opcodes. Alternatively you can check out those new SSE3, FISTTP, and MONITOR/MWAIT instructions, as well as the CPUID and MSR stuff at the sandpile.org website. Enjoy!

date description
2002/10/31 Everything is up to date once more.
2002/10/06 I have updated the AMD docs and the K7 page. A lot of work remains... but at least the site is still alive.
2002/06/23 Everything is up to date. A couple of NEC V-series manuals have made it into the docs section.
2002/06/17 I have added details about the NX paging feature and the SMM SSM to the AA-64 section.
2002/05/19 Dito.
2002/04/21 Everything is up to date. Again.
2002/02/03 Everything is up to date.

date page description
2001/10/13 n/a Finally most of the details concerning the Transmeta-specific CPUID levels have been disclosed, thanks to a public presentation and a public whitepaper, as well as a bunch of code in recent Linux kernels.
2001/09/29 n/a The sandpile.org website is finally back to being up-to-date. Recent updates include literally hundrets of new documents in the library section, as well as the long-awaited and overdue Pentium 4 page in the museum section.
2001/06/15 Tualatin While the 0.13 µm Pentium III won't make it into the sandpile.org website's museum until after its official launch, a die picture (165 KB) should be a good teaser for now. Except for the doubled L2 cache (512 KB instead of 256 KB), the basic layout resembles that of the older 0.18 µm die (184 KB).
2001/05/22 n/a I have updated a whole bunch of pages, and added the VIA Cyrix III to the museum.
2001/01/23 n/a I'm still working on the VIA Cyrix III and the Pentium 4 pages for the museum section, but other than that the site is back to being up-to-date.

date page description
2000/09/16 SSE2 I merged the SSE and MMX opcodes back into the two byte opcode table, and added the upcoming SSE2 opcodes. (Don't hesitate to point out any bugs you might notice.)
2000/08/23 Pentium 4 While the Pentium 4 won't make it into the sandpile.org website's museum until after its official launch later this year, a die picture (175 KB) should be a good teaser for now. Notice the L2 cache in the upper right corner, similar to the Pentium III 0.18 µm layout.
2000/08/10 AA-64 The sandpile.org is proud to be the first independent microprocessor website that can offer a comprehensive technical overview of AMD's upcoming x86-64 architecture. For that purpose an entirely new section called AA-64 (for AMD Architecture 64) has been added to the site.

To ease navigation the pages in that new section mark the differences between IA-32 and AA-64 with green color. In addition to AMD's own documentation they provide a fast and simple means of browsing through the details of the new architecture, to find changes or new information.

The x86-64 architecture (aka AA-64) poses a fully backwards compatible extension to the x86 architecture (aka IA-32), providing a simple migration path to 64 bit computing. It marks the first true x86 innovation since the introduction of the Intel 80386 -- 14 years, 9 months, and 3 weeks ago.
2000/07/23 CPUID Intel documented some new cache and TLB descriptors for the CPUID instruction.
2000/07/16 IA-32 The URLs of the IA-32 pages changed since I had to move them to make room.
2000/06/26 n/a Wow, Intel released a 1 W mobile Pentium III processor. But wait, that's the Auto Halt state power consumption. When running at 500 MHz and 1.1 V the part still has a max. thermal design power of 8.1 W... at a whopping 100 degrees Celsius. That translates into about 5 W of average power. So that is what Intel calls "mobile"? Uhm, in that case Transmeta doesn't have much to fear after all.

In addition Intel released faster Celeron (0.18 µm) processors. But wait. They still use that slow 66 MHz external bus? And they only go up to 700 MHz, trailing AMD's Duron by 50 MHz? Well, I guess the good news for Intel is that they managed to shrink the die from about 105 to 90 mm², right? But then -- this was just the "usual" 5% shrink, which Intel has applied to all of their recent processes once they were mature:
So I guess that Nx686 without the silver lid on top of its die is the cool news after all...
2000/06/19 Spitfire Yet another step for K7... into the low end market, using the new Duron brand name.
2000/06/08 Thunderbird A small step for K7... a giant leap in performance. Well, not giant, but noticeable.
2000/05/14 n/a So it looks like 11 weeks went by without any significant site updates, eh? Well, let me tell you... some major stuff happened during that time.

First, I decided to leave Transmeta Corporation. Three years of hunting Crusoe bugs had taken their toll, and I needed a radical change to keep my sanity. In addition I had sought a new challenge, to keep my brain from idling, and I wanted to participate in an effort that strives to prolong the lifespan of the IA-32 architecture.

Next, I developed severe pain in most of my finger joints, literally over night. I have seen numerous doctors, undergone a lot of physiotherapy, enjoyed ergo evaluations at work, bought myself a Datahand keyboard, and -- most importantly -- cut back on the amount of typing. It seems to be Arthralgia. (Phew, no CTS or Tendonitis!)

Finally, I spent two weeks with my family, visiting Utah and Arizona, and I set up a Linux server at home. Somehow I seem to have a life besides IA-32 these days. Now, as for the site -- I have added some AMD K6-2+ and K6-III+ processor information, and I have updated the CPUID page. All the SSE2 stuff will follow once it is final.
2000/02/27 VIA Cyrix III Enjoy the details about the VIA Cyrix III processor. Basically it is a good old M2 with a slightly improved FPU, support for 3DNow!, and an integrated 256 KB L2 cache, that uses Intel's P6 bus and fits into the Celeron's Socket 370.
2000/02/15 P4 docs Check out Intel's Willamette documentation. No big surprises on the SSE2 front. But look at all those other little tidbits of information, scattered throughout that document!
2000/02/14 IA-64 docs Apparently none of those processor-related news or review websites noticed that Intel released a set of IA-64 documentation two weeks ago, which is bigger than their three volume IA-32 software developer's manual. And before anyone asks -- no, I won't make the whopping 25 MB package available here. Go, consume Intel's bandwidth instead!
2000/01/19 Transmeta Enjoy the details about the Transmeta Crusoe processors, and their documentation!
2000/01/01 Y2K If you can read this, then you too turned out to be Y2K-compliant.

date page description
12/01/99 server outage On Monday, December 6th 1999, the sandpile.org website will incur outages because its web hosting provider, pair Networks, is moving to a new facility. You should be able to monitor progress by visiting this alternative site.
11/29/99 K7 and P3 No, I haven't been lazy during the past three months -- there just wasn't any noteworthy news. But with today's release of AMD's 0.18 µm Athlon processor I updated the K7 page, the CPUID page, and the list of AMD documents. Sure, Intel had released their 0.18 µm Pentium III about a month ago (it too is in the museum), but apparently the faster versions are really hard to come by. Other than that I applied a ton of smaller updates, to keep the rest of the site up-to-date.
09/09/99 archive Due to popular demand there now is a .zip archive of the sandpile.org website. Enjoy!
08/09/99 K7 With today's official release of AMD's K7... ahem Athlon processor, I have updated the K7 page, the CPUID page, the list of AMD documents, and the 3DNow! opcode table. Notice how AMD seems to have introduced a few new glitches into CPUID, and that not all of the K7 documents are available yet.
07/18/99 K7 Yes, I am back from my vacation in Norway. Yes, I have had a great time. And yes, the trip was way too short. During the past two weeks I kept creating those Intel document pages -- just 270 MB of PDFs to go -- and today I added AMD's K7 to the museum. I am working on getting the MSR pages back, but have no definite date yet. Patience!
05/30/99 Lofoten Things come and go. The IA-64 manuals came, then went, but are now back again... though their filesize is different -- go figure. Anyway, this is the last life sign before my big vacation -- check out the link on the left in case you wonder where I will be going.
05/21/99 Intel Going once... going twice... gone! Yes, that's right. Intel has removed those two IA-64 manuals from their site. I am sorry for those of you who didn't get them in time.
05/20/99 Intel Yes, the links to the tables(s) with Intel documentation don't work yet -- I am still working on some of those pages. But since we are at it -- Intel published the IA-64 application developer's architecture guide, and the IA-64 application instruction set architecture guide today. They should help to put and end to some of the past speculations. (Now the interesting thing is going to be whether Intel is going to remove those files again.)
05/15/99 n/a During the past two weeks I have finished the bulk of the remaining update work, and with that I am looking forward to a big vacation during June. The site overhaul has paid off quite nicely: most people noticed the performance improvement, now that those fat GIF images that used to provide access to most of the pages are gone. While website traffic has continued to grow at the usual rate, the actual amount of outgoing data has been reduced by about 50 percent. Last but not least, I finally got myself a Rise mP6 processor and -- if things go well -- then the museum will be expanded, before I leave for my Arctic Circle camping trip to the Lofoten Islands, Norway. Only two weeks left...
05/01/99 n/a Well, here it is, the big fat update of the entire site. I hope you like it.
04/15/99 n/a This is a brief update on the long overdue sandpile.org update. I've finished the majority of a large site update, and I'm in the process of testing it. The target for its release is May 1999.

The main goal of this update is to achieve a stronger focus on IA-32 information. Minor goals are a clean-up/re-org, improved performance ie. less graphics and less CGI scripts, and easier maintenance.

There will be a few pages that I won't maintain any longer. They are labor intensive, but have little return. In example, the stepping or errata tables are most likely going to disappear.

By contrast there will be a few new pages -- some of which have been overdue for a long time -- and yes, there will be SSE (aka KNI) info too. (That stuff has been completed already. ;-)

Now, of course I am interested in your feedback, if you have any. In particular I'd like to hear from you how I should handle those pages that I plan to phase out.
01/31/99 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated list of Intel documents
80x86 updated 80x86-related links
STEPS updated list of known processor steppings
STEPS_P5 updated list of known Intel Pentium processor steppings
STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel Celeron, PentiumII, and Xeon processor steppings
BUGS_P6 updated list of known Intel PentiumPro processor errata
BUGS_P2 updated list of known Intel Celeron, PentiumII, and Xeon processor errata
CPUID updated CPUID information
CODENAME updated list processor codenames
P5 added more Intel P5 processor pictures
P55 updated Intel P55C processor information
P2 updated Intel Celeron, PentiumII, and Xeon processor information
mcupdate added 19980610.651, 19980729.653, and 19980916.652 microcode update
01/25/99 n/a I have been asked what I think about the announcement that the Pentium III will have a unique serial number, readable by software. Well, I'm gonna tell you what I think, and I will be very honest about it, even though some of you won't like what I am going to say.

The Pentium III wouldn't be the first chip to provide such a serial number. Intel has had that idea for a long time, but one of their major customers used to fear that Intel could track the surplus chips which that customer sold into the grey market. That customer has changed his mind, in light of the success of on-line business and e-commerce -- areas which need certain levels of security, to be successful. One could say that Intel had the right nose all along...

Next, the idea is neither new in general, nor for processors in particular. Some of the non-x86 chips already provide such serial numbers... and so does Intel's own line of Xeon processors. As many people have pointed out already, processors with a serial number aren't the only way for how one can identify a machine: ethernet card MAC addresses, and TCP/IP addresses are just a few other examples. You are concerned about your privacy? Well, when did you dial up to your ISP for the last time? Oh, and you weren't browsing with Java & Co enabled, were you?

Finally, look who remains with complains... that's right, people who try to sell security products. No wonder, considering that Intel has the market share and muscle to make many of their products become obsolete. I share the concerns about monopoly, but you know what -- wouldn't it be nice to be able to rely on one widely used standard, rather than having to deal with dozens of different and incompatible solutions? To remind you: the CPUID instruction was very similar to this. Yes, there have been concerns that software could mis-use it, and only run on "GenuineIntel" parts. But I think the market has regulated itself pretty well, hasn't it?

So before people blindly yell at Intel, they should evaluate the facts, and ask themselves if they are not yelling at Intel, just because it's Intel and not some other company. Would they have yelled at AMD too?
01/24/99 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated list of non-Intel documents
MANUALS updated list of x86 books
CCR updated list of configuration control registers
K6 updated AMD K6 and K6-2 processor information

date page description
12/27/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated list of non-Intel documents
STEPS updated list of known processor steppings
STEPS_P5 updated list of known Intel Pentium processor steppings
STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII/Celeron/Xeon processor steppings
STEPS_IC updated list of known Intel chipset steppings
BUGS_P5 updated list of known Intel Pentium processor errata
BUGS_P6 updated list of known Intel PentiumPro processor errata
BUGS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII/Celeron/Xeon processor errata
CPUID added Centaur (IDT) C2 processor information
CR4 added Centaur (IDT) C2 processor information
MSR_Cx added Centaur (IDT) C2 processor MSRs
EV_Cx added Centaur (IDT) C2 processor PeMo events
C2 added Centaur (IDT) C2 processor information
P2 updated PentiumII processor information
11/14/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated list of non-Intel documents
P2OD added Intel PentiumII OverDrive processor substrate picture
P2 updated Intel PentiumII processor information
K6 updated AMD K6 and K6-2 processor information
STEPS_K6 updated list of known AMD K6 and K6-2 processor steppings
MSR_K6 updated list of known AMD K6 and K6-2 processor MSRs
11/18/98 P2 Did you hear about the recent German c't magazine article (in German) yet, discussing forged PentiumII processors? This time the criminal masterminds actually added a small piece of electronics inside the processor's cartridge, which bypasses Intel's "clock multiplier lock" protection mechanism. The guys at the c't magazine did encounter 266 MHz parts, which were sold as 400 MHz chips.

Well, the sandpile.org website can now add to this story... this forged 450 MHz processor. Here are two pictures, of the top and the bottom side of the stripped substrate. On the top side you may notice that the resistors R5 and R6 have been tampered with, while the additional bypass hardware can be seen on the bottom side.

How was this particular forgery detected? Admittedly, I does look authentic from the outside, and no scratch marks or other hints could be seen. However, it did fail a normal burn-in process, and a brief look into the still un-opened package showed that there was no thermal grease between the cache chips and the metal backplate. Finally, further investigation -- aka opening the CPU package -- unveiled the green wire, thus strongly hinting at a forgery, as described in the c't article. Breaking the package open completely then did confirm the existence of the additional hardware.

Now what do we learn from this? A couple of things.

  • There is no way of detecting good forgeries by just looking at the packages.
  • Intel's protection mechanisms work as advertised, but aren't sufficient enough.
  • The criminal minds get better and better, as well as more and more ruthless.
  • Over-clocking isn't reliable; a simple burn-in process unveils problems quickly.
11/14/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated list of non-Intel documents
STEPS_IC updated list of known Intel chipset steppings
STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII processor steppings
BUGS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII processor errata
BUGS_P6 updated list of known Intel PentiumPro processor errata
10/25/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated list of non-Intel documents
10/18/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated list of non-Intel documents
PRIVATE updated collection of non-80x86 links
CODENAME updated list of known processor codenames
BUGS_P6 updated list of known Intel PentiumPro processor errata
BUGS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII processor errata
BUGS_C6 updated list of known Centaur (IDT) C6 processor errata
STEPS updated list of known processor steppings
STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII processor steppings
STEPS_IC updated list of known Intel chipset steppings
P55 updated Intel Pentium processor with MMX technology information
P2 updated Intel PentiumII processor information
IA64 added Merced processor floorplan and unit layout images
10/11/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated list of non-Intel documents
P2 updated Intel Xeon processor information
K6 added mobile AMD K6 processor information
10/04/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS added an excellent book about the AMD K6 and K6-2 processor
M2 updated Cyrix/IBM 6x86MX and MII processor information
09/27/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated list of non-Intel documents
STEPS updated list of known processor steppings
CPUID updated list of known CPUID instruction return values
EXCEPT added IA32 exceptions page
K6 updated AMD K6 processor information
09/13/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated list of non-Intel documents
STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel Celeron/PentiumII/Xeon processor steppings
BUGS_P2 updated list of known Intel Celeron/PentiumII/Xeon processor errata
BUGS_P6 updated list of known Intel PentoumPro processor errata
P2 updated Intel PentiumII processor information
P2OD added Intel PentiumII OverDrive processor information
09/07/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
PRIVATE updated private links
08/30/98 80x86 updated 80x86 links
PRIVATE updated non-80x86 links
08/29/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated list of non-Intel documents
BUGS_K6 updated list of known AMD K6 and K6-2 processor errata
P2 updated Intel Pentium II, Celeron, and Xeon processor information
K6 updated AMD K6 and K6-2 processor information
08/23/98 MCUPDATE updated/added Intel PentiumPro and PentiumII processor microcode update blocks
08/22/98 all pages completed phase two of the major sandpile.org review/update
OPC_KNI added page with Intel Katmai New Instruction (KNI) opcodes
08/19/98 STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII/Celeron/Xeon processor steppings
BUGS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII/Celeron/Xeon processor errata
08/16/98 Nx686 Finally! The sandpile.org website's museum scored another big victory, and brings you the first ever pictures of NexGen Nx686 processors, together with all the details that are available about these chips, which most of you know as the AMD K6 these days. Enjoy this history lesson!
MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
MANUALS1 updated list of non-Intel documents
08/01/98 MANUALS1 updated list of Intel documents
07/25/98 MANUALS1 updated Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated non-Intel documents
80x86 updated and cleaned up the 80x86-related links
07/18/98 MANUALS1 updated Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated non-Intel documents
STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII/Celeron/Xeon processor steppings
BUGS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII/Celeron/Xeon processor errata
07/12/98 MANUALS1 updated Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated non-Intel documents
07/05/98 MANUALS1 updated Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated non-Intel documents
80x86 updated 80x86-releated links
PRIVATE updated non-80x86-related links
CPUID added AMD K6-3 processor information
CODENAME updated Centaur WinChip processor codenames
BUGS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII, Celeron, and Xeon errata
BUGS_K6 updated list of known AMD K6 processor errata
MSR added SYSENTER-related MSRs and PAT MSR
P2 added Intel Xeon processor information
M2 updated Cyrix MII processor information
MAIL added eMail aliases for Rise, KNI, and 3DNow!
06/30/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
MANUALS2 added and updated non-Intel documents
BUGS_P2 added list of known Intel Xeon processor errata
STEPS_P2 added list of known Intel Xeon processor steppings
STEPS_IC added list of known Intel 82450NX chipset steppings
STEPS_K6 updated list of known AMD K6 and K6-2 processor steppings
06/15/98 FORUM Welcome to the discussion forum, here at the sandpile.org website, the world's leading source for pure technical 80x86 processor information!

The rules are simple, as there are only two basic ones: 'Be nice... or be blocked.' and 'Be technical... or be erased.' This means that every idiot who is trying to mis-use this forum will be blocked from posting here, and that every off-topic message will be erased from this forum.

On the technical front there is little to say as well. You can not put any HTML tags into your message, and you must manually insert the line breaks whenever you come within about one inch to the right border for the text field. (It will make quoted text in replies look much nicer.)

If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, then please, drop me an eMail! And now enjoy this discussion forum, the place where your technical 80x86 processor questions will be answered by professionals.
06/14/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
STEPS_P5 updated list of known Intel Pentium processor steppings
STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII and Celeron processor steppings
BUGS_P6 updated list of known Intel PentiumPro processor errata
BUGS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII and Celeron processor errata
P2 added Intel Celeron 300 MHz processor information
K6 added AMD K6-2 processor pictures
06/04/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
MANUALS2 added and updated non-Intel documents
BUGS_K6 added list of known AMD K6 model 7 processor errata
STEPS_IC added list of known Intel 82440BX chipset steppings
CODENAME updated list of processor codenames
P2 added Intel Celeron processor pictures
K6 added AMD K6-2 processor information
05/18/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
BUGS_P6 updated list of known Intel PentiumPro processor errata
BUGS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII/Celeron processor errata
STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII/Celeron processor steppings
05/03/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
MANUALS2 added and updated non-Intel documents
04/25/98 CT9809 added counterfeit Intel PentiumII processor information
MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
MANUALS2 added and updated non-Intel documents
P2 added and updated Intel PentiumII and Celeron processor information
04/19/98 MANUALS2 added and updated non-Intel documents
CPUID added and updated CPUID feature flag information
OPCODES2 added SYSENTER and SYSEXIT opcodes
OPC_GRP added FXSAVE and FXRSTOR memory specification
MSR_P6 updated list of known Intel PentiumPro/PentiumII processor MSRs
STEPS_K6 updated list of known AMD K6 processor steppings
STEPS_P2 added list of known Intel Celeron processor steppings
BUGS_P2 added list of known Intel Celeron processor errata
M1 updated Cyrix 6x86 processor information
M2 updated Cyrix 6x86MX processor information
04/16/98 STEPS_IC updated list of known Intel chipset steppings
STEPS_P5 updated list of known Intel Pentium processor steppings
STEPS_P6 updated list of known Intel PentiumPro processor steppings
BUGS_P6 updated list of known Intel PentiumPro processor errata
K6 added 0.25 µm K6 processor pictures
04/15/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
04/11/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
MANUALS2 added and updated non-Intel documents
STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII processor steppings
STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII processor errata
P2 added mobile Intel PentiumII processor codename
K6 added 0.25 µm AMD K6 processor information
C6 added CPUID=0541h Centaur C6 processor pictures
04/04/98 80X86 added new links, updated and verified exisiting links
PRIVATE added new links, updated and verified exisiting links
MANUALS1 updated and added Intel documents
MANUALS2 updated and added non-Intel documents
P2 updated and added mobile PentiumII processor information
04/01/98 all pages It is done! As promised, the sandpile.org website has received a major update. I will spare you from complains over how much time it took, but only point out that it was completed in time. If you prefer getting promises which remain unfulfilled, then please, feel free to check out certain other sites. Oh, allow me one more note: those of you who took snapshots of the sandpile.org website (expecting the worst from a rather vague announcement I made?) have been identified based on the logfiles, and shall be billed for creating such enormous extra traffic in the future.

Now, what's new? Well, as you probably have noticed already, readability has been improved. The entire sandpile.org website now uses Arial as its font. Given based on what platform this planet seems to run these days there should be no problem with that. In addition, a whole new section -- the so-called museum -- has been added. Currently it only has the recent processors from the Pentium era on display, because they should be the ones which most people are interested in right now. However, a lot of old 80x86 chips will be added over the next few weeks and months.

Other than that nothing has changed really. The sandpile.org website will remain dedicated to providing you with pure technical 80x86 processor information. You shall be spared from any promises which I could not keep, any boring details of ego-trips which I don't need to jet-set for, or any lousy information which has been gathered by wannabes rather than researched by reliable experts. Instead I will focus on trying to keep the sandpile.org where it is -- on the top of the world... ahem crowd. If you have any suggestions or complains, then please let me know.
03/22/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
03/15/98 80x86 added some new 80x86-related links
03/14/98 MANUALS added list of Mindshare Inc. books
03/14/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
03/14/98 MANUALS2 added and updated non-Intel documents
03/14/98 STEPS_P5 updated known Pentium processor steppings
03/14/98 BUGS_P5 updated known Pentium processor errata
03/14/98 BUGS_P6 updated known PentiumPro processor errata
03/14/98 STEPS_P2 updated known PentiumII processor steppings
03/14/98 BUGS_P2 updated known PentiumII processor errata
03/07/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
03/07/98 MANUALS2 added and updated non-Intel documents
03/01/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
03/01/98 MANUALS2 added PC98 system design guide
03/01/98 OPCODES2 added group #B opcode (0Fh,AEh)
03/01/98 OPC_GRP added group #B instructions (FXSAVE/FXRSTOR)
03/01/98 CRx added CR4.OSFXSR bit information
02/19/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
02/19/98 MANUALS2 added AMD 3D documents
02/19/98 OPC_K3D added page with K3D opcodes (aka non-Intel MMX-2)
02/15/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
02/15/98 MANUALS2 added and updated non-Intel documents
02/11/98 MANUALS1 added and updated Intel documents
02/11/98 STEPS_P5 updated list of known Intel Pentium steppings
02/11/98 STEPS_P6 updated list of known Intel PentiumPro steppings
02/11/98 STEPS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII steppings
02/11/98 BUGS_P2 updated list of known Intel PentiumII errata
01/27/98 MANUALS1 updated Intel documents
01/27/98 MANUALS2 updated non-Intel documents
01/27/98 CPUID added/updated level #1 and #2 information
01/27/98 CR4 added CR4.OSFXSR bit and Centaur C6 processor note
01/27/98 BUGS_P2 updated known Intel PentiumII processor errata
01/27/98 STEPS_P2 added known Intel PentiumII processor steppings
01/27/98 STEPS_IC added/updated known Intel chipset steppings
01/27/98 STEPS added known Intel PentiumII processor steppings
01/27/98 CODENAME added Intel processor codenames
01/27/98 PRIVATE added a link to my brother's homepage :-)
01/18/98 MANUALS1 updated Intel documents
01/18/98 STEPS updated AMD K6 processor information
01/18/98 STEPS_K6 updated AMD K6 processor information
01/14/98 MANUALS1 updated Intel documents
01/14/98 BUGS_P5 updated known Intel Pentium processor errata
01/14/98 BUGS_P6 updated known Intel PentiumPro processor errata
01/14/98 BUGS_P2 updated known Intel PentiumII processor errata
01/14/98 STEPS_P5 updated known Intel Pentium processor steppings
01/14/98 STEPS_P6 updated known Intel PentiumPro processor steppings
01/13/98 MANUALS1 updated Intel documents
01/13/98 MANUALS2 updated non-Intel documents
01/13/98 STEPS added known AMD K5 and K6 processor steppings
01/13/98 STEPS_K5 added known AMD K5 processor steppings
01/13/98 STEPS_K6 added known AMD K6 processor steppings
01/13/98 BUGS_K6 updated known AMD K6 processor errata
01/10/98 CPUID updated Centaur (IDT) C6 processor CPUID information
01/08/98 CT9801 added temporary page with comments on a recent c't magazine article
01/01/98 80x86 removed link to CPU-Central due to permanent copyright violations :-(

date page description
12/29/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel documents
12/29/97 MANUALS2 added SGS Thomson documents
12/29/97 80x86 updated links
12/21/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel documents
12/21/97 MANUALS2 added Centaur (IDT) documents
12/21/97 STEPS_P6 added PentiumPro 1MB
12/15/97 MANUALS2 added/updated AMD documents
12/15/97 CPUID updated AMD K6-3D and K6PLUS-3D information
12/15/97 80x86 added/updated 80x86-related links
12/14/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel documents
12/14/97 MANUALS2 added Harris documents and MPR articles
12/14/97 STEPS_P5 updated Pentium steppings list
12/14/97 STEPS_P6 updated PentiumPro steppings list
12/14/97 STEPS_P2 updated PentiumII steppings list
12/14/97 BUGS_P5 updated Pentium errata list
12/14/97 BUGS_P6 updated PentiumPro errata list
12/14/97 BUGS_P2 updated PentiumII errata list
11/27/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel documents
11/16/97 SFRAME added page with IA32 stack frame information
11/16/97 CC added page with IA32 condition codes
11/15/97 MANUALS2 added/updated non-Intel documents
11/15/97 CCR updated LOOP/XCHG patch information
11/15/97 STEPS_P5 updated Pentium processor stepping list
11/15/97 STEPS_IC updated Intel chipset stepping list
11/15/97 BUGS_P6 updated PentiumPro processor errata list
11/15/97 BUGS_P2 updated PentiumII processor errata list
11/01/97 CODENAME updated and added detailed information on future processors
11/01/97 ROADMAP updated roadmap (few changes, since it was very accurate already)
11/01/97 MANUALS1 updated Intel documents
11/01/97 MANUALS2 updated Centaur (IDT) documents
11/01/97 BUGS_P5 updated Pentium processor errata
10/23/97 MANUALS1 updated Intel manuals
10/23/97 STEPS updated processor stepping list
10/23/97 STEPS_P5 updated list of Pentium processor steppings
10/23/97 STEPS_P6 updated list of PentiumPro processor steppings
10/23/97 STEPS_P2 updated list of PentiumII processor steppings
10/23/97 BUGS_P6 updated list of known PentiumPro processor bugs
10/23/97 BUGS_P2 updated list of known PentiumII processor bugs
10/19/97 80x86 updated several links
10/19/97 MANUALS2 added Cyrix CPU identification guide
10/19/97 CPUID added Cyrix and Centaur (IDT) processor information
10/19/97 CCR updated list of known DIR0 values
10/18/97 80x86 added link to PC Guide website
10/18/97 MANUALS2 added Cyrix 6x86MX extended MMX instructions application note
10/18/97 CCR7 updated CCR7.MMX_PLUS bit description
10/18/97 OPCODES2 added Cyrix 6x86MX processor extended MMX instructions
10/16/97 MANUALS1 updated several Intel manuals
10/16/97 MANUALS2 added several Centaur (IDT) manuals
10/16/97 80x86 updated 80x86 related links
10/16/97 CODENAME updated list, added newly announced processors
10/16/97 CPUID added Centaur (IDT) C6 processor information
10/16/97 MSR_Cx added list of Centaur (IDT) C6 processor MSRs
10/16/97 PEMO added layout of Centaur (IDT) C6 processor CESR
10/16/97 EV_Cx added list of Centaur (IDT) C6 processor PeMo events
10/16/97 BUGS_C6 added list of all known Centaur (IDT) C6 processor bugs
10/11/97 MANUALS1 added Intel manuals
10/11/97 MSR_P5 updated P24T processor MCA MSR information
10/11/97 CCR updated 6x86MX processor CCR information
10/01/97 MANUALS updated list of useful books
09/30/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel manuals
09/20/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel manuals
09/20/97 MANUALS2 added Microprocessor Report articles
09/17/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel manuals
09/17/97 STEPS_P5 updated Pentium stepping list
09/17/97 STEPS_P2 updated PentiumII stepping list
09/17/97 BUGS_P5 updated Pentium bug list
09/17/97 BUGS_P2 updated PentiumII bug list
09/17/97 MSR_P5 added TR12 bit21 description
09/17/97 CPUID added that K6 is reporting "NexGen"
09/16/97 MANUALS1 added Intel 82440LX chipset manual
09/12/97 MANUALS1 added a few Intel manuals
09/12/97 MANUALS2 updated PC98 hardware design guide
09/11/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel manuals
09/11/97 MANUALS2 added/updated IBM manuals
09/08/97 80x86 added link to Trinity Works (upgrades)
09/08/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel manuals
09/04/97 MANUALS2 added/updated AMD manuals
09/04/97 CPUID updated AMD K5 and K6 information
09/04/97 MSR_K6 updated STAR and WHCR MSR information
09/04/97 SYSCALL updated information
09/04/97 SYSRET updated information
09/04/97 MANUALS1 added Intel manuals
08/29/97 MANUALS1 updated Intel manuals
08/27/97 MANUALS1 updated Intel manuals
08/27/97 BUGS_P2 updated PentiumII bug list
08/26/97 MANUALS1 updated Intel spec update
08/21/97 MANUALS1 added several new Intel manuals and documents
08/18/97 MANUALS2 added PC 95 design guidelines, updated PC 98 designe guidelines
08/16/97 ROADMAP updated processor roadmap information
08/14/97 MANUALS1 updated USB specification updates
08/13/97 MANUALS1 updated several Intel specification updates
08/13/97 STEPS_P5 updated Pentium stepping list
08/13/97 BUGS_P6 updated PentiumPro bug list
08/12/97 MANUALS2 updated AMD, Cyrix, and SGS Thomson manuals
08/12/97 BUGS_K6 updated AMD K6 bug list
08/12/97 CPUID updated AMD K6 SYSCALL/SYSRET bits
08/12/97 SYSCALL updated AMD K6 SYSCALL information
08/12/97 SYSRET updated AMD K6 SYSRET information
08/11/97 MANUALS2 added Microprocessor Report articles
08/08/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel manuals
08/04/97 MANUALS1 added new Intel manuals
07/30/97 MANUALS2 updated Cyrix 6x86MX application note
07/29/97 80x86 added link to PC hardware & performance guide
07/29/97 MANUALS1 added new NLX errata and PCI spec v2.1
07/29/97 MANUALS2 updated IBM and NS manuals
07/28/97 MANUALS1 added PentiumII application note
07/28/97 MANUALS2 updated K6 revision guide
07/28/97 BUGS_K6 updated K6 bug list
07/22/97 MANUALS1 added reset hysteresis application note
07/21/97 MANUALS2 updated Cyrix 6x86MX manuals
07/21/97 OPCODES2 add Cyrix 6x86MX SMINT instruction information
07/20/97 ROADMAP added processor roadmap page
07/20/97 MCUPDATE added two PentiumPro and PentiumII processor microcode updates
07/20/97 MANUALS1 added three Intel documents
07/17/97 MANUALS1 updated Intel specification updates
07/17/97 BUGS_P2 updated PentiumII bug list
07/16/97 MCUPDATE added article about microcode update feature
07/16/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel manuals
07/16/97 MANUALS2 added Microprocessor Report sample issues
07/09/97 IA64 new links to related patents added
07/09/97 80x86 updated Brian Davis' URL -- he's got his own domain name
07/09/97 MANUALS1 added/updated Intel chipset manuals
07/09/97 MANUALS2 added Microprocessor Report articles
07/09/97 CCR updated page, added index table for faster access
07/09/97 CODENAME added Cyrix MediaGX codenames
07/06/97 MANUALS2 added Microprocessor Report articles
07/06/97 INDEX added permanent index (which requires frame support)
07/05/97 80x86 added link to IBM patent server
07/05/97 MANUALS1 added many Intel manuals
07/05/97 MANUALS2 updated PC 98 specification to draft v0.9
07/04/97 MANUALS2 added NexGen manual, and Microprocessor Report article
07/03/97 80x86 added another link to a PC emulation software
07/02/97 MANUALS1 added/updated several Intel manuals
07/01/97 IA64 added new links to IA64 and Merced information
06/30/97 CCR new page for Cyrix/IBM/TI CCRs
06/27/97 NEWS_OLD new page for previous news
06/27/97 MANUALS divided (large) page into two new (smaller) pages
06/27/97 MANUALS1 new page for Intel manuals
06/27/97 MANUALS2 new page for non-Intel manuals
06/27/97 BUGS_K6 added new page with known AMD K6 processor bugs
06/26/97 80x86 added BIOS vendor links
06/26/97 PRIVATE updated several links
06/24/97 80x86 added several new links
06/24/97 PRIVATE added several new links
06/23/97 all pages finished new look and new colors for all pages
06/23/97 MANUALS updated NetPC specification, NLX errata, and AGP errata
06/20/97 MANUALS added PentiumII, MMX, and USB manuals
06/19/97 MANUALS added/updated several manuals
06/19/97 STEPS_P5 updated Pentium stepping list
06/19/97 BUGS_P5 updated Pentium bug list
06/19/97 STEPS_P2 updated PentiumII stepping list
06/19/97 BUGS_P2 updated PentiumII bug list
06/19/97 BUGS_P6 updated PentiumPro bug list
06/15/97 HOURGLAS added new page with hourglass information
06/15/97 80x86 added link to Programmer's Heaven
06/12/97 MANUALS added/updated several manuals
06/06/97 MAIL added form eMail processing
06/06/97 4P_REG updated form eMail processing
06/03/97 MANUALS added IBM 6x86MX processor manuals
06/02/97 MANUALS added many IBM processor manuals, reviewed notes at the page top
06/01/97 MANUALS added Cyrix 6x86MX processor manuals
06/01/97 CODENAME updated Cyrix 6x86MX (M2) processor information
06/01/97 CPUID updated Cyrix 6x86MX (M2) processor information
06/01/97 OPCODES2 updated Cyrix 6x86MX processor SMM opcodes
06/01/97 MSR_M2 added Cyrix 6x86MX processor MSR information
06/01/97 PEMO added Cyrix 6x86MX processor CESR information
06/01/97 EV_M2 added Cyrix 6x86MX processor PeMo event list
06/01/97 SMM updated Cyrix processor SMM information
05/30/97 80x86 added link to Centaur (IDT)
05/30/97 CODENAME added Centaur (IDT) C6 processor
05/30/97 MANUALS added/updated several manuals
05/21/97 SEARCH added keyword or phrase search capability
05/15/97 MANUALS added several Intel specification updates
05/15/97 BUGS_P6 updated PentiumPro bug list
05/15/97 STEPS_P6 updated PentiumPro stepping list
05/15/97 STEPS_IC added and updated Intel chipset stepping list
05/14/97 MANUALS new AGP spec updates, new Intel chipset manuals, new AMD manuals
05/14/97 MSR_K5 added one new MSR and some new HWCR bits
05/10/97 APPENDIX added new page about the re-animation of Appendix H
05/10/97 MANUALS Intel PentiumII processor manuals added, some others updated
05/10/97 STEPS_P2 added new page with PentiumII processor steppings
05/10/97 BUGS_P2 added new page with PentiumII processor bugs
05/10/97 CPUID added information due to PentiumII processor release
05/10/97 CODENAME updated information due to PentiumII processor release
05/05/97 PEMO updated Performance Monitoring information
05/05/97 EV_P5 updated Pentium processor Performance Monitoring events
05/05/97 EV_P6 added PentiumII processor Performance Monitoring events
05/01/97 INDEX added new page: IA64 architecture speculations
05/01/97 MANUALS some Intel PentiumPro processor manuals updated/added
04/28/97 MANUALS several Intel manuals updated/added
04/26/97 INDEX added new page: IA32 architecture
04/26/97 GLOSSARY added new page: IA32 glossary
04/26/97 REG added new page: IA32 general purpose registers
04/26/97 CRX added new page: IA32 control registers
04/26/97 DRX added new page: IA32 debug registers
04/26/97 MSR added new page: IA32 model specific registers
04/26/97 EFLAGS added new page: IA32 EFLAGS register
04/26/97 SREG added new page: IA32 segment registers
04/26/97 TR added new page: IA32 table registers
04/26/97 FPU_MMX added new page: IA32 FPU and MMX registers
04/26/97 SEL added new page: IA32 selectors
04/26/97 DESC added new page: IA32 descriptors
04/26/97 DT added new page: IA32 descriptor tables
04/26/97 TSS added new page: IA32 task state segment
04/26/97 MODE added new page: IA32 processor mode
04/26/97 PAGING added new page: IA32 paging
04/26/97 SMM added new page: IA32 system management mode
04/26/97 80x86 added link to Wim's BIOS page and to processor die picture collection
04/26/97 MANUALS several manuals updated/added
04/26/97 STEPS updated i80386EX, Pentium MMX OverDrive, and PentiumPro steppings
04/26/97 STEPS_P5 updated Pentium stepping list
04/26/97 BUGS_P5 updated Pentium bug list
04/26/97 STEPS_P6 updated PentiumPro stepping list
04/26/97