Re: The software is still there
The 386 used microcode, like a System/360 Model 65. The 486, though, was hardwired, like a System/360 Model 75.
It is true, though, that even the latest x86 processors use microcode to handle a few complex instructions, as do the latest System z processors. Most RISC chips, though, eschew instructions so complex as to make microcode a necessity, even though they still do things like floating-point arithmetic that take multiple cycles.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
