Intel’s 486-era naming history resurfaces with a throwback i486 DX2 photo

TinfoilTricorn · x · 2026-07-28

A post revisits Intel’s old x86 naming history: after the 286, 386, and 486, the company had expected to continue to a “586,” but a court ruled numbers couldn’t be trademarked. Intel then created the Pentium name for the P5 processor, leaving the next-generation chip without the numeric branding path it had been using.

The attached image shows an Intel i486 DX2 chip, reinforcing the throwback angle of the post.

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