NS320xx

The NS32000, sometimes known as the 32k, is a series of microprocessors produced by National Semiconductor. Design work began around 1980 and it was announced at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in April 1981.

The first member of the family came to market in 1982, briefly known as the 16032 before being renamed as the 32016. It was the first general-purpose microprocessor on the market that used 32-bit data internally: the Motorola 68000 had 32-bit registers and instructions to perform 32-bit arithmetic, but used a 16-bit ALU for arithmetic operations on data, and thus took twice as long as the 32016 to perform those arithmetic operations. However, the 32016 contained many bugs and often could not be run at its rated speed. These problems, and the presence of the otherwise similar 68000 which had been available since 1980, led to little use in the market despite considerable early interest.