The 8086 microprocessor is a 16-bit processor released by Intel in 1978. It has approximately 29,000 transistors and a 40-pin DIP package. The 8086 uses separate 16-bit registers to address up to 1 megabyte of memory across four segments of 64KB each. It can operate in minimum or maximum mode depending on the state of the MN/MX pin. The 8086 has an execution unit that executes instructions fetched by the bus interface unit, which handles fetching from memory and I/O.