from the July 1978 issue of Byte magazine by Lou Frenzel - Heath Company - Benton Harbor Ml 49022 All personal and hobby computers are microprocessor based. That is, they use a single processor integrated circuit chip. One of the most important decisions you will ever make in purchasing a personal computer is choosing the type of microprocessor. The semiconductor manufacturers have provided computer designers with a wide range of microprocessing units having varying degrees of power and sophistication.