Building 8-Bit Computer From Scratch

Shad Abdullah — Wed, 21 May 2025 05:10:00 +0000

How to Build an 8-Bit Computer from Scratch

I'm excited to welcome you to this amazing journey where we'll be learning how to build an 8-bit computer from scratch. By the end of this series, not only will you understand how a computer really works, but you'll also be able to implement and build your own.

This journey won’t be easy — but it will be absolutely worth your time.

I'm inviting all the nerds, tinkerers, and curious minds who’ve ever wondered: how is a computer actually built? I’ll be teaching you the essential digital electronics concepts along the way, so even if you're starting from zero, you’ll be able to follow along.

So Why 8-Bit? Why Not 16, 32, or 64?

The truth is, the core concepts and principles you’ll learn in this series are the same ones used in modern 32-bit or 64-bit processors. But starting with those would make things unnecessarily complex.

An 8-bit computer is simple enough to understand and build, yet powerful enough to demonstrate every major idea behind how a real computer works. Once you grasp the fundamentals, scaling up is just a matter of extending the same logic — and you'll be able to do that yourself if you want.

Who Is This For?

This series is for anyone who’s curious, excited, and maybe even a little obsessed with understanding how computers work at the lowest level. Whether you’re a student, hobbyist, developer, or lifelong learner — this is for you.

Think of it this way: according to many monotheistic religions, humans are the most sophisticated creation of God. And computers? They're arguably one of the most incredible creations of humans.

So if you're ready to explore one of humanity’s greatest inventions, you're in the right place.

Are There Any Prerequisites?

Of course! : your curiosity and dedication.

You don’t need to be an electronics expert. Your dedication and excitement are more than enough. I’ll guide you through the essential electronics and logic theory step-by-step — everything you need to build your own computer in the simulator.

Do I Need Any Hardware Like Breadboards or Chips?

Nope! Since this is a beginner-friendly series, we’ll be using Sebastian Lague’s logic simulation tool, which saves time and avoids the need for physical components.

This tool is more than enough to help us build an 8-bit computer from scratch and understand how it really works — visually and interactively.
Big thanks to Sebastian for creating such an amazing resource!

Required Tool

Digital Logic Sim — a downloadable software available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

We’ll be using this minimal, clean, and powerful tool throughout the entire series, so make sure to download and set it up before we begin.

Digital Logic Sim

📌 Originally published on sysreverse.com

📬 Follow me here to get updates when new parts are published.

👉 In the next part of this series, we’ll start with the very basics:

Logic Gates — the building blocks of everything you’re about to create