386
386 tech specs
- Company: Intel
- Type: Microprocessor
- Address width: 32 bits (can access up to 4 GB of RAM or ROM)
The 386 (short for 80386) was a 32-bit microprocessor released by Intel in 1986.
It was designed with a flat memory model, specifically to encourage a Unix port. This allowed it to compete with the 68000 chip, which was seen as a better Unix microprocessor than the 286.[1] Its use in beige box IBM PC clones allowed them to be repurposed as home servers, replacing Windows with Unix variants such as Linux and 386BSD.
Quotes
Well we thought that was a key market segment for the 386. It was not a market segment where the 286 was doing well at all; it was a market segment where the 68000 was cleaning up, principally because the 286 was not viewed as a machine that ran Unix well, and the 68000 was viewed as a natural Unix machine. So when we were working on the 386 definition, we wanted it to have as one of its attributes being able to run Unix well. So that's one of the things that influenced us, in terms of wanting to have a way to run the 386 as a flat 32-bit machine, and that's one of the things that led to all the angst in the definition process about compatibility versus a flat 32-bit machine, and how they would coexist.
— Jill Leukhardt, 2008[1]
References
- "Intel 386 Microprocessor Design and Development Oral History Panel" Jim Jarrett, Dec 2008
Intel: 386
Microprocessors: 386 | 68000 | HD6303X | μPD780 | μPD8080 | μPD70216
