Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!agate!shelby!unix!excelan!leadsv!zech
From: zech@leadsv.UUCP (Bill Zech)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: 386 vs 286 vs 8088
Summary: You're right, of course
Message-ID: <8282@leadsv.UUCP>
Date: 19 Oct 89 23:03:38 GMT
References: <8595@max.u.washington.edu> <8243@leadsv.UUCP> <40611@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Organization: LMSC-LEADS, Sunnyvale, Ca.
Lines: 27

In article <40611@bu-cs.BU.EDU>, madd@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Jim Frost) writes:
> In article <8243@leadsv.UUCP> zech@leadsv.UUCP (Bill Zech) writes:
> |In article <8595@max.u.washington.edu>, scott@max.u.washington.edu writes:
> |> If so, then what is the difference in buying a 20Mhz 286 machine
> |> than a 20Mhz 386 machine, in terms of capabilities?
> |
> |Nothing at all, except maybe some speed.
> 
> Not true.  The 286 runs OS/2 but the 386 runs UNIX and several 8088
> virtual machine packages in addition to OS/2.  If you have the choice,
> get an 80386 or 80386SX over an 80286.  The additional capabilities
> are worth any extra money.  If you can afford it, get an 80386 over an
> 80386SX, there can be large performance differences.
> 

True, the '386 does lots of other stuff.  I assumed the writer was
referring to OS/2 abilities, which for now doesn't deal with the
'386 capabilities beyond speeding up the protected mode - to - read
mode switch.  

I run Windows/386 all the time, and it provides lots of benefits over
straight DOS for some things, and is better than OS/2 right now,
since it runs mutiple DOS "boxes," which in Window's case are
separate Virtual Machines as compared to OS/2 running DOS stuff
in real mode.

-Bill