Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!crdgw1!ge-dab!tarpit!bilver!wbeebe
From: wbeebe@bilver.UUCP (Bill Beebe)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: World's Cheapest Unix Engine
Message-ID: <821@bilver.UUCP>
Date: 15 Jul 90 12:42:26 GMT
References: <78-3JC2@ggpc2.ferranti.com> <2748@skye.ed.ac.uk> <31093@cup.portal.com> <457@bench.sublink.ORG> <2329@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> <1990Jul10.105047.9817@sco.COM>
Reply-To: wbeebe@bilver.UUCP (Bill Beebe)
Organization: W. J. Vermillion, Winter Park, FL
Lines: 29

In article <1990Jul10.105047.9817@sco.COM> seanf@sco.COM (Sean Fagan) writes:
>In article <2329@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.com (bill davidsen) writes:
>>|we could also use a [...] 80286
>>Those processors would cost a lot more because there is no
>>mass production of systems and vendor competition to keep the price
>>down.
>
>Huh?  The '286 is produced by *several* people.  Not just machines, but the
>*processor* (AMD, Harrisson, Intel).  This is why Intel wants people to go
>to the 386SX so much.  (Last I heard, AMD was in some arbitration with Intel
>about the rights to produce the '386 [this was after the court decision];
>hopefully, they will be able to do so.)

In the last quarter for which such statistics are available (I believe Q1
90), some 10 million 80286 devices were shipped by AMD, Harris, and Intel,
with the largest share by AMD. Reasons for the continuing upsurge in
shipments are the lower price for 16-, 20-, and 25Mhz 80286 versus the
equivalent 80386SX. Intel wants about $65 for the SX in 1000s at 16Mhz,
while the going price for the 80286 in 1000s is between $20 and $30. These
80286 chips at 16Mhz are true CMOS (Intel can't make anything faster than
12Mhz NMOS). Another equally compelling reason for the use of the 80286
is the current allocation of the 386 family, including the SX. Oh yes, Intel
shipped only 1 million 80386SX chips in the same period, and because of
very high demand, the spot-market (broker) price for the 80386SX is about
$200.

The difference in units shipped does not bother Intel, since they claim they
made about as much profit shipping the 1 million SX chips as everyone else made
shipping the 10 million 80286s.