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From: kaleb@thyme.jpl.nasa.gov (Kaleb Keithley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: Difference between a 386 and a 386sx
Message-ID: <1990Sep21.002015.1201@thyme.jpl.nasa.gov>
Date: 21 Sep 90 00:20:15 GMT
References: <1412@svin02.info.win.tue.nl> <4388@bwdls58.UUCP> <1990Sep20.185214.780@sj.ate.slb.com>
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Lines: 31

In article <1990Sep20.185214.780@sj.ate.slb.com> poffen@sj.ate.slb.com (Russell Poffenberger) writes:
>In article <4388@bwdls58.UUCP> mlord@bwdls58.bnr.ca (Mark Lord) writes:
>>>This suggests that a way to distinguish a 386dx from a 386sx in software
>>>would be to put some value in existing memory at address 0x00xxxxxx
>>>and read it from address 0x01xxxxxx. If it comes out the same you would
>>>be running on a 386sx (not having the upper 8 bits of address bus),
>>>otherwise a 386dx.

and numerous other (farfetched) ways to distinguish an SX from a DX deleted.

OK, now, supposing one of these ways actually works, what are you going
to do with this information?  

<sarcastic mode on>
Pop up a window that congratulates/defames the owner for having one over
the other.

Repeat after me.  A 386 is a 386 is a 386 is a 386.....

No matter if it's an SX or a full fledged DX, one is just a little slower
than the other.

Jeez, next you guys'll be wanting some reliable way to tell if a Turbo XT 
clone is an 8mhz or a 10mhz board when the turbo switch is set to 4.77 mhz.
<sarcastic mode off>

-- 
Kaleb Keithley                      Jet Propeller Labs
kaleb@thyme.jpl.nasa.gov

"So that's what an invisible barrier looks like!"