Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!apple!portal!cup.portal.com!mslater
From: mslater@cup.portal.com (Michael Z Slater)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: 386 Clones
Message-ID: <35204@cup.portal.com>
Date: 24 Oct 90 15:01:58 GMT
References: <10833@pt.cs.cmu.edu>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 33

>I've heard some comments lately about how hard it will be for 386
>clone makers to get a debugged product to market.  An example is Nick
>Tredennick's article in Microprocessor Report, which implies that
>some of the clone makers haven't any clues to rub together.
>
>But, wait a second here. There are three things they have to get
>right: pinout-related issues: the 286 emulation: the native mode.
>(They don't have to get the cycle counts "right", do they?)
>
>I would have nominated the 286 emulation as the killer, since the
>native mode is mostly "more of the same" with paging.  But, AMD is
>mass-producing a perfectly good 286, and the 386's microcode can be
>reverse-engineered.  So, what is to stop AMD (at least) from getting
>its 386 debugged and out?  Is the pessimism only justified for the
>smaller houses, or have I mis-estimated where the problems lie?

Nick is more pessimistic than I am personally on this subject.  (Note that
Microprocessor Report serves as a forum for a variety of viewpoints; it isn't
all stuff that I agree with.)  I think most of what Nick says applies to
companies other than AMD.  AMD is a special case because:

  1. They have the rights to the 286
  2. They have an undisputed right to Intel's patents
  3. They may have the right (now under dispute) to Intel's microcode
  4. Jerry Sanders is really mad!

AMD is sampling parts that are rumored to be in much better shape than Nick's
piece would imply.  These parts use Intel's microcode, and don't have to work
around Intel's patents.  The mask design is original, but probably follow's
Intel's logic design very closely.

Michael Slater, Editor and Publisher, Microprocessor Report   
mslater@cup.portal.com   707/823-4004  fax: 707/823-0504