Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rice!uw-beaver!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!percy!nosun!techbook!fzsitvay
From: fzsitvay@techbook.com (Frank Zsitvay)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.tandy
Subject: Re: 1200s and 2000s
Message-ID: <1990Dec12.031444.12624@techbook.com>
Date: 12 Dec 90 03:14:44 GMT
References: <90340.234408RFM@psuvm.psu.edu>
Organization: TECHbooks of Beaverton Oregon - Public Access Unix
Lines: 38

In article <90340.234408RFM@psuvm.psu.edu> RFM@psuvm.psu.edu writes:
>I do recall quite well that folks in those same computer mags used to
>speak quite well about the speed and graphics of the 2000s, but at the
>same time were awed/appalled about the machine sitting out here all
>along on the 80186 branch of the Intel tree. Seems to me I read/heard
>somewhere in the last couple of years that the 186 chip was being used in
>some kind of auxillary capacity in some kind of application hardware --
>wish I could remember when/where/what.

   there is nothing wrong with the 186 chip.  it's just an 8086
that has many of the functions of intel's support chips built
in.  because of this, it is also used in intelligent peripheral
like caching hard drive controllers.  there was a company that marketed
a card you could stick into a clone that had two of these on it, along
with ports for two keyboards and two monochrome monitors.  add a special
device driver (which the company supplied on disk) and you suddenly
have 3 clones in one case, sharing ports and mass storage.  of course,
you needed to add two more keyboards and two more monitors to make
your clone into a 'three headed moster.'

   there were also clones manufactured that used the 80186 as the
cpu, and i mean real xt clones.  NEC also sold the v40 which is
to the 186 as the v20 is to the 8086.

   it wasn't very popular as a PC cpu because it was difficult to
interface an 8087 to it.  you needed a special intel chip to do this,
and the 80186 and this special chip cost more than the assortment
of chips you would need for a 'conventional' clone.  by the time
intel lowered the price of the 186, ATs became the machine of
choice, and since there is little interest in developing new
xt clones, it's not used much as a cpu anymore.   but as a peripheral
controller it's great.


-- 
fzsitvay@techbook.COM - but don't quote me on that....

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