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From: afdenis@lims02.lerc.nasa.gov (Stephen Dennison)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: REPLACING 286 MOTHERBOARD WITH 386
Message-ID: <1991Jun27.171632.2433@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov>
Date: 27 Jun 91 19:33:01 GMT
References: <1991Jun14.164755.3515@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov> <1991Jun15.004351.11944@unlv.edu>
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In article <1991Jun15.004351.11944@unlv.edu>, elvis@hammond.cs.unlv.edu (Frederick Haab) writes...
>In article <1991Jun14.164755.3515@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov> tostan@mars.lerc.nasa.gov writes:
>>Suppose I have a 286 pc with a floppy and hard disk, and a VGA monitor.  Can
>>I simply pull out the 286 mother board and replace it with a 386?  Or does it
>>have to be a 386SX?  I don't have a pc, but I want to learn some things now
>>before buying.  Will hard disk controller cards and VGA cards work in both
>>286 and 386 machines?  What's the difference between an "8-bit VGA card" and
>>a "16-bit VGA card"?  Will they both work on 286 and 386 systems?  Thanks.

> 
> 

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"
						The Wizard of OZ


>There is a difference in the way 286 and 386 get memory (16 and 32
>bits? anybody?), a 386sx is a 386 processor in a 286 chip, which is
>why they are slower then a 386dx (the normal 386), I believe you 
>would have to get a 386sx, but there is also the matter of
>changing the clock speed.  For this type of upgrade I think you
>would need an upgrade "kit" that takes care of all the little
>things involved with changing processors as well as changing the
>processor itself.  BTW, a kit is still limited in memory access
>as your system is now.

The preceeding explanation is a bit convoluted and in error. You CAN use all 
of your 8 & 16 bit cards in a 386DX motherboard providing:

	The Motherboard in question has AT Style (ISA) 16 bit slots 
	available

	The slots will accept 8 or 16 bit cards (Most ISA slots will)

I believe the fellow that responded to you *missed* the word motherboard in 
your original post as the clock crystal and support chips he references are 
all contained on the new motherboard.

Stephen
       "My life is a sine wave. Now, if I could just get the damned 
        amplitude down..."                         Stephen Dennison