Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!gatech!hubcap!ncrcae!ncrlnk!uunet!ccicpg!turnkey!conexch!rob
From: rob@conexch.UUCP (Robert Collins)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: 80x86 numbering (was: 80486)
Message-ID: <16716@conexch.UUCP>
Date: 17 Dec 88 05:48:38 GMT
References: <15374@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu> <45900175@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu> <10254@watdragon.waterloo.edu> <2618@rti.UUCP> <715@ethz.UUCP>
Reply-To: rob@conexch.UUCP (Robert Collins)
Organization: The Consultants' Exchange, Orange County, CA.  (714) 842-6348
Lines: 33

In article <715@ethz.UUCP> zu@bernina.UUCP (Urs Zurbuchen) writes:
-In article <2618@rti.UUCP> bcw@rti.UUCP (Bruce Wright) writes:
->What do you do with the architecture after the 80386 - outside of speedups
->like more on-chip cache and higher MHz?  The architecture has pretty much
->reached its limit ... look at '386 native mode:  a complete revamping of
->the instruction set!  Seems to me that after '386 native mode there's no
->good place to take the architecture, it's already pretty much maxed out.
->So you either make it faster or you go to a new chip design.  Why then is
->there all this hype about a '486?  It'll probably only be a fast '386
->(like the 80186 to an 8086).
-
-The 80486 is rumored to have a virtual 80286 mode as the 80386 has a
-virtual 8086 mode. That's all we waited for, isn't it. So we can run
-multiple OS/2's on one computer :-) (If you run two OS/2's does this
-make it a complete Operating System ?)
-
-By the way, this virtual 80286 mode caused Intel a lot of problems. It
-seems to be the main reason why the chip is that late.
-
In the latest (or one of the latest) issues of Microprocessor Report,
says the '486 will have downloadable micro code, and a 6 instruction
prefetch queue.  As for the bigger prefetch queue, that means that
relative jumps can be done in 0 clock cycles.  But as to your assertion
of disbelief that much can be done other than speedups, I think
downloadable microcode is lightyears more advanced than the '386.
For copies of Microprocessor report, you must pay $250/year for a
subscription, but I find it well worth it.

-- 
"Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only."  Mat. 4:10
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