Intel 80386

The Intel386 is a microprocessor which has been used as the central processing unit (CPU) of many personal computers since 1986. During its design phase the processor was code-named simply "P3", the third-generation processor in the x86 line, but is normally referred to as either i386 or just 386. The 80386 operated at about 5 million instructions per second (MIPS) to 11.4 MIPS for the 33 MHz model. [1] It was the first x86 processor to have a 32-bit architecture, with a basic programming model that has remained virtually unchanged for over twenty years and remains completely backward compatible. Successively newer implementations of this same architecture have become literally several hundred times faster than the original i386 chip during these years.
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<processor> (Commonly abbreviated to "386", trademark "Intel386") The successor to the Intel 80286 microprocessor. It was the first Intel processor with 32-bit data and address busses. It can address four gigabytes (2^32 bytes) of memory; however, 16 megabytes is a typical maximum in IBM PCs. The 386 allows multiple application programs to run at the same time (when running under 386-specific operating systems) using "protected mode".
The first IBM compatible to use the 386 was the Compaq 386, before IBM used it in high-end models of their PS/2 series. It is also used in HP's RS series and many others.
It does not require special EMS memory boards to expand MS-DOS memory limits. With the 386, the EMS standard can be simulated in normal extended memory, and many DOS add-ons provide this "Expanded Memory Manager" feature.
See also Intel 80386SX, BSD386.
(1995-02-21)