tlhilde@ecn.purdue.edu (Troy Hildebrand) (09/17/90)
Can anybody help me with the difference between a 80386 and a 80386sx?
I have been warned _not_ to go with a 386sx when purchasing a computer,
no matter what the cost difference is. What exactly is the difference
between an 386 based motherboard and an 386sx motherboard? This is in
regards to third party motherboards. Are there any particular features
which distinguish the 386 and 386sx boards?
I am looking at several different systems and am having difficulty with
the price/performance difference. A 16 Mhz clock speed is fine for me,
and I probably won't want more than 4 megs of memory.
Please e-mail responses.
Thanks.
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Troy Hildebrand | That'll be the last | The Internet: more than just
tlhilde@en.ecn.purdue.edu | teacup I have... | a free phone system! Whee!
tiptop@vet.vet.purdue.edu | mlord@bwdls58.bnr.ca (Mark Lord) (09/19/90)
In article <1990Sep16.194605.11968@ecn.purdue.edu> tlhilde@ecn.purdue.edu (Troy Hildebrand) writes: > >Can anybody help me with the difference between a 80386 and a 80386sx? >I have been warned _not_ to go with a 386sx when purchasing a computer, Absolute foolishness.. The ONLY difference you care about, is that a 386sx is slower than a 386dx. Other than that, they behave identically, and each will run any existing software for the 80386. The 386sx is slower due to a narrower data path to memory, requiring more cycles to move the same amount of data around. It is also slower because Intel does not yet sample this chip at the same speeds as the 386dx, which results in 386sx systems running at 16Mhz/20Mhz, instead of 25/33 Mhz. The SX can also not address as much memory as the DX, but it can certainly handle 4Meg.. as much as 16Meg I believe (mine has 8Meg). Software compatibility is guaranteed by the simple fact that no existing software is even ABLE to tell the difference! Because there is none. (it is theoretically possible to write code to distinguish, but nobody has published it, and I'm not telling either!). -- ___Mark S. Lord__________________________________________ | ..uunet!bnrgate!mlord%bmerh724 | Climb Free Or Die (NH) | | MLORD@BNR.CA Ottawa, Ontario | Personal views only. | |________________________________|________________________|