CSTROM@Mit-Mc@sri-unix (10/24/82)
From: Charlie Strom <CSTROM@Mit-Mc> A while back I saw a note alluding to a rumor that there is an inherent defect in the architecture of the 8088 such that operation is severly hampered compared to the 8086 even after correcting for the 8bit wide external bus. I would appreciate it if anyone could supply any insight or could quash this rumor. Thanks.
Blackwell@Cmu-20c@sri-unix (10/24/82)
From: Mike Blackwell <Blackwell@Cmu-20c> There is a minor differences between the two, other than having different size external busses, but I don't think that it is an "inherent defect". This is that the 8086 will prefetch up to 6 instruction bytes, while the 8088 only prefecthes 4. In some cases, this will make the 8088 run even slower that the 8086. Also, if you write bizarre self modifying code that would make the two behave differently, well, you get what you deserve! -mike-