[comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware] 386, 386SX, 386DX

rcitek@Bonnie.ICS.UCI.EDU (05/24/91)

What is the difference among the 386 chips?
Is there a 386 chip or only a 386SX and 386DX?
Thanks for any and all help.
Robert

ins845b@monu4.cc.monash.edu.au (mr k.l. lentin) (05/24/91)

In article <9105231357.aa11727@Bonnie.ics.uci.edu> rcitek@Bonnie.ICS.UCI.EDU writes:
>What is the difference among the 386 chips?
>Is there a 386 chip or only a 386SX and 386DX?
>Thanks for any and all help.
>Robert

These are all definitely different chips!
The 386sx is a 16 bit chip with a 32 bit architecture. (same thing happened
somewhere along the 8088, 8086, 80186,80286 path!) This means that the bus
is a 16 bit bus but the processor is a 32 bit architecture so it has to do
everything twice. Thats why you can add 386sx upgrades to 286 machines so
easily.

The dx Is a laptop version I think (something to do with power) I may be wrong

|/
|\evin

gordon@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu (John Gordon) (05/24/91)

rcitek@Bonnie.ICS.UCI.EDU writes:

>What is the difference among the 386 chips?
>Is there a 386 chip or only a 386SX and 386DX?
>Thanks for any and all help.

	"386" means the family of 386 chips, which include the 386DX and
386SX.  The DX is the "normal" chip, which can run at speeds of 20, 25,
33, and (recently) 40 MHz.  The SX is a "wounded" version of the DX.  The
SX has only a 16-bit external data path, as compared to the DX's 32 bits.
The SX can run at speeds of 16 and 20 MHz.

John