Before moving on to consider some of the finer points of the current state of affairs it is worth introducing the major figures in the story . computers differ in many different ways but one of the most important is the design of the processor that they use. The processor is responsible for actually running the programs and so its type and quality are vital to the performance of the machine. All of the PCs that we use today are based on a processors – the intel 80% family. This is a set of processors with different system and powers all are based on the founding member, the 8088. This was the processor used in the original IBM PC and its acceptance has ensured the continued dominance of the whole intel 80 % family .
To understand the genealogy of the intel family ypu only need to remember that the bigger the more powerful the processor, and adding SX to the end means a cut down version . The earliest members of the family, the 8088 and 8086 are now virtually obsolete. The 80286, usually referred to just as the 286, is also heading towards being categorized as obsolete. The active members of the starting point . The DX was added to the number to make sure it wasn’t confused with the 80386SX is cut down version of this . thus, at the time of writing, the 386 family in order of power is:- 386SX , 386DX , 486SX and the 486DX . of course you can expect this list to be added to in various ways in the future but the important point is that the basic design remains the same.
For various reasons the number of member of the 386 family is likely to reasons to increase by the addition of many minor variants. For example, there is already the 486DX2 to add to the traditional list but it is arguable if this really deserves to be treated as a distinct new member of the family as it is really only double speed version of the 486DX . There are a number of other small modifications to the 386/486 but the first real extension to the family is likely to be the 586DX, currently under development by intel with the code name P5 and due for release some time in 1993. Even in this case it is important to understand, only enhanced. In general you can assume that new chips mean more speed or lower price, or both .
EmoticonEmoticon