Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-sdd!megatek!spot!hollen
From: hollen@spot.megatek.uucp (Dion Hollenbeck)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: 80186 (was : 80x86 numbering)
Message-ID: <404@megatek.UUCP>
Date: 9 Dec 88 19:59:06 GMT
References: <2618@rti.UUCP>
Sender: news@megatek.UUCP
Lines: 22

From article <2618@rti.UUCP>, by bcw@rti.UUCP (Bruce Wright):
> There is, of course an 80186 (and an 80188) - this was a chip used briefly
> before the 80286 came out.  It was never very popular, but it was used by
> a few clones (like the Radio Shack Model 2000 I believe).  It was really
> just an 8086/8088 which had some of the microcode optimizations used by
> the 80286 - which means it runs about the speed of a '286 at a similar
> MHz rating, but without protected memory.
> 
Sorry, Bruce, but this chip is VERY popular with embedded system
developers.  Yes, it does have some of the microcode optimizations
of the '286, but the factor that makes it so popular is that it has
on board 3 timers, 2 DMA controllers and in interrupt controller.
For many embedded system applications, this chip is the entire chip set
and for the 8 mHz version at about $9 apiece, they can't hardly
be beaten.  We use the 80186 as the heart of I/O controller boards
used in hgih-performance graphics workstations.  

	Dion Hollenbeck             (619) 455-5590 x2814
	Megatek Corporation, 9645 Scranton Road, San Diego, CA  92121

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