80286

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

286

The second generation of the Intel x86 family of CPU chips. The term may refer to the chip or to a PC that used it. Introduced in 1982, it was the successor to the 8088/8086 chips used in the first PCs. The 286 broke the infamous one-megabyte memory barrier, but although faster than the previous generation, it was never capable of supporting Windows and other graphics-based applications. See AT class and x86.

Technical Specs
The 286 was a 16-bit CPU with fifteen 16-bit registers and 134,000 transistors in a 68-pin PGA, PLCC or LCC package. Real Mode performed as an 8086 CPU that addressed 1MB of RAM, while Protected Mode addressed 16MB of physical RAM and 1GB of virtual memory.

Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

The Intel 80286 was in charge of the most critical functions of the A320 -- translating the pilot's inputs to climb, descend, and turn -- and yet it would barely turn on a smartphone today ...

Software shouldn't have sole responsibility in Boeing crash

EE's May 1989 issue included a description of Rockland Scientific's System/90 FFT Analyzer that used five TMS320C25 DSPs and was hosted by an 80286 PC with an 80287 math coprocessor.

All kinds of baseband analysis except ink blot

The installed base of x86 microprocessors created by IBM's success in the PC market segment (with Intel's 8088 and 80286 microprocessors) had significantly and fortuitously shifted bargaining power in Intel's favor.

Strategy as vector and the inertia of coevolutionary lock-in

Each vendor that brought out an "IBM Compatible" PC also went to Intel for its processors, the 8088 and 8086 for the first generation of PC compatibles, then as IBM and Compaq introduced new generations of systems, the 80286, 80386, and 80486.

Brand wars: does what's 'inside' really matter? (Office Technology)

1982 Intel introduces the 80286 chip rated at 12.5MHz.

Notable Events In The Storage And IT Industry: A Historical Summary

Hardware requirements are an IBM-PC or compatible with 80286 or higher CPU and 640K RAM.

HONEY: a microcomputer program for plant selection and analyses of the honeycomb designs