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cripes you're right, I had always assumed that Pentium was a big deal because it was 32-bit, and that the previous 386 was 16-bit. In the late 80s I'd heard of
by codeulike 5y ago
cripes you're right, I had always assumed that Pentium was a big deal because it was 32-bit, and that the previous 386 was 16-bit. In the late 80s I'd heard of IBM Pcs but didn't encounter one till the pentium era.
- bartread 5y agoThe 386 was a full 32-bit processor: the 386SX was a cheaper variant with a 16-bit data bus. In that sense the SX wasn't a million miles removed from the 68000 and 68010 processors, which similarly operated with 16-bit data buses. You may be confusing the operating system with the processors. Windows 3.x and earlier were 16-bit operating systems that were run on PCs well into the 32-bit era. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 was, I believe, the first full 32-bit version of Windows. 32-bit Windows only became widespread, at least amongst consumers, with the release of Windows 95.
- guenthert 5y agoThe Pentium was a big deal due to the incorporated FPU (which was separate and comparatively slow on 368 and 486). With the Pentium high-end PCs were nearly as fast as, but much cheaper than, Unix workstation, even for typical workstation workloads, which was the beginning of the end of those.