3 ms·

Thanks for the confirmation! Maybe instead some day the 80386 is considered so old and historic that Intel makes some design documents available, but that pract

• rasz 5y ago
  286 was an RTL model hand converted module by module to transistor/gate level schematic. Afair 386 was the first Intel CPU where they fully used synthesis (work out of UC Berkeley https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/alberto-sangiovanni-vincentelli https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/alberto-sangiovanni-...) instead of manual routing. Everything went thru logic optimizers (multi-level logic synthesis) and will most likely be unrecognizable.
  • anyfoo 5y ago
    That’s indeed interesting. Assuming detailed pictures, it sounds then that finding the original purpose might only be feasible if there are any very significant remnants of the registers purpose… (And then it seems much harder, but not impossible, a bit akin to reading very optimized compiler generated machine code).
    • rasz 5y ago
      I found a paper on this 'Coping with the Complexity of Microprocessor Design at Intel – A CAD History' https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.222.8896&rep=rep1&type=pdf https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.22... There was another one dedicated to 386, but I dont remember the title :( on the other hand there are insane people able to RE Playstation CPU/GTE back from standard cell array chip http://www.psxdev.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=551&start=60 http://www.psxdev.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=551&start=60