Category Archives: Intel

Better Late Than Never

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Michal Necasek

Better late than never, although in this instance, it’s really really late—about thirty years late. In the world of computing, that is eternity. The talk is about the new CR4.UMIP control bit documented in the latest (revision 58) Intel SDM, … Continue reading →

Posted in 286, Intel, x86 | 13 Comments

NT 3.1 SMP

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Michal Necasek

Generic x86 multiprocessing, Summer 1994 edition. There’s not much to say: Yep, that’s NT 3.1 running in a VM, and it sees two processors. Remember, you saw it here first!

Posted in Intel, NT, SMP | 68 Comments

Missing Intel SDM Documents

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Michal Necasek

I’ve been trying to complete my archive of Intel SDM documents circa 2000 and later. I have most of the editions archived but a few are missing. Readers of this blog could have something stashed away too, so perhaps someone … Continue reading →

Posted in Documentation, Intel | 11 Comments

Lies, Damn Lies, and Wikipedia

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Michal Necasek

While researching the history of 486s for a previous article, I came across a fascinating Wikipedia entry and its associated talk page. It’s a nice showcase of inmates running the asylum, and a reminder that Wikipedia can’t be considered an authoritative … Continue reading →

Posted in 486, Intel, PC history | 37 Comments

Intel OverDrive Part I: 486 OverDrive

Posted on December 13, 2015 by Michal Necasek

Intel had a long history of offering retail processor upgrades for PCs. The last and by far the best known of those were the Intel OverDrive processors. But let’s start with the earlier history. In 1987, Intel released the Inboard 386/AT, … Continue reading →

Posted in 486, Intel, PC history | 6 Comments

Intel 486 Errata?

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Michal Necasek

There don’t seem to be any specification updates or errata lists for any Intel 486 CPU anywhere. It’s odd because there are specification updates for 386s (and of course Pentiums) from Intel, and because the embedded 486s continued to be … Continue reading →

Posted in 486, Intel, PC history | 22 Comments

This Is How to Feed It

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Michal Necasek

The question of how to feed an Intel SBT2 board has been answered thanks to a very kind blog reader. Interestingly, there are two different answers. The official one is this: The Delta Electronics RPS-350 B power supply comes from a … Continue reading →

Posted in Intel, PC hardware | 14 Comments

How To Feed This Board?

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Michal Necasek

I have a minor problem and it looks like this: Those are the power connectors on an Intel Server Board SBT2, produced circa 2000. I can’t find the right thing to plug into them. The 24-pin connector should be more … Continue reading →

Posted in Intel, PC hardware, Xeon | 19 Comments

Intel 420TX Chipset

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Michal Necasek

The OS/2 Museum recently obtained a somewhat unusual board: A 1993 vintage 486 PCI/ISA board equipped with the Intel 420TX chipset. The 420TX chipset, codenamed Saturn, was probably Intel’s first PCI chipset available to customers. It was probably first sold … Continue reading →

Posted in 486, Intel, PC hardware, PCI | 42 Comments

Sound Blaster: The French Connection

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Michal Necasek

Ever been wondering why there are chips labeled MHS on many Sound Blaster cards, and why there usually was some chip with a © Intel marking? For example this one, on a Sound Blaster 1.5 (1991): Or this one, on … Continue reading →

Posted in Intel, PC hardware, Sound Blaster | 16 Comments