https://dfarq.homeip.net/286-vs-386sx/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=286-vs-386sx David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more Mon, 02 Mar 2026 22:30:13 +0000 hourly 1 https://dfarq.homeip.net/286-vs-386sx/#comment-56029 Mon, 23 Aug 2021 06:14:10 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=26466#comment-56029 I’ll quibble with the remark that motherboard upgraders only got a “slight” clock speed upgrade when switching from a 286 to a 386sx. Almost any increase in clock speed across otherwise comparable systems could have a significant impact on performance in those days. For example, the improvement between a 25 MHz 286 and a 33 MHz 386sx could be around 30%, despite a mere 8 MHz clock speed difference.

]]> https://dfarq.homeip.net/286-vs-386sx/#comment-56023 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 00:09:27 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=26466#comment-56023 Trivia: anyone remember the “Red X” campaign and the resulting 386SX shortages which lasted until 1991 or so? Many chipsets was designed to support both.

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