Intel 286 introduced Feb 2, 1982

The Intel 80286 (also marketed as the iAPX 286 and often called Intel 286) is a 16-bit microprocessor that was introduced on February 1, 1982 after about three years in development. It was the first 8086-based CPU with separate, non-multiplexed address and data buses and also the first with memory management and wide protection abilities. The 80286 used approximately 134,000 transistors and was nearly 100% backward compatible with the earlier Intel 8086 and 8088 processors.

The Intel 286 in the IBM PC/AT

IBM decided in 1982 to use the 80286 in the IBM PC/AT, introduced in August 1984, skipping the Intel 186. PC/AT compatible computers using the 80286 remained on the market until the early 1990s. By the end of 1988, Intel estimates there were around 15 million 286-based PCs in use worldwide. It took until 1987 to sell 5 million units, so it’s not unreasonable to think by the time the big name brands stopped selling the 286 in early 1992, it may have reached a user base over 30 million.

Intel’s first 80286 chips ran at a maximum clockrate of 5, 6 or 8 MHz. Intel later released 10 and 12 MHz versions. AMD and Harris later produced 16 MHz, 20 MHz and 25 MHz parts, respectively.

The CPU of the late 80s

The 80286 wasn’t supposed to dominate the late 80s. The Motorola 68000 family had a lot of hype in 1984 and 1985, and it looked like the Apple Macintosh, Atari ST, and Commodore Amiga had a bright future. Then in 1986, Intel released the 386, which was new and shiny and glamorous and 32 bit. But the 286 just sold and sold.

The reason makes sense. In the mid 1980s, the 286 gave a reasonably high level of performance while being much less expensive than a 386. A 286 clock for clock was about twice as fast as an 8088-based machine. But a 386DX was not clock for clock twice as fast as a 286. So it was easier to justify paying extra to get a 286 over an XT than paying extra to get a 386 over a 286. It seemed like a better value.

Although it seems hard to believe, the 386SX was in some cases a touch slower than a 286 at the same clock speed. That’s because of the extra overhead of being 32 bits internally but only having a 16-bit data bus. The advantage of the 386SX was the ability to run 32-bit software and reach higher clock speeds than the 286 ever did. If you wanted to run Windows, the 386SX made sense. But a 286 made a better DOS machine.

But until Windows really caught on, the 286 lived in something of a sweet spot performance wise. The July 23, 1990 issue of Computerworld stated the 286 had 35% of the computer market. The 386DX was close behind at 31%, 386SX at 11%, the 8088/8086 at 9%, and the 486 at less than 1 percent. The Motorola CPUs had 14% combined.

Living in the 386’s shadow… and outselling it

We tend to assume the 286 went away quickly because of the 386, but the 286 had a long life on the market. As late as March 1992, Gateway 2000 was selling a 16 MHz 286 for $1345 vs a comparable (same specs all around) 16 MHz 386SX with Windows for $1445. A 25 MHz 386DX cost $1895. I remember Windows 3.0 killing interest in the 286 but after researching it, I think it was a false memory. It’s more like it was Windows 3.1 that killed interest in the 286.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.