Intel 80286

Intel 80286
An Intel A80286-8 processor with a gray ceramic heat spreader
General information
LaunchedFebruary 1982
Discontinued1991
Common manufacturer
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate4 MHz to 25 MHz
FSB speeds4 MHz to 25 MHz
Data width16 bits
Address width24 bits
Architecture and classification
Technology node1.5 μm
Instruction setx86-16 (with MMU)
Physical specifications
Transistors
  • 120,000 or 134,000, 1.5μm
Co-processorIntel 80287
Packages
Sockets
  • PGA68
  • PLCC-68
  • LCC-68
History
Predecessors8086, 8088 (while 80186 was contemporary)
SuccessorIntel 80386
Support status
Unsupported

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. 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. It had a data size of 16 bits, and had an address width of 24 bits, which could address up to 16M of memory with a suitable operating system such as Windows compared to 1M for the 8086. The 80286 used approximately 134,000 transistors in its original nMOS (HMOS) incarnation and, just like the contemporary 80186, it can correctly execute most software written for the earlier Intel 8086 and 8088 processors.

The 80286 was employed for the IBM PC/AT, introduced in 1984, and then widely used in most PC/AT compatible computers until the early 1990s. In 1987, Intel shipped its five-millionth 80286 microprocessor.