• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

3 CPUs plugged into a 386 Motherboard

I could be wrong with my ever-fading memory however IIRC it wasn't until the PII that we had different sockets for different manufacturers, so the 386 would be able to have an Intel or AMD taking the same pins so I don't think it's a manufacturer choice feature.. not that I know what it IS for.

Do you know the make and model of the motherboard? Maybe we could find the manual somewhere just for kicks and figure out why it's really there.
 
barythrin said:
I could be wrong with my ever-fading memory however IIRC it wasn't until the PII that we had different sockets for different manufacturers, so the 386 would be able to have an Intel or AMD taking the same pins so I don't think it's a manufacturer choice feature.. not that I know what it IS for.

Do you know the make and model of the motherboard? Maybe we could find the manual somewhere just for kicks and figure out why it's really there.
Click to expand...

Correct, Intel tried multiple times to lock their sockets from competition unsuccessfully. With Slot-1, they finally managed to patent the slot, thereby enforcing no competition. (Although AMD did do "Slot A"...)

The 386 was the last processor that was officially multi-sourced from Intel. AKA: AMD was an official Intel-approved manufacturer of the 386. Starting with the 486, all non-Intel 486's were "unofficial clones". And Intel could refuse warranty service on an Intel-manufactured motherboard if you had a non-Intel 486 in it.

In the early days, Intel was primarily a design house that happened to own a fab or two (ironically, AMD turned from a fab-only to a combo, to a similar structure to Intel pre-486, and has just in the past year or two become like Intel in being completely vertical.) Around the 486 timeframe, Intel turned into a complete vertical organization.
 
Anonymous Freak said:
I don't recall which variation of UNIX it was, but back in high school, we had a "mini-supercomputer" that had 8 386-387 pair's in it. (And an incredible 24 MB of RAM, and over 1.5 GB of total hard drive space! :p)
Click to expand...

Generally ZENIX would have been the OS, I know for certain compaq and HP had dually 386DX processor boxes. I also know of one 8 banger 486DX I missed due to distance. These oldies though didn't always work like a normal PC at all and many times required a terminal or the like to work with.

I have the remnants a 10 processor Motorolla 68k bank terminal/transaction server. (each board had its own purpose and processor/ i-o Sadly I don't have the planar that the boards would fit into and I also don't believe this ever hooked into a screen but would have to be terminal run.
 
As a general rule, a Weitek cpu IS a 387, unless otherwise noted on the cpu. You'll find it listed in most bios of the era as a Weitek Processor, which can be enabled/disabled in the bios. I've only seen one actually in a motherboard. They see heavy use in satellite tracking applications, as well as some other heavy duty math functions, hence the name "math co-processor". They will usually remain cold unless called upon by the running application. The last 387's I got were $2.00 each at a local store on clearance, and I had a stack of boards to put them in at the time. The good old days.
 
The last 387's I got were $2.00 each
Click to expand...
Wow certainly don't cost what they did in the old days do they. A tenth of the price of current mid market cpus. Maybe it's time to load up an old system with a linux system :p
 
Heeelp!

Heeelp!

SO...again, does anybode have an idea if the multiprocessing is supported...coz i have MG-80386 and the same Weitek socket. But probably not, since cpus like 486DLC adn SLC were made, there were some exceptions with doublecocking tech - 33/66 but no NPU. If anybody discovers something, please let me know here or here - vault131@hotmail.com
 
SHODAN said:
SO...again, does anybode have an idea if the multiprocessing is supported.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure multiprocessing is not supported on the 80386 class CPUs, and I think that mobos with both a soldered on CPU and a CPU socket like has been shown and discussed in this thread are designed that way in case of CPU failure - so if for some reason the soldered on CPU stops working, it's as simple as installing a replacement in the socket to get it running again. But hey, I could be wrong, lol :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top