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S80186: 16-bit 80186 compatible IP core

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Re: S80186: 16-bit 80186 compatible IP core

#4
post #3

This is pretty cool. A PC with an 80186 CPU is a little weird, though; I don't think many of those actually existed. It seems like virtually everybody went straight from 8086 to 80286

Yeah, I don't recall having seen 80186 on sale.

RM had a 186 based system, but the reason for 186 is that it's a relatively small delta over the 8086 vs 286!

Re: S80186: 16-bit 80186 compatible IP core

#5
Pretty cool as a design like this should be able to better preserve old system behavior than what DOSBox etc. can achieve.

Although it seems a bit slow side at 50 MHz, I guess it's not a pipelined design?

Not that original 80186 was pipelined either. :)

Re: S80186: 16-bit 80186 compatible IP core

#6

This is pretty cool. A PC with an 80186 CPU is a little weird, though; I don't think many of those actually existed. It seems like virtually everybody went straight from 8086 to 80286

I'm holding one in my hand right now; the HP200.

There were others:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_80186#In_personal_comp...

Re: S80186: 16-bit 80186 compatible IP core

#7

This is pretty cool. A PC with an 80186 CPU is a little weird, though; I don't think many of those actually existed. It seems like virtually everybody went straight from 8086 to 80286

The RM Nimbus was 186-based (https://www.thenimbus.co.uk/range-of-nimbus-computers/PC-186) -- UK people might remember it as it was pretty popular in schools in the late 80s/early 90s. It wasn't fully PC compatible though.

Re: S80186: 16-bit 80186 compatible IP core

#8

This is pretty cool. A PC with an 80186 CPU is a little weird, though; I don't think many of those actually existed. It seems like virtually everybody went straight from 8086 to 80286

There wasn't any real reason to use the 80186 in a PC; it was meant for embedded devices. The only major feature that it had was some additional hardware for timers and DMA built in. Everything else was (more or less) architecturally the same as the 8086.

Probably the last series of 80186 PCs ever made were HP's 100LX / 200LX, a palmtop DOS based PDA that was released in the mid-'90s IIRC. It was an amazing little gadget for its time.

Re: S80186: 16-bit 80186 compatible IP core

#9

This is pretty cool. A PC with an 80186 CPU is a little weird, though; I don't think many of those actually existed. It seems like virtually everybody went straight from 8086 to 80286

The 80186 was an 8086 integrated with some of the peripheral chips mainly used in embedded devices. You can still get some SBCs with 8018 compatible chips.

Re: S80186: 16-bit 80186 compatible IP core

#10
post #5

Pretty cool as a design like this should be able to better preserve old system behavior than what DOSBox etc. can achieve. Although it seems a bit slow side at 50 MHz, I guess it's not a pipelined design? Not that original 80186 was pipelined either. :)

I don't know much. Just getting into FPGAs my self. But from my understanding you could swap out the crystal for a faster one. Most of the FPGA boards I am looking at only come with a 50mhz clock.

There is some complications around changing the clock. It seems to have to do with the complexity of the hdl you load into the FPGA. Many of the boards shipping with 50mhz crystal can easily do over 100mhz.

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