What is a "x86-based computer"?

[Asnrefugee]

What does this mean?

 

[LukFilm]

386, 486, 586, Pentium (2-4). Athlon, basically most consumer-based PCs.

 

[AndyHui]

Processors that run using the x86 instruction set.

This means most desktop class consumer CPUs, starting from the Intel 8088 and 8086 through 286, 386, 486, Pentium, Pentium MMX, Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium III, Celeron, Pentium 4, Xeon, Pentium M, AMD 386, 486, K5, K6-x, Athlon, Duron, , Athlon XP, Cyrix 5x86, Cyrix 6x86, VIA/Cyrix, Rise, Centaur, IDT Winchip, Transmeta Crusoe...

The Apple G4, G5, Sun Sparc CPUs are examples of non-x86 based systems.

 

[buleyb]

I hope you cut/pasted that Andy, I'm tired after just reading that...

 

[sharkeeper]

He forgot NEC V20/V30 and Zilog Z-80 CPU's!

EDIT: Is the Z-80 considered x86? For some reason I thought it may be but now that I think about it we ran CP/M on it, not DOS. DOS didn't exist then!

Cheers!

 

[dvinnen]

Also forgot Athlon MP, Athlon 64, and Opteron

 

[thorin]

Originally posted by: dvinnen
Also forgot Athlon MP, Athlon 64, and Opteron

There are lots of CPUs he missed, it would take a thread much longer and more extensive then this to list and categorize all of them.

Thorin

 

[Matthias99]

Other popular Non-x86 CPUs include different types of PowerPC chips (which is what the Apple G4/G5 are), and chips using the Motorola 68000 instruction set (very popular in embedded applications like appliances/cars -- they're small, cheap, and draw little power).

 

[beatle]

Originally posted by: buleyb
I hope you cut/pasted that Andy, I'm tired after just reading that...

Hah, me too. :Q I pictured a guy rattling off as many x86 cpus as he could in one breath.

 

[Tab]

Why do they call it X-86?

 

[aka1nas]

Well the original processor that used this instruction set was the Intel 8088, which was buggy afaik and soon replaced by the 8086. Then came the 286, 386, 486 and so on. So, the instruction set that these processors shared came to be known as x86, where x is whatever generation the processor is. Or to put it more succintly, although these cpus have evolved and advanced tremendously over the years, they still share the same basic instruction set and can more or less run all of each other's code, at least in a backwards compatable sense.

 

[sciencewhiz]

Originally posted by: shuttleteam
He forgot NEC V20/V30 and Zilog Z-80 CPU's!

EDIT: Is the Z-80 considered x86? For some reason I thought it may be but now that I think about it we ran CP/M on it, not DOS. DOS didn't exist then!

Z-80 is similar to x86, but definetly not the same

 

[AndyHui]

No cut and paste.