23 Mar
2006
23 Mar
'06
3:33 a.m.
On 3/22/2006 at 6:58 PM Chris M wrote:
in all likelihood Intel is far too simplistic an
answer (although I do recall seeing pictures of
multibus type boxes with an Intel monniker, so things
like that could possibly qualify). I suppose even a
sbc could qualify, or even some sort of add-on for an
established system. But sdks from Intel (or others)
dont. Seattle Gazelle? What about 80186 firsts? 80286?
I know the popular conception is that Compaq built the
first 386 desktop, but I seem to recall ALR being
numero uno (pretty sure it was ALR).
I think the distinction for 8086 may be Altos or one of the other S-100
makers, although Intel may have had a card for the MDS even before that.
Bill Godbout had his 85-88 card considerably before the PC.
As for the 80186/80286, we were debugging pre-release engineering samples
of both chips at Durango (I still remember the bug where DMA activity
would clobber the DI register). For sure, the 80186 Poppy rolled out very
early. I don't think any 80286 versions were delivered until the Xenix
port got finished. But there was a socket on the board for one before
that--just nothing to run on it.
By the time of the 386, Mobo profiles had pretty much standardized for PCs,
so I suspect someone like Mylex may have had the first motherboard, but I
don't know if that counts as a "computer". The PS/2 386 boxes were also
out fairly early--didn't the Model 50 have a bug that required replacement
of the mobo?
Cheers,
Chuck