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Personal computer

Intel 8086 PC

A representative 5 MHz 8086 desktop configuration with 256 KiB of DRAM and a period display adapter.

Manufacturer
PC industry
Released
1978
Region
Worldwide
Record status
provisional

Configuration

5 MHz reference configuration

Component Role Count Clock Capacity
Intel 8086 Main CPU 1 5 MHz Nominal clock not applicable Peak clock —
IBM PC display adapter GPU 1 unknown Nominal clock —
Early PC dynamic RAM System memory 1 — 256 KiB

Figures for the whole machine

Intel 8086 PC: system figures

provisional A figure marked provisional is recorded but not accepted: its evidence is unsettled. It may rely on one source, an unconfirmed announcement, or a digit read from a damaged scan. The reason appears under the figure. The catalog shows the figure but never uses it in a multiplier. How records are judged.

Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Memory capacity whole-system provisional 256 KiB Confirmed Vendor-rated Design capacity Stated by the vendor This figure remains provisional until the cited source is corroborated for the exact configuration.

Figures for its components

Intel 8086

provisional A figure marked provisional is recorded but not accepted: its evidence is unsettled. It may rely on one source, an unconfirmed announcement, or a digit read from a damaged scan. The reason appears under the figure. The catalog shows the figure but never uses it in a multiplier. How records are judged.

Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Clock frequency cpu provisional 5 MHz Confirmed Vendor-rated Nominal clock Stated by the vendor This figure remains provisional until the cited source is corroborated for the exact configuration.
Dhrystone MIPS per MHz cpu provisional 0.055 DMIPS/MHz Reported Measured Benchmark run Published independently dhrystone 2.1 A named Dhrystone 2.1 result normalized by the clock stated for that run. It is provisional because the historic result table is a single independent source, not a vendor certification.
3 documented absences
Intel 8086: documented absences
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Clock frequency cpu provisional not applicable The 8086 predates dynamic turbo modes; its selected speed grade is the nominal clock. Not stated Vendor-rated Peak clock Stated by the vendor This figure remains provisional until the cited source is corroborated for the exact configuration.
Peak FP32 rate cpu provisional not applicable The 8086 has no integrated floating-point unit; an optional 8087 is a separate processor and is not fitted to this configuration. Not stated Vendor-rated Theoretical peak Stated by the vendor This figure remains provisional until the cited source is corroborated for the exact configuration.
Thermal design power cpu provisional unknown The historical processor documentation records electrical limits and speed grades, not the later TDP convention. Not stated Vendor-rated Rated power Stated by the vendor This figure remains provisional until the cited source is corroborated for the exact configuration.
2 documented absences
IBM PC display adapter: documented absences
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Clock frequency gpu provisional unknown MDA and CGA boards use distinct timing crystals; this display-adapter class has no one GPU clock. Not stated Vendor-rated Nominal clock Stated by the vendor This figure remains provisional until the cited source is corroborated for the exact configuration.
Peak FP32 rate gpu provisional not applicable These raster and text display adapters have no floating-point execution hardware. Not stated Vendor-rated Theoretical peak Stated by the vendor This figure remains provisional until the cited source is corroborated for the exact configuration.
1 documented absence
Early PC dynamic RAM: documented absences
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Memory bandwidth memory provisional unknown The cited processor documentation does not specify a sustained or peak byte-transfer rate for the chosen early-PC memory configurations. Not stated Vendor-rated Theoretical peak Stated by the vendor This figure remains provisional until the cited source is corroborated for the exact configuration.

Editorial notes

This entry has no photograph, and that is a decision rather than a gap: it describes a processor in a typical machine of its era rather than a model anybody sold, so there is no object to photograph. A picture of some particular case would attach a claim about that computer to a record which deliberately makes none.

Sources