Having overcome the key legal hurdles to marketing of its reverse engineered version of Intel Corp’s 80386, Advanced Micro Devices Inc has formally launched the first iteration of the Am386, and as it did with the 80286, is playing beat the clock. The Am386DX-40, in 0.8nS CMOS, is clocked at 40MHz where Intel’s fastest 80386 uses a 33MHz clock, and is offered at the same $306 price for 100-up that Intel charges for the slower part. It also has a low-power version with a standby mode, the Am386DXL-40 for portables, and is expected to come out with a reverse-engineered version of the 80486 in January. Advanced Micro’s right to use the microcode from the 80386 is still at legal issue with Intel.
