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The Intel i486 (also called '''486''' or '''80486''') is a range of Intel CISC Microprocessors which is part of the Intel X86 family of processors. The i486's predecessor was the Intel 80386 processor. The i486 was so named without the usual 80-prefix, because of a court ruling that prohibited trademarking numbers (like 80486). Intel dropped number-based naming altogether with the successor to the i486 – the Pentium processor.

From a software point of view, the Instruction Set of the i486 family is very similar to its predecessor, the Intel 80386 , with the addition of only a few extra instructions.

From a hardware point of view, however, the architecture of the i486 is a vast improvement. It has an on-chip unified instruction and data Cache , an optional on-chip Floating-point Unit (FPU) (DX models only), and an enhanced Bus interface unit. In addition, under optimal conditions, the processor core can sustain an execution rate of one instruction per clock cycle. These improvements yield a rough doubling in performance over an Intel 80386 at the same Clock Rate . However, some low-end i486 models were actually slower than the highest-speed 386s, especially so with the 'SX' i486s.

A 25 MHz version was introduced in April 1989 , a 33 MHz version in May 1990 , and a 50 MHz version in June 1991 .

There are several suffixes and variants including:
  • Intel 80486SX - a i486DX with its FPU disabled, although the earlier variants were simply normal i486s with defective FPUs. In later versions, the FPU was removed from the Die to reduce its area and thus reduce cost.

  • Intel 80486DX - same as above, with a working FPU .

  • Intel 80486DX2 - the internal processor clock runs at twice the Clock Rate of the external bus clock.

  • Intel 80486SX2 - same as the i486DX2, but with the FPU disabled.

  • Intel 80486SL - i486SX with power conservation circuitry. Mainly for use in portable computers.

  • Intel 80486SL-NM - i486SX with power conservation circuitry; SL enhanced suffix, denotes a i486 with special power conservation circuitry similar to that in the i486SL processors.

  • Intel 80487 - i486DX with a slightly different pinout for use in i486SX systems as a FPU.

  • Intel 80486 OverDrive - i486SX, i486SX2, i486DX2 or i486DX4. Marked as upgrade processors, some models had different pinouts or voltage handling abilities from 'standard' chips of the same speed stepping.

  • Intel 80486DX4 - designed to run at triple clock rate (not quadruple as often believed; the DX3, which was meant to run at 2.5x the clock speed, was never released).


Internal clock rates included 16, 20, 25, 33, 40, 50, 66, 75 and 100 MHz, although the 100 MHz versions could be somewhat unstable. The 486DX2 66 MHz was the most widespread high-end 486 chip, while more powerful iterations such as the OverDrive and DX4 were less used in favour of the succeeding Pentium .

486 compatible processors have been produced by other companies such as IBM , Texas Instruments , AMD , Cyrix , and Chips And Technologies . Some are almost exact duplicates in specifications and performance, some are not. The 486 was, however, covered by many of Intel's 386 patents as well as some of its own. Intel and IBM have broad cross-licenses of these patents, and AMD was granted rights to the relevant patents in the 1995 settlement of a lawsuit between the companies. {Link without Title}

The Intel project manager for the 80486 was Patrick Gelsinger.


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