Originally posted by tdowning:

Processors communicate with RAM in parallel, therefore, for an 8086 chip, 8 bits are transmitted at a time, a 286 is 16-bit, a 386, 486, Pentium, PMMX, PII, PIII, P4, are all 32 bit, as are AMD competiors, the 5x86, K6, K6-2, K6-III, and anything with the "Athlon" moniker.




Minor point. As I recall, the 8086 communicated with RAM 16 bits at a time, vs. the 8088, which did so 8 bits at a time (both used an 8-bit bus for non-memory operations, of course). That, for example, was why IBM chose the 8086 rather than the trusty 8088 for the PS2-30 (which replaced the IBM-XT, which had an 8088). (and for you children, that's Personal System 2, not PlayStation 2).