NEC V20 CPU: A bit of pep for an XT
7 hours ago
- #retro-computing
- #NEC-V20
- #cpu-upgrade
- The NEC V20 was an Intel 8088-compatible CPU with improved performance, popular as a cheap upgrade in the 1980s and 1990s.
- NEC V20 included the 80186 instruction set and could emulate the Intel 8080, offering better efficiency than the 8088.
- NEC won a legal battle against Intel in 1986, allowing the V20 to be sold, though legal issues deterred major PC manufacturers.
- The V20 provided a performance boost of 8-30% over the 8088, making it a favored upgrade for retro computing enthusiasts.
- Available in 5 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz variants, the V20 was suitable for upgrading various XT-class machines.
- The V20HL was a later revision that ran cooler, making heatsinks unnecessary for most applications.
- The V20 was particularly useful in nonstandard motherboards like the Tandy 1000 and IBM PCjr, offering a period-correct upgrade.
- Some network drivers requiring a 286 would work on a V20, aiding in networking XT-class machines.
- The V20's 80186 instruction set allowed it to run some software that claimed to require a 286, like the MS-DOS editor from Windows 95.
- The V20 was a niche product, often found in white-box PC clones and used by power users for its backward compatibility and performance.