Intel 80386 from RIM 957

[Windmiller]

We had a few older Blackberry RIM 957 devices that we took out of commission. I opened them up and found that they are using the Intel 80386 20mhz (FW88386VXSG). It is a nice looking board because the whole board is outlined by a gold strip. There is also some type of AMD chip right next to it, I always liked boards that have Intel and AMD on the same one.

Anyway, are these worth trading? I plan on keeping a couple for myself but wasnt sure if these are something that would be wroth trading.

[hugo929]

let picture talks~~~

[Windmiller]

My digital camera is being used by my dad so I had to take these pics with my Pocket PC Phone but they came out pretty decent.

Let me know if I should shrink these, I usually like large photos but not everyone does.

[hugo929]

i thought this BGA 386 is not common.

[gshv]

How do you know it's a 80386?

Gennadiy

[Marcin]

That is xxx88386xxx in name so that isn't 386 CPU. Looks like a kind of controller.

[Blackfury]

hi !!

i goggled that BlackBerry and here is what i funded..

Modern BlackBerry handhelds incorporate an ARM 7 or 9 processor, however older BlackBerry 950 and 957 handhelds used Intel 80386 processors. They recently announced that new devices will have the Intel XScale PXA9xx cellular processor, code named "Hermon".

http://nnlm.gov/training/geekgifts/geeks_C.doc

[hugo929]

LOL~~~~~~~

[debs3759]

LOL. So Blackberry (or whoever owns them) changed the type of processor used in the same device, used one with a part number that can confuse some people, and still expect to be able to make money out of people for something that is not even code compatible with others that are called the same?

Looks like nobody knows what they are doing any more - I thought it was just me who was losing my mind

A quick search on Google shows that for that part number, datecodes tend to be late 90's and even up to 2003. I may be wrong, but I though Intel discontinued production of 386 processors earlier than that date - as such it would seem unlikely that one would be the main component in any modern handheld device

Naturally I'd love to be proved wrong. Bear in mind that there are 1000's in stocks around the world, so they aren't rare.

[JAC]

Intel ceased 386 and 486 production last year. ( anounced )

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/05/18/intel_cans_386_486_960_cpus/


"Intel has finally waved farewell to is 386 and 486 processors, though their departure will be a drawn-out process, lasting through to 28 September 2007, Reg Hardware has learned, when the chip maker will no longer ship the parts. Its original RISC chip, the i960, is also for the chop.

Intel documentation reveals that the company believes "the forecasted volumes for these product lines are now too low to continue production of these products beyond the year 2007", leaving it "no choice" but to discontinue the parts.

Orders for the chips, Intel told customers this month, will continue to be taken until 30 March 2007.

"Intel has been manufacturing...the 386 and the 486 processor families for over 15 years now," the company said (almost) tearfully.

Joining the 386 and the 486 on the stairs to the great fab in the sky are the MCS 51, MCS 251 and MCS 96 microcontrollers, the 186 chip family, and the i960 series of 32-bit RISC chips, which we thought had long since vanished, displaced by the StrongARM processor brought in when the company acquired DEC. ®"

[debs3759]

I guess I need to start some serious browsing soon, when I can get back online from home again