AMD Am386

The Am386 microprocessor was launched on the market by AMD in 1991. It was a processor with characteristics similar to the Intel 80386 and 100% compatible with the latter, millions of units of it were sold, and this positioned AMD as a legitimate competitor to Intel, being more than just the second source of x86 microprocessors (at the time called the 8086 family).

Although the processor was essentially ready to hit the market before 1991, Intel kept its release blocked through a lawsuit. AMD had been the second largest manufacturer of Intel designs, and AMD's interpretation of the contract was that it covered all of its processors. Intel, however, claimed that the contract only covered models 80286 and earlier. After a few years, AMD finally won the case and the right to sell their Am386s. This opened a line of competition also in the market for 32-bit processors compatible with the 80386, thus reducing the cost of buying a PC.

While the Intel 386 design reached 33 MHz, AMD released a 40 MHz version for both its 386DX and 386SX microprocessors, extending the lifespan of the architecture.

It was AMD's first appearance alone in the processor market for the general public and it had acceptable success considering that the market was completely occupied by Intel.