The
Intel 80286 (officially called iAPX 286) is a
16-bit microprocessor that allows up to 16
megabytes of
RAM. On
DOS machines these can only be used via
extended memory[?] emulation. The
Intel 8086 by contrast is only able to address 1 megabyte of RAM. The clock speed is between 6 and 20 MHz. Its successor is the
Intel 80386.
First released in 1982, the 286 was widely used in IBM PC compatible computers during the mid to late 1980s.