The basis for OS/2 Version 2.0 is its support for the Intel 80386 microprocessor. This support means that a powerful set of 32-bit features now becomes available to the operating system and applications, including enhanced memory management and more sophisticated multitasking. The Intel 80386 and 80486** offer significant improvements over the previous generation of 16-bit microprocessors, while retaining compatibility with these processors.
The Intel 80386 architecture incorporates the following on-chip features, which enhance the throughput and performance of the system:
Along with these features also comes the greater addressing capacity of the Intel 80386:
Note: This figure applies to the 80386DX processor and all 80486 processors; the 80386SX, 80386SL and 80386SLC may only address up to 16MB of physical memory.
OS/2 Version 2.0 uses many of these processor features and capabilities to provide a more powerful and flexible operating system platform. Note that OS/2 Version 2.0 does not implement the full 64 terabyte virtual address space provided by the 80386, since this requires use of the segmented memory model; OS/2 Version 2.0 uses a flat memory model which is described below.