Sunday, March 5, 2023

difference between 8237 and 8257

 8237 and 8257 are both programmable DMA (Direct Memory Access) controllers, but they were produced by different manufacturers and have some differences in their specifications and features.

The 8237 DMA controller was developed by Intel and was used in IBM PC/XT computers. It supports up to four DMA channels, each capable of transferring data between devices and memory without using the CPU. The 8237 has a maximum transfer rate of 4.5 MB/s and a maximum addressable memory of 16 MB.

The 8257 DMA controller, on the other hand, was developed by NEC and was used in IBM PC/AT computers. It also supports up to four DMA channels, but it has some additional features not found in the 8237. The 8257 has a maximum transfer rate of 1.2 MB/s per channel, and it supports bus mastering, which allows it to take control of the bus and transfer data between devices and memory without the CPU's involvement. The 8257 also has a "single-cycle" mode, which allows it to transfer data with only one DMA cycle, which can improve performance.

In summary, both the 8237 and 8257 are DMA controllers that allow for efficient data transfers between devices and memory, but the 8257 has some additional features such as bus mastering and a "single-cycle" mode that can provide improved performance.

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