4386-VC-V - MAME machine

Motherboard:

4386-VC-V © 199? First International Computer

The "V" suffix in the model number designates the integration of VESA Local Bus (VLB) slots. This motherboard was a pivotal release for FIC, allowing users to move their graphics cards and high-speed disk controllers off the bottlenecked 8MHz ISA bus and onto the local processor bus, effectively doubling throughput for video and data transfer.

TECHNICAL
Chipset: Powered by the VIA VT82C495 ("Venus") chipset, similar to its sibling, ensuring excellent compatibility and mature memory-timing support.

Socket: Socket 1 (Supports Intel 486SX, DX, and DX2 processors).

VLB Implementation: Features 2 to 3 VESA Local Bus slots. FIC was known for "clean" VLB routing, which prevented the signal degradation common on cheaper boards of the era when multiple VLB cards were populated.

Memory: Typically supports up to 64MB of RAM (via 30-pin SIMMs), reflecting its status as a "prosumer" or small-office server board.

TRIVIA
The VLB Advantage: The fic4386vcv is historically significant because it demonstrated that 486 systems could handle high-bandwidth tasks (like early desktop publishing and GUI environments) if the graphics were properly accelerated via VLB. It was a common "upgrade path" for businesses moving from 386 systems to 486 power.

Common Pairing: These boards were famously paired with Tseng Labs ET4000/W32 graphics cards, creating a system that was considered the "state of the art" in desktop performance circa 1993.

CONTRIBUTE
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