PCem
Screenshot of PCem running FreeDOS 1.0
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| Developer(s) | Sarah Walker (including contributors) |
|---|---|
| Initial release | August 15, 2007 |
| Stable release |
12.0 / February 18, 2017
|
| Written in | C |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, Linux |
| Type | Virtual machine, emulator |
| License | GNU GPL version 2 |
| Website | pcem-emulator |
PCem (short for PC Emulator) is a hypervisor and IBM PC emulator for Windows and Linux that specializes in running old operating systems and software that are designed for IBM PC compatibles. Originally developed as an IBM PC XT emulator, it later emulates other IBM PC compatible computers as well.
The current version of PCem is PCem v12, released on February 18, 2017. Unofficial builds of PCem are also available, such as 86Box, which includes a number of enhanced features, including SCSI and some new boards. Versions of PCem from v0.5 until v8 are not available for download, due to the use of the MAME OPL2 and OPL3 emulation code from when it was not yet licensed under a GPL-compatible license.
PCem is capable of emulating Intel processors (and its respective clones, including AMD, IDT and Cyrix) from Intel 8088 through the Pentium Tillamook MMX/Mobile MMX processors from 1997 until 1999. A recompiler has been added in v10.1, being mandatory for P5 Pentium and Cyrix processors and optional for i486 processors and IDT WinChip processors. Yet a rather fast processor is needed for full emulation speed (such as an Intel i5 Core at 4 gigahertz). As of June 8, 2016, emulation regarding Pentium Pro/Pentium II and the Intel 440FX chipset has been included in 86Box (formerly known as PCem-X and PCem-Unofficial), however, the current developer of PCem has a main concern that the recompiler is not fast enough to emulate the Intel Pentium Pro/Pentium II processors yet.
PCem emulates various IBM PC compatible systems/motherboards from 1981 until 1996, this includes almost all IBM PC models (including the IBM PS/1 model 2121 and the IBM PS/2 model 2011), some American Megatrends BIOS clones (from 1989 until 1994), Award BIOS systems (Award SiS 496/497 and Award 430VX PCI), and Intel Premiere/PCI and Intel Advanced/EV motherboards. However, unofficial builds of PCem (PCem-X and PCem-unofficial) also supports IBM PC compatible systems/motherboards (from 1996 until 2000) that supports Intel Pentium Pro/Pentium II processors. PCem simulates the BIOS cache, which relies on the processor rather than on system memory.
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