I have the main unit and power adapter.
type Computer
country USA
year 1990
os MS-DOS 4.01
cpu Intel 80386SX
speed 20 MHz
ram 2 MB
disk 3.5″ 1.44 MB
hd 60 MB
graphic VGA
colors monochrome
sound beeper
ports keyboard, disk, parallel, serial, vga, ext bus
The Compaq SLT 386s/20 — The 386 Laptop
The Compaq SLT 386s/20 was an upgraded member of the SLT laptop family, replacing the 286 processor with a 20 MHz Intel 386SX — a 32-bit processor that dramatically improved performance for demanding business applications and enabled Windows 3.0 to run smoothly. The 386SX’s 16-bit external bus maintained the cost and power efficiency advantages over the full 386DX while delivering the 32-bit processing that was becoming essential for advanced DOS and early Windows applications of the early 1990s.
The 386SX for Laptops
Intel’s 386SX was specifically well-suited for laptop applications — its lower power consumption compared to the 386DX extended battery life, and its lower cost enabled Compaq to offer 386-class performance at a price point accessible to more business users. At 20 MHz, the SLT 386s/20 provided performance adequate for the most demanding business applications of its era, including early CAD software, database management systems, and the Windows 3.0 graphical interface that was beginning to transform the business PC experience.
Windows 3.0 Compatibility
The SLT 386s/20 arrived just as Windows 3.0 (released May 1990) was transforming the PC experience with its improved graphical interface and multitasking capabilities. The 386SX processor was the minimum recommended for running Windows 3.0 effectively, making the SLT 386s/20 a genuinely future-proof business laptop at the time of its release — capable of running both the DOS applications of the present and the Windows-based software that would define the future.