ao486 is the x86 PC-compatible core for MiSTer FPGA — an FPGA recreation of an Intel 80486SX-class PC, not a software emulator running on top of Linux. It boots DOS, Windows 3.1, and Windows 95, and performance-wise sits around an i486DX-33 with no FPU, which makes it a genuinely good target for DOS gaming rather than a curiosity.
It’s the core I use most on my own MiSTer, specifically for retro PC and DOS gaming — see the MiSTer FPGA overview for why FPGA recreation over software emulation matters in the first place.
Getting it running end to end — DOS setup, file transfer, sound and MIDI, CD-ROM support, memory management, and eventually a full Windows 95 install — is enough ground that it’s its own guide series rather than a single page.
