PERSONAL COMPUTER WITH LOCAL BUS ARBITRATION

This invention relates to personal computers, and more particularly to personal computers in which performance is enhanced by enabling arbitration for control over a local processor bus among a plurality of "master" devices coupled directly to the local processor bus. A personal computer system in accordance with this invention has a high speed local processor data bus; an input/output data bus; at least two master devices coupled directly to the local processor bus; and a bus interface controller coupled directly to the local processor bus and directly to the input/output data bus for providing communications between the local processor bus and input/output data bus, with the bus interface controller providing for arbitration among the master devices coupled directly to the local processor bus for access to the local processor bus, and providing for arbitration among the local processor bus and any devices coupled directly to the input/output data bus for access to the input/output data bus.