The Texas Instruments CD74FCT244E is a 74FCT-series octal buffer with non-inverting logic and 3-state outputs, in a 20-pin through-hole DIP package. It takes a 4.75V to 5.25V supply rail and delivers 15mA source, 64mA sink per output — enough fan-out to drive a dozen LSTTL loads or a short backplane trace. The 3-state control lets multiple buffers share a common bus without contention, making this a standard choice for address/data buffering, memory-interface isolation, and line driving in 5V logic systems.
The 4.75V to 5.25V supply range tells you this part runs on a nominal 5V rail, not 3.3V or lower. If your board has a legacy 5V bus — ISA, VME, or a 5V microcontroller port — the CD74FCT244E drops in without a level translator. The 15mA high-level and 64mA low-level output currents are asymmetric: the sink capability is over four times the source. That matters when driving a capacitive load or a terminated transmission line, because the falling edge will be faster than the rising edge unless you balance the termination. For a typical backplane or memory-address bus, the 64mA sink handles the DC load of multiple receivers; the 15mA source is adequate for CMOS inputs that draw almost nothing high.
Temperature grade and environment
It belongs in office equipment, benchtop instruments, indoor industrial controllers, and other climate-controlled environments. Not rated for automotive under-hood, outdoor telecom cabinets, or cold storage — those would need the industrial or military temperature variants of the 74FCT family.
Package and board fit
The 20-pin DIP (0.300" body width, 7.62mm) with through-hole mounting is the original PCB footprint for this logic family. No reflow profile needed — hand-solder or wave-solder. The 20-PDIP supplier package code confirms the standard 0.1-inch pin pitch layout. If your board is already laid out for a 20-pin DIP buffer, this part is a drop-in replacement for the 74FCT244 footprint.