sjc@purdue.UUCP (Steve J Chapin) (04/18/86)
I read an article in this newsgroup suggesting that it was cheaper by
~$200 to upgrade a 520 to 1Meg than to buy a 1040. My question is,
is there any reason to buy a 1040? Aren't there some advantages to
the layout, or ports, or something that make the price difference
worthwhile? Or should I just laugh all the way to the bank (heh)
and get a 520?
Your expert comments appreciated...
--
Steve Chapin | Chapin's Law of Motion:
ARPA: sjc@purdue.edu | You can get anywhere in 10 minutes
UUCP: ...!purdue!sjc | if you drive fast enough.
lbl@druhi.UUCP (LocklearLB) (04/18/86)
In article <572@mordred.purdue.UUCP>, sjc@purdue.UUCP (Steve J Chapin) writes: > > I read an article in this newsgroup suggesting that it was cheaper by > ~$200 to upgrade a 520 to 1Meg than to buy a 1040. My question is, > is there any reason to buy a 1040? Aren't there some advantages to > the layout, or ports, or something that make the price difference > worthwhile? Or should I just laugh all the way to the bank (heh) > and get a 520? > > Steve Chapin > There are 3 reasons that I would rather have a 1040ST: 1) It comes with a double sided disk drive instead of a single sided one 2) There aren't nearly as many cables to deal with. This is more of a hassle than you might think. 3) It already has the 1 Meg of RAM in it. This means that I wouldn't have to hassle with the upgrade and any chance that I might screw something up. By the way, I have a 520ST that I upgraded with 1 Meg. I am not at all sorry that I bought it when I did, but if I were buying an Atari today I would get a 1040 for the reasons given above. Barry Locklear AT&T Information Systems Labs Denver, CO (303) 538-4954 ihnp4!druhi!lbl
knudsen@ihwpt.UUCP (mike knudsen) (04/19/86)
> I read an article in this newsgroup suggesting that it was cheaper by > ~$200 to upgrade a 520 to 1Meg than to buy a 1040. My question is, > is there any reason to buy a 1040? Aren't there some advantages to > the layout, or ports, or something that make the price difference > worthwhile? Or should I just laugh all the way to the bank (heh) > and get a 520? > Your expert comments appreciated... > Steve Chapin | Chapin's Law of Motion: > UUCP: ...!purdue!sjc | if you drive fast enough. I've wondered about that too. Some advantages of the 1040 may be: (1) Peace of mind knowing that the extra RAM is factory installed, and if it breaks Atari will (?) fix it. I upgraded my RS CoCo years ago (from 16K to 64K, wow) but must accept the fact that Radio Shack will never repair it. If you're not a hardware jock like me, get the 1040. (2) Doesn't the 1040 come with a built-in (less desk space) **double-sided** drive? That's worth about $75 I believe. (3) Can you still daisy-chain two external disk drives? If so, the 1040 could have total of 3 drives, not 2. (I doubt you can, tho). (4) Built-n power supply. Actually, one may prefer the separate black-box to the bigger, heavier, and HOTTER mainframe that results from putting the PS inside. Especially since the keyboard is still not separate. So, maybe this is a *disadvantage*. (5) If you piggyback a 1040, you can put in 32 chips and go clear to 2 Meg. Don't ask whether the MMU chip can handle that much. In case you missed the Byte 1040ST article, the "extra" RAM chips are end-to-end with the "original" ones on the board. You could add just 512K the first time. (6) How long will you live with 512K? If you plan to upgrade a 520 as soon as you get home (and blow the warranty), maybe you should get the 1040 right off (see (1)). mike k
rlp@cbosgd.UUCP (J. Knapp) (04/19/86)
In article <572@mordred.purdue.UUCP> sjc@purdue.UUCP (Steve J Chapin) writes: > >... is there any reason to buy a 1040? Aren't there some advantages to >the layout, or ports, or something that make the price difference >worthwhile? ... A computer dealer made a good point in favor of the 1040: The "keyboard" unit on the 1040 contains a power supply, disk drive, and TV interface. So if you want to travel with your computer, you only need to take the keyboard and connect it to any handy TV, and you're in business!
john@anasazi.UUCP (John Moore) (04/22/86)
In article <820@ihwpt.UUCP> knudsen@ihwpt.UUCP (mike knudsen) writes: >> I read an article in this newsgroup suggesting that it was cheaper by >> ~$200 to upgrade a 520 to 1Meg than to buy a 1040. My question is, >(5) If you piggyback a 1040, you can put in 32 chips >and go clear to 2 Meg. Don't ask whether the MMU chip >can handle that much. In case you missed the Byte 1040ST >article, the "extra" RAM chips are end-to-end with the "original" >ones on the board. You could add just 512K the first time. The RAM controller will NOT handle 2 Meg using 256K chips. To try to modify the system to do that looks quite hairy to me. On the other hand, the Byte article stated that your could upgrate the 1040 to 4 Meg when the 1 Meg chips become affordable - just replace the 256K chips and add an address line. The RAM controller will handle that. It appears to me that you can to exactly the same trick with a 520 - there is room on the board, and you would just piggy back the same way as with the 1 Meg upgrade. -- John Moore (NJ7E/XE1HDO) {decvax|ihnp4|hao}!noao!terak!anasazi!john {hao!noao|decvax|ihnp4|seismo}!terak!anasazi!john terak!anasazi!john@SEISMO.CSS.GOV (602) 861-7607 (day or evening) 7525 Clearwater Pkwy, Paradise Valley, AZ, 85253 (Home Address) The opinions expressed here are obviously not mine, so they must be someone else's.
rb@mtuxn.UUCP (R.BOTWIN) (04/22/86)
[] As far as we can see 1040's will not support tv! Only monitors.
jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick) (04/25/86)
> > > [] > As far as we can see 1040's will not support tv! Only monitors. The store that sold me mine said different--that the rf modulator and composite generators would arrive later and be fitted at no charge "in a couple of months". I've checked pin 2 (composite monitor) of the monitor plug and as far as I can tell without opening the case, nothing is wired to it. I hope they'll sell a cable with the 13-pin monitor plug at one end and 2 RCA plugs at the other for audio and video. Neil? Anyone?
neil@atari.UUcp (Neil Harris) (04/28/86)
In article <2623@mit-hermes.ARPA>, jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick) writes: > > As far as we can see 1040's will not support tv! Only monitors. > > The store that sold me mine said different--that the rf modulator and > composite generators would arrive later and be fitted at no charge > "in a couple of months". I've checked pin 2 (composite monitor) of > the monitor plug and as far as I can tell without opening the case, > nothing is wired to it. I hope they'll sell a cable with the 13-pin > monitor plug at one end and 2 RCA plugs at the other for audio and video. > Neil? Anyone? Sorry folks. Retrofitting a modulator is not in the cards. The dealer must have been misinformed -- but not by Atari. --->Neil @ Atari ...lll-crg!vecpyr!atari!neil
jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick) (05/01/86)
> > > As far as we can see 1040's will not support tv! Only monitors. > > The store that sold me mine said different--that the rf modulator and > > composite generators would arrive later and be fitted at no charge > > "in a couple of months"....... > Sorry folks. Retrofitting a modulator is not in the cards. The dealer must > have been misinformed -- but not by Atari. > --->Neil @ Atari This means that Neochrome, which came with my 1040, is useless and always will be. It means that my user's manual is inaccurate, and that when it tells me about how to connect up the TV set it's talking fantasy. I do want a color output short of getting the color monitor. I have a TV set with a video (composite) input jack. In my previous posting I said I'd checked pin 2 of the monitor connector and it was dead: in fact this wasn't true, a scope shows an output there, but it wouldn't drive the TV. What exactly is this? Someone else was saying that it is indeed composite video; if I haven't got what the literature promises, then what do I have?
leo@sunybcs.UUCP (Leo Wilson) (05/05/86)
In article <2630@mit-hermes.ARPA>, jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick) writes: > > > > The store that sold me mine said different--that the rf modulator and > > > composite generators would arrive later and be fitted at no charge > > > "in a couple of months"....... > > > Sorry folks. Retrofitting a modulator is not in the cards. The dealer must > > have been misinformed -- but not by Atari. > > --->Neil @ Atari > > I do want a color output short of getting the color monitor. I have a TV set > with a video (composite) input jack. In my previous posting I said I'd > checked pin 2 of the monitor connector and it was dead: in fact this > wasn't true, a scope shows an output there, but it wouldn't drive the TV. > What exactly is this? Someone else was saying that it is indeed composite > video; if I haven't got what the literature promises, then what do I have? My new ST520 has a composite video out. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it must work. I got my ST wednesday, April 30. I'm sure someone will come out with a mod for prior rev owners. Maybe Jerry Ciarcia or one of the look-alike authors will put it out, or perhaps some concerned soul at Atari could *unoffically* post upgrade instructions.
rb@ccird1.UUCP (Rex Ballard) (05/05/86)
In article <185@anasazi.UUCP> john@anasazi.UUCP (John Moore) writes: >In article <820@ihwpt.UUCP> knudsen@ihwpt.UUCP (mike knudsen) writes: >>> I read an article in this newsgroup suggesting that it was cheaper by >>> ~$200 to upgrade a 520 to 1Meg than to buy a 1040. My question is, >>(5) If you piggyback a 1040, you can put in 32 chips >>and go clear to 2 Meg. Don't ask whether the MMU chip >>can handle that much. In case you missed the Byte 1040ST >>article, the "extra" RAM chips are end-to-end with the "original" >>ones on the board. You could add just 512K the first time. >The RAM controller will NOT handle 2 Meg using 256K chips. To try to >modify the system to do that looks quite hairy to me. On the other >hand, the Byte article stated that your could upgrate the 1040 >to 4 Meg when the 1 Meg chips become affordable - just replace >the 256K chips and add an address line. The RAM controller will >handle that. It appears to me that you can to exactly the same >trick with a 520 - there is room on the board, and you would >just piggy back the same way as with the 1 Meg upgrade. You could convert either the 520 or the 1040 to up to 4 meg using 1 meg chips or 1 meg hybrid chips (about $30 each now). IF there were 18 pins in the RAM sockets, OR there were a header near the MMU, OR there were an adapter to get the necessary lines out of the MMU between the chip and the socket, OR ... BUT, you will have to pull out ALL of the old RAM and replace with 1 meg chips. When they mentioned how trivial it would be to upgrade the 1040 to 2 or even 4 meg, they were talking about how trivial it would be for ATARI to create a NEW IMPROVED PRODUCT. From the information I have been able to get, it looks like there is practically NO DIFFERENCE between the two, except that the 1040 has more memory and the internal drive and power supply. If having the internal drive (and fewer cables, power supplies,...) sounds desirable, or having the 1Meg right from the start without losing your warranty sounds good, then get the 1040. If you want to save a few dollars, get the 520. There is also the question of whether you should USE the extra memory, and how. If you want a RAM DISK, you could put one on the DMA interface. In fact, if Atari comes up with an SCSI interface, there are several such "drives" ranging from 1MB to 65MB. A RAM CACHE could also be installed externally. Putting "memory resident accessories" in ram is just a Kludge for real multi-tasking which could be better served by a real multi-tasking OS. A "does everything" application such as a "1-2-3" type package is yet another kludge which could be better served in other ways. An extra-large program that REQUIRES 1 Meg, such as GNU emacs or some equally large monster, won't run on the smaller machines. It would be nice if Atari could come up with an upgrade "MMU" chip that could realy do "memory management" such as demand paging, relocation, and protection, or maybe use the 68070 chip with it's built in MMU. Of course one could always make a "hot rod" computer using any of these techniques :-). Maybe they will AT LEAST put a SOCKET under the 68K chip so that the MMU and CPU could be upgraded later on. At least the ST is relatively easy to upgrade :-).
dimitrov@csd2.UUCP (Isaac Dimitrovsky) (05/09/86)
[] Some advantages of buying a 520ST (as opposed to the 1040): The 520 is pretty well field tested. It's been used by a lot of people with relatively few problems. The 1040 hasn't, so we don't really know yet if there may be problems with the internal drive or power supply. The 520 is slightly more modular. If the power supply or disk drive breaks, you can buy or borrow another one, and thus not have much down time. If the 1040 breaks you have no option but to have it serviced. Isaac Dimitrovsky 251 Mercer Street, New York NY 10012 (212) 674-8652 allegra!cmcl2!csd2!dimitrov (l in cmcl2 is letter l not number 1) You know the great thing about tv? If something important happens anywhere at all in the world, no matter what time of the day or night, you can always change the channel - Jim Ignatowski