russell@ALF.UNOMAHA.EDU ("Tim Russell") (06/11/90)
lai@cs.arizona.edu (C. Patrick Lai) writes: > My friend is considering purchasing a CompuAdd 316SX (a 16MHz > 386sx). Has anyone had any experience with this machine? He is > actually considering the "SX Success Kit": 316SX with color VGA, > 1MB RAM, 80MB hard disk, 5.25 and 1.44 HD floppy drives, plus > Panasonic KX-P1124, mouse, and a bunch of software (DOS, Windows/386, > Spinnaker 8-in-1, etc). I think this is a good deal for $2450 > (plus tax), given that he will have local service -- he is buying > from the local CompuAdd retail. Any comment? My SO just bought one this weekend, and, me being the techie that I am, I set it up for her and loaded a ton of PD software on it for her. The staff was very helpful: She ordered a 316s with a 3 1/2 drive and then decided to add a 5 /14, but was mistakenly given a box of generic 5 1/4 disks. I called the store up and explained, and they traded the generic 5 1/4's for a box of Verbatim HD 3 1/2's! Also, Windows 3.0 wasn't included, and noone said anything about it. Turns out a truck is supposedly late. We'll see how that works out. On the down side, (to me), it comes loaded with DOS 4.01. I would much rather see 3.3, but that's life, I guess. The BIOS is the Phoenix 386 one, which is really nice. The system also allows you to configure the 384k of high memory as expanded or extended. The Spinnaker software looks next to useless, but the stores sell it seperately for $39, so I don't suppose it adds much to the cost. It does come with "Twist & Shout", a sideways printing utility that looks nice. It works as a TSR with Lotus 1-2-3, or standalone to print text files. The mouse comes with Logitech Paintshow Plus, a darn-near-complete ripoff of Macintosh Paint. It's so close it's scary. It uses the TIFF format, which is a little different but well-supported. The Panasonic KP-P1124 24-pin printer looks really nice! The tractors can be set to push the paper, which means you can rip a sheet off without wasting a sheet of paper. It autoloads the paper, and you can feed it in from the front, bottom, or rear. All in all, I'd say it's a VERY nice system, and well worth the money. It was a breeze to set up and seems to be very solid. I'll keep you up to date about Microsoft Windows and the hard drive. Hopefully this one won't die. :-) -- Tim Russell University of Nebraska at Omaha russell@alf.unomaha.edu "The opera ain't over till the last heterosexual falls asleep!"