krisb@masscomp.ccur.com (Kris Beatty) (03/21/90)
I am looking to buy a 386 or 386SX and have access to 286 software but I was informed that 286 software wasn't easily portable. Is this true? Please send the information to me directly and I will compile the answers. If their are few or no responses I will not post my findings. So let me know directly if you want a summary no matter how small it is. Thanks in advance for your time.
RFM@psuvm.psu.edu (03/21/90)
Only software that I know of that is 286-specific is first version of OS/2. Good q: will it run on 386sx?
dlow@hpspcoi.HP.COM (Danny Low) (03/22/90)
>I am looking to buy a 386 or 386SX and have access to 286 software >but I was informed that 286 software wasn't easily portable. Is this >true? There is very little 286 specific software. Most software today is still written for the lowest common denominator, the 8088, and will run just fine on 286 and 386 processors. The few 286 specific software I know of will also run in a 386. The portability problem is quite minimal. Danny Low "Question Authority and the Authorities will question You" Valley of Hearts Delight, Silicon Valley HP SPCD dlow%hpspcoi@hplabs.hp.com ...!hplabs!hpspcoi!dlow
akcs.mephron@tronsbox.UUCP (Lord Mephron of Ghormenghast) (03/22/90)
>I am looking to buy a 386 or 386SX and have access to 286 software >but I was informed that 286 software wasn't easily portable. Is this >true? Please send the information to me directly and I will compile >the answers. If their are few or no responses I will not post my findings. >So let me know directly if you want a summary no matter how small it is. >Thanks in advance for your time. There's no reason why 286 software shouldn't run properly on a 386SX. Intel claims the entire 80X86 line is downward compatible.
akcs.reed@tronsbox.UUCP (reed) (03/24/90)
286 software is compatible with 286/486 hardware, as far as MS/PC-DOS goes. It won't take advantage of all the features, but thsould otherwise run just as well. Most programs for the 386 do NOT make use of 386/486 specific features due to backward compatility concerns. Regarding your plans for a 386, can I suggest a system from Gateway 2000? They're a mail order firm, with ads in most of the major mags. I ordered a system from them for a client, and I wanted to trade my Northgate to the client in exchange for his new system! After checking out the various prices, I don't think you can get a much better deal. A 386 @ 25 Mhz with 3 Mb main and 160 Mb disk and 512Kb VGA is currently priced at $3395, w/o main memory cache.
webb@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Thomas Webb) (03/27/90)
In article <260b01a9:123.2comp.sys.ibm.pc;1@tronsbox.UUCP> akcs.reed@tronsbox.UUCP (reed) writes: >286 software is compatible with 286/486 hardware, as far as MS/PC-DOS goes. >It won't take advantage of all the features, but thsould otherwise run just >as well. Most programs for the 386 do NOT make use of 386/486 specific >features due to backward compatility concerns. >Regarding your plans for a 386, can I suggest a system from Gateway 2000? >They're a mail order firm, with ads in most of the major mags. I ordered a >system from them for a client, and I wanted to trade my Northgate to the >client in exchange for his new system! After checking out the various >prices, I don't think you can get a much better deal. A 386 @ 25 Mhz with 3 >Mb main and 160 Mb disk and 512Kb VGA is currently priced at $3395, w/o main >memory cache. Well, I ordered a Gateway 2000 system (386SX) on the 12th, and was told that it might take as long as 4 weeks for delivery. Today I got a message saying that it could take and extra one to two weeks on top of that. The excuses that I've gotten are that there is a shortage of 386 chips (esp. SXes), and that Gateway is getting a larger market then they are really geared to serve at the present. On the other hand, the price is hard to beat when the features and service contract are figured in (btw, I think that the 386/486--real soon--are offered with 4mb RAM rather then 3, and the 286/386SX systems come with 2MB RAM). Still, if the machine was going to work rather then home, I would be very concerned about Gateway's ability to deliver the goods in a reasonable time. As it is, I'm not happy to wait, but can't justify paying much more for quicker delivery. Also, to be fair, I should note that the last 386 we purchased here in the office, a Northgate 38620, took three and a half weeks to get here despite its higher price tag. Now for my comment on the orignal post. It is my understanding that Intel x86 cpu's are downward compatable, so there should be no feature in the 286 that isn't in the 386. I suppose that the 186 is something of a special case since it has some built in support that isn't in the 286, but I've never programed a 186 so I'll stop before I make a more complete fool of myself. Ciao, -tom -- =============================================================================== webb@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.edu "The first duty in life is to assume a pose. What the second is, no one has yet discovered." -Oscar Wilde
aland@infmx.UUCP (Dr. Scump) (03/29/90)
In article <7091@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> webb@uhccux.UUCP (Thomas Webb) writes: >Well, I ordered a Gateway 2000 system (386SX) on the 12th, and was >told that it might take as long as 4 weeks for delivery. Today I got >a message saying that it could take and extra one to two weeks on top >of that. The excuses that I've gotten are that there is a shortage of >386 chips (esp. SXes), and that Gateway is getting a larger market >then they are really geared to serve at the present. On the other >hand, the price is hard to beat when the features and service contract >... True, there are shortages on the 80386*. However, how are they handling orders: do they make you pay full price upon order and, if purchased by credit card, are they charging the card right away? If so, this can be dangerous; many mail-order firms have gone by the wayside under such circumstances. >-tom >webb@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.edu -- Alan S. Denney # Informix # aland@informix.com # {pyramid|uunet}!infmx!aland "The driver says, 'One more cup of coffee and I'll be all right...' 'Pop a Bennie, another Bennie'..." - The Bobs, "Bus Plunge"
webb@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Thomas Webb) (03/30/90)
In article <3717@infmx.UUCP> aland@infmx.UUCP (alan denney) writes: >In article <7091@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> webb@uhccux.UUCP (Thomas Webb) writes: >> >>[I write that Gateway is taking a LONG time to deliver] > >True, there are shortages on the 80386*. However, how are they >handling orders: do they make you pay full price upon order and, >if purchased by credit card, are they charging the card right away? >If so, this can be dangerous; many mail-order firms have gone by the >wayside under such circumstances. >-- >Alan S. Denney # Informix # aland@informix.com # {pyramid|uunet}!infmx!aland Well, I ordered mine COD, but my impression is that Gateway is a going concern. They are still taking the time to call me (something that I've never gotten Northgate, Dell, or the local dealership we use to do consistantly), and the at least give the impression of honesty. In fact, I'm really impressed with everything about them except, and this is a big exception, their ability to deliver my system on time. On the other hand, they haven't even come close to the tardyness record set by a local computer shop that took nearly four months to deliver a simple AT system, and that when it finally arrived it had slow memory and wouldn't run at all at turbo speed... We no longer buy local. Anyway, I'll post if I have any more problems or learn anthing more useful about Gateway. -tom -- =============================================================================== webb@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.edu "The first duty in life is to assume a pose. What the second is, no one has yet discovered." -Oscar Wilde