gec@cscosl.ncsu.edu (Errol Casey) (03/19/90)
I am interested in collecting comments on either of these IBM PC accelerator cards (Sota 286i / 386i). Questions: (1) Can you add additional memory to the accelerator card? How much. (2) Does the 386 use a 386 or 386sx? Does it come with 32bit memory? (3) Any compatiblity problems? Granville Errol Casey, Jr. NCSU Computer Science Department Email Addresses: gec@cscosl.ncsu.edu gec%cscosl@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu
RFM@psuvm.psu.edu (03/19/90)
I have a SOTA 386si installed in a Zenith Z-159 (XT-level PC). Installed it in early January, it ran well for 5 weeks, then started acting up -- I'm not clear if the problem was the card or the Zenith installation; they have to "tweak" the board in various ways to optimize it for different systems, and mine came untweaked originally. Anyway, it's back in my machine now & all seems well. I have a Norton SI rating of 15.6 with the card installed & the cache turned on. Turn caching off so you're running in the "native" (???) 386sx mode & the Norton is 2.8. They supply software drivers for all sorts of caching; before my cad went in, I had to uncache my video & BIOS to get my machine to run any software --WP50, LOTUS, etc. Everything works with all caches turned on now, so they did something while they had my board. I have 1.2 megs of memory. It's all expanded memory (EMS4.0) & runs under a Sota EMS driver. 256k is a hard drive cache (also SOTA software) & works ok. Not sure where all my other EMS memory is, but LOTUS uses it. The 386si is a half-card. SOTA sells an add-on called Memory 16i which plugs into the 386si & adds up to 8 megs of 1 mb SIMMS. They claim OS2 compatability (extended memory) or EMS 4.0 (expanded) capability - you could use with DesView (they have a driver), etc. I plan to buy when I can afford.... I'm not sure if the 16i will disable my other memory. I can reason to an argument that optimum performance would dictate that the 16i memory should take precedence -- 16-bit BUS, etc. Maybe I can move my present memory chips to the 16i. I haven't gotten that deep into it yet. i Anyway, all my software runs with the board. The folks at SOTA seem responsive to inquiries, helpful, etc. No hassles concerning repair/modifi- cation. I like the performance enhancement. I run WP50, SPSS-PC, LOTUS, DBASE, ProComm Plus, Harvard Graphics, Norton Utilities & Commander, and the WP Library shell program. Microsoft Paint, too. Maybe some others, but I can't think of any. All run with no problems. I'm a little apprehensive about reliability right now -- spooked by my earlier experience, I guess. But everything is working fine right now. I have some 350+k LOTUS files that used to take 1/2 hour to sort; they sort in less than a minute now. ---Bob Munzenrider, Penn State U - Harrisburg.
nghiem@ut-emx.UUCP (Alex Nghiem) (03/19/90)
In article <1990Mar19.003132.29661@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> gec@cscosl.ncsu.edu writes: >I am interested in collecting comments on either of these IBM PC >accelerator cards (Sota 286i / 386i). > >Questions: > >(1) Can you add additional memory to the accelerator card? How much. In its standard configuration, both SOTA's use the existing PC's memory and I/O peripherals. There are optional boards that allow you to add up to eight megabytes of memory and a 16 bit floppy and hard disk controller. However, with all the options added, its cheaper to buy a new machine. >(2) Does the 386 use a 386 or 386sx? Does it come with 32bit memory? The 386 is an 386sx. It sells for about 460.00 open market with no options. >(3) Any compatiblity problems? The Sota will work with 8086 PC's while the Intel 386/PC will only work with true 8088 IBM PC compatibles. The Sota can also run OS/2; however, it is obvious to me that if you want to run OS/2, you have to buy all the options. >Granville Errol Casey, Jr. >NCSU Computer Science Department >Email Addresses: gec@cscosl.ncsu.edu > gec%cscosl@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu The Sota 386SX is a better, later design than the Intel 386/PC. Everything on a Sota fits on a half card while the Intel is a full card. The Intel has no 16 bit floppy/ hard disk controller option. My bottom line is what do you get for the money. The Intel 386/PC can be easily bought at a discount. The Sota was not as available as the Intel the last time I checked and the Sota was not bundled with any 32 bit memory. In the past, some vendors bundled Windows/386 with the Intel 386/PC. Additional note: it seems that Intel and Sota play different games: Sota attempts to make their product conform will all software. Intel attempts to make all software conform with their product. If a software developer conforms to the latter, the software should work on the former. __________________________________________________________________________ This article is posted for factual information only. Any misrepresentation, if any, is purely unintentional. Any opinion expressed or implicit in these remarks are solely my own. nghiem@emx.utexas.edu !cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!nghiem nghiem@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu !cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!ccwf!nghiem
granoff@vaxwrk.enet.dec.com (Mark H. Granoff) (03/19/90)
In article <1990Mar19.003132.29661@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>, gec@cscosl.ncsu.edu (Errol Casey) writes: > I am interested in collecting comments on either of these IBM PC > accelerator cards (Sota 286i / 386i). > > Questions: > > (1) Can you add additional memory to the accelerator card? How much. No, not directly on the card. The SOTA Memory/16i card, released in the last 6 months or so, allows you to add up to 4MB (SIMMS), and cables into the accellerator card. There's a 4MB duaghter card (for a total of 8MB) if you want more than 4MB. The 16i memory is considered primary memory since its obviously faster; any existing memory is used to backfill. > (2) Does the 386 use a 386 or 386sx? Does it come with 32bit memory? Dunno. > (3) Any compatiblity problems? None (that I've seen). I have had a 286i card in my AT&T 6300 for a couple of years now. I think my Norton SI rating is up around 17 or so (I also have a V30 instead of my 8086i chip). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark H. Granoff | Software Services/Engineering VAXworks Digital Equipment Corporation | ARPAnet: granoff@vaxwrk.enet.dec.com 129 Parker Street | EASYnet: VAXWRK::GRANOFF PKO2-1/M21 | Usenet : ...!decwrl!vaxwrk.dec.com!granoff Maynard, MA 01754 | AT&T : (508) 493-4512 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: Views expressed herein are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
RFM@psuvm.psu.edu (03/19/90)
SOTA 386si is available for $380 through PC Connection in New Hampshire. This is where I purchased mine.
homerun@portia.Stanford.EDU (Matt Watson) (03/20/90)
Sota had to recall all the memory/16i daughterboards for the 286i/386i because of numerous bugs. This was told to me last week by PC Connection, where I got my 386i board last summer. It uses a 386sx chip, which is how Sota hopes to use the same expansion board for the 286i/386i. I have mine running on an IBM ps/2 mod. 25 and it flies... hope this helps... matt.
baer@uwovax.uwo.ca (03/20/90)
In article <1990Mar19.003132.29661@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>, gec@cscosl.ncsu.edu (Errol Casey) writes: > I am interested in collecting comments on either of these IBM PC > accelerator cards (Sota 286i / 386i). > > Questions: > > (1) Can you add additional memory to the accelerator card? How much. - The accelerator card itself uses the mother board's 8-bit memory I don't know about the 286i, but the 386i uses a 16k cache to speed throughput. The 8-bit memory is a bit of a bottleneck, but the card will speed up many operations. You can buy a 16-bit memory card that attaches to the accelerator card, though. It can be populated with up to 4mB. > (2) Does the 386 use a 386 or 386sx? Does it come with 32bit memory? 386sx. 16-bit memory, of course > (3) Any compatiblity problems? Many machines require special adjustments ("fixes") to the board. For example, the off-the-shelf board and/or the memory card will not work with a Zenith, but with the addition of some soldered wires and the odd capacitor or resistor the card works fine. Phone Sota first and ask if a "fix" is needed for your machine; distributors usually don't know about this. > A few minor glitches. Anyone interested in details, send me an e-mail message (BAER@UWO.ca or BAER@UWOVAX.BITNET) and I'll send along more details of my own experiences (see my previous posting). > --------------------------------------------------------------------- Douglas Baer, Dept. of Sociology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada N6A 5C2 Internet: BAER@UWO.CA Bitnet: BAER@UWOVAX
sigma@pawl.rpi.edu (Kevin J Martin) (03/20/90)
In article <10312@portia.Stanford.EDU> homerun@portia.Stanford.EDU (Matt Watson) writes: >Sota had to recall all the memory/16i daughterboards for the 286i/386i >because of numerous bugs. This was told to me last week by PC Connection, >where I got my 386i board last summer. It uses a 386sx chip, which is how >Sota hopes to use the same expansion board for the 286i/386i. I have mine >running on an IBM ps/2 mod. 25 and it flies... > >hope this helps... > >matt. Well, I've had the Memory/16i daughtercard backordered for nearly eight months now. Does anyone know if it *is* out, ever *was* out, or when it *will* be out? Performance with the cache is usually pretty good (I'm running with no problems on an IBM PC-1), but I'd like some EMS. I've only had two minor technical problems with it, and in both cases, a quick call to SOTA had the problem fixed within twenty minutes. Kevin Martin sigma@pawl.rpi.edu --- not affiliated with SOTA in any way
msschaa@cs.vu.nl (Schaap MS) (03/21/90)
Can the Sota cards be used in a PS/2 model 30 (NOT the 30 286) with 8086? Michael
RFM@psuvm.psu.edu (03/21/90)
Yes. Bob M. - Penn State-Harrisburg