jkennedy@umn-cs.CS.UMN.EDU (Joel Kennedy) (02/02/89)
Greetings. I am an XT clone owner looking to upgrade to a 386 in some way. The Inboard/pc looks to be the most economical way. My applications are such that slow video access doesn't bother me, but I'm worried about the disk access. I currently have an ST-238 and find that quite fine, for now. Someday, I expect to want to move on to something larger and faster. Will that be possible without bagging the inboard and getting a real 386 system? What other drawbacks are there to this approach that will be un-overcomeable? Advice in general? Another appealing, although much more expensive approach is the Hauppauge board. Is it worth it? Will it do everything I've ever wanted, at least those relating to computers? Can I use my ST-238 in that? Where is it available and for how much? Other suggestions in general? Very much thanks in advance. Joel K.
mvolo@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Michael R. Volow) (02/03/89)
For owners of 5-slot or 8-slot 8088 machines, there have been numerous postings about upgrade paths, usually 286 or 386 accelerator boards vs replacement 286 or 386 motherboards. The former route leaves you with your 8-bit bus and compatibility with 8-bit cards. The latter is a truer upgrade, but requires you to spend money on new controllers etc. The question is, what 286 upgrade boards include video, memory (EMS),and HDC and FDC already on the board. I know the Western Digital board does, although it has EGA video. Are their other with VGA video? M Volow, VA Medical Center, Durham, NC 27712 mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP
phil@diablo.amd.com (Phil Ngai) (02/03/89)
In article <6324@ecsvax.uncecs.edu> mvolo@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Michael R. Volow) writes: |The question is, what 286 upgrade boards include video, memory (EMS),and |HDC and FDC already on the board. I know the Western Digital board |does, although it has EGA video. Are their other with VGA video? Are you aware the WD has an enhanced EGA, offering 640x480? And it's only $550, quantity one, with no memory (but prices have been coming down lately). I've been testing a WD286 lately and was planning on posting my findings. Just yesterday I did some disk transfer speed measurements with spinrite. 520 Kbytes/sec with an ST-506 drive! That's got to be close to the limit. -- Phil Ngai, phil@diablo.amd.com {uunet,decwrl,ucbvax}!amdcad!phil "In Texas, they run the red light after it turns red." "In Taiwan, they run the red light before it turns green."
ewa@ketu.sun.com (Ernest Adams) (02/04/89)
Joel Kennedy wrote: > Greetings. I am an XT clone owner looking to upgrade to > a 386 in some way. The Inboard/pc looks to be the most > economical way. My applications are such that slow > video access doesn't bother me, but I'm worried about > the disk access. I currently have an ST-238 and find > that quite fine, for now. Someday, I expect to want > to move on to something larger and faster. Will that be > possible without bagging the inboard and getting a real > 386 system? What other drawbacks are there to this > approach that will be un-overcomeable? Advice in general? I'm in the same position exactly: XT clone, a certain investment in hardware which I want to keep, etc. In addition, I'd like to know: Do I have to buy a new OS? I have DOS 3.1. What tends to happen to timing-critical software like games when you do this? Can I still use my 360K floppy drives? ... and so on. Please CC me on any answers you have for Joel. By the way, thanks to all the people who helped me on the joystick question. I think I've got it down now. Ernest W. Adams silvlis!ewa I don't speak for Silvar-Lisco, and they don't speak for me. We're even. -- Ernest W. Adams silvlis!ewa I don't speak for Silvar-Lisco, and they don't speak for me. We're even.
ewa@ketu.sun.com (Ernest Adams) (02/04/89)
Joel Kennedy wrote: > Greetings. I am an XT clone owner looking to upgrade to > a 386 in some way. The Inboard/pc looks to be the most > economical way. My applications are such that slow > video access doesn't bother me, but I'm worried about > the disk access. I currently have an ST-238 and find > that quite fine, for now. Someday, I expect to want > to move on to something larger and faster. Will that be > possible without bagging the inboard and getting a real > 386 system? What other drawbacks are there to this > approach that will be un-overcomeable? Advice in general? I'm in the same position exactly: XT clone, a certain investment in hardware which I want to keep, etc. In addition, I'd like to know: Do I have to buy a new OS? I have DOS 3.1. What tends to happen to timing-critical software like games when you do this? Can I still use my 360K floppy drives? ... and so on. Please CC me on any answers you have for Joel. By the way, thanks to all the people who helped me on the joystick question. I think I've got it down now. Ernest W. Adams silvlis!ewa I don't speak for Silvar-Lisco, and they don't speak for me. We're even. -- -- Ernest W. Adams silvlis!ewa I don't speak for Silvar-Lisco, and they don't speak for me. We're even.