jeff@drexel.UUCP (Jeff White) (08/29/88)
A company I work for is looking to get a cheap 8088 XT clone. While
the machine is only supposed to be used minimally (downloading and printing
out stock orders every day), and thus don't need much (ie. 256k Ram, mono
monitor, 4.77 MHz 8088), they have a lot of Tandy 1200's already equipped
like this that I would like to substitute, using this purchase to get a more
powerful system.
I would like to try to get a system with the following features:
1. 4.77/10 Mhz 8088 cpu (although I7ve seem some that can run at 12 MHz)
2. mono monitor
3. hard disk (at least 10 Mbytes, although 20 Meg seems to be the minimum now)
4. decent keyboard (AT style would be nice)
5. Serviceable - this is important. I do not want to recommend a cheap system
that cannot be repaired by someone/place locally. All of their present
equipment is Tandy, and they are used to just bringing it to a store 3
blocks away to be serviced.
Desireable features:
1. 1.2 Mbyte floppy instead of usual 360k one
2. Motherboard RAM expansion past 640k (as shadown ram for BIOS or EMS memory).
The company agreeed to allocate roughly $1000 to buy the system (which is
why I am leaning towards an 8088 based system), although if I find a really
good deal for say $100-$200, I may be able to convince them to spend the
extra money.
I've picked up a recent copy of the Computer Shopper, and they are literally
hundreds of ads for potential systems. Since I can't expect to ask about
every different system, I have three more general questions for you:
1. Are there any systems meeting my requirements that you would definitely
recommend (ie. I brought Brand X and haven't had any problems with it)?
2. Opposite to #1, are there any systems (or companies) that you wouldn't
recommend buying?
3. Looking through the ads, a lot of the clones tend to look almost identical.
I remember an article I read on 386 systems where it talked about different
motherboard types (manufacturers), such as Myplex, American MegaTrends,
etc.). Assuming most clones are built from a handful of different
motherboards, are there ones that I should try to get (or avoid)? If
computer X is $200 cheaper than computer Y, and the motherboard and all
peripherals are the same, I'd certainly go with computer X.
I'd appreciate any help you could provide.
Jeff White
Drexel University - ECE Dept.
rutgers!bpa!drexel!jeff