mds@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Michael Siegel) (04/18/88)
Well the time has come...I think I will buy myself a machine. I've talked to a dealer/friend that constructs his own machines. I believe I will go for a 386. Unfortunately, I am very ignorant about what particulars I should look for when considering this machine. I know he uses a Micronics motherboard. Unfortunately, this board has a big ``footprint'' and therefore a big box. But what else should I look for in the construction. Is there a better clone for the price? 386 with 1 floppy (size yet to be determined) 1 Meg memory comes to $2300. Then a seagate 20Mb 65ms hard drive would add 300 though I may want something faster... Well in general is this a goot time to buy this type of machine? I appreciate any help on this one.. ---Michael p.s. last of 4 messages on this topic.
romkey@kaos.UUCP (John Romkey) (04/19/88)
In article <21771@bu-cs.BU.EDU> mds@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Michael Siegel) writes: >386 with > 1 floppy (size yet to be determined) > 1 Meg memory >comes to $2300. You can get an Everex 16MHz 386 with 1MB of RAM, a high density floppy, a power supply, case and 101 key keyboard for around $1800 from most Everex distributors (like SF Micro or Club AT). I'm typing this in on one and it works pretty well. This system has a 64KB 0 wait-state cache and no 32 bit slots. It also only has a socket for a 287, not a 387. It's pretty decently fast, though. It's not the recently announced system; it's basically the same design as the Mylex motherboard. -- - john romkey UUCP: romkey@kaos.uucp ARPA: romkey@xx.lcs.mit.edu ...harvard!spdcc!kaos!romkey Telephone: (617) 776-3121
madd@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Jim Frost) (04/25/88)
In article <21771@bu-cs.BU.EDU> mds@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Michael Siegel) writes: |Well the time has come...I think I will buy myself a machine. |[...] |I believe I will go for a 386. [...] |I know [the machine ] uses a Micronics motherboard. Unfortunately, this board |has a big ``footprint'' and therefore a big box. But what else should |I look for in the construction. [...] Personally I'd take a bigger box over a little -- usually there's more space between the boards, which helps with cooling. This doesn't matter when you only have 2 or 3 boards, but I've dealt with machines where all the slots are filled with large boards, and it makes a difference there. |[...] a seagate 20Mb 65ms hard drive would add 300 though I may |want something faster... If you buy a 386 machine and get a 65ms hard drive, you're crazy. In my experience, the hard drive is often the bottleneck to a PC's user-apparent speed -- with a 386 machine, this would be painfully obvious. Look around more -- you should be able to find larger faster disks for very little more money. My favorite is the Micropolis 72Mb (formatted), which is 27ms and at last check cost about $700. There may be even better deals, though, so keep your eyes open. jim frost madd@bu-it.bu.edu
bkliewer@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (Bradley Dyck Kliewer) (04/25/88)
In article <21986@bu-cs.BU.EDU> madd@bu-it.bu.edu (Jim Frost) writes: >Personally I'd take a bigger box over a little -- usually there's more >space between the boards, which helps with cooling. This doesn't >matter when you only have 2 or 3 boards, but I've dealt with machines >where all the slots are filled with large boards, and it makes a >difference there. You may also want the extra space for another drive (assuming the larger box has space for a second full height drive). I have an AT, and will be adding a second hard disk within the next month -- since there is room for two, I will be adding capacity rather than simply upgrading (I also expect some programs to run faster (especially databases) since the heads won't skip around between overlays and data files). I'm looking at filling the spaces with 1/2 height 1.2M, 1.44M 3.5", 40 Meg and a full height 80M (I already have both floppies and one hard drive). This wouldn't be possible in a smaller chasis without going external. Bradley Dyck Kliewer Hacking... bkliewer@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu It's not just an adventure It's my job!
PJH@mccc.UUCP (P. J. Holsberg) (04/26/88)
In article <21986@bu-cs.BU.EDU> madd@bu-it.bu.edu (Jim Frost) writes:
.... My favorite is the Micropolis 72Mb
...(formatted), which is 27ms and at last check cost about $700. There
What HD controllers do you like with the Micropolis drive?keithe@tekgvs.TEK.COM (Keith Ericson) (05/01/88)
In article <21986@bu-cs.BU.EDU> madd@bu-it.bu.edu (Jim Frost) writes: >In article <21771@bu-cs.BU.EDU> mds@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Michael Siegel) writes: > >If you buy a 386 machine and get a 65ms hard drive, you're crazy. In >my experience, the hard drive is often the bottleneck to a PC's >user-apparent speed -- with a 386 machine, this would be painfully >obvious. For a screaming combination get a CDC Wren III (~150 Mbytes) or a Wren IV (~285 Mbytes) and a Western Digital WD 7000 ASC controller. Core27 reports a transfer rate of 1.049 Mbytes per sec, average seek time less than 24 msec, Track to Track of less than 10 mSec. Who needs a RAM-disk with that kind of speed :-) Now if I could just get a SCSI driver for [Interactive|Microport] UNIX I'd be set... keith
phil@amdcad.AMD.COM (Phil Ngai) (05/02/88)
In article <3399@tekgvs.TEK.COM> keithe@tekgvs.UUCP (Keith Ericson) writes:
.For a screaming combination get a CDC Wren III (~150 Mbytes) or a
.Wren IV (~285 Mbytes) and a Western Digital WD 7000 ASC controller.
.
.Core27 reports a transfer rate of 1.049 Mbytes per sec, average seek
.time less than 24 msec, Track to Track of less than 10 mSec.
I have a Wren IV hooked up to my EasyData AT clone via an NCR SCSI
adaptor and Core reported an average seek time of 13 msec! Obviously
an artifact of having 32 kbytes of buffer in the disk.
I don't get nearly the transfer rate you do. Down around 200 Kbytes/sec.
Are you sure you can connect a Wren IV to the WD 7000? I thought all
Wren IVs were SCSI. Is the WD 7000 SCSI?
--
Make Japan the 51st state!
I speak for myself, not the company.
Phil Ngai, {ucbvax,decwrl,allegra}!amdcad!phil or phil@amd.com