jeff@drexel.UUCP (01/15/88)
Hi, The company I work for has some performance problems with a couple of Tandy 1200's that they want me to try to solve. Both 1200's are similarly equipped: 640k RAM, 10M hard disk, serial/parallel port, and monochrome monitor, and no 8087's. Both run basically either a spreadsheet (Multiplan on 1, Lotus on the other) or a communication package (Procomm), which is connected to a Tandy 3000 (AT clone) running SCO xenix (link at 9600 baud). The users are complaining that the machines are slow when running both types of program, which doesn't surprise me. They would like quicker recalculation time for the spreadsheets and terminal throughput that more resembles a real terminal (throughput looks like about 1/2 as fast as a terminal). There are several upgrade options I've found, and I would opinions on which one(s) seem the best, especially from users who may have already done them. 1. Faster cpu/clock - I have seen kits that range from $70-$100 that provide an NEC V-40 cpu chip an up to an 8 MHz clock frequency, usually adjustable. This should provide a general improvement for all programs, and is probably the only way to improve terminal throughput. It may not be the most effective improvements for spreadsheets. 2. 8087 (5 MHz) - should provide a noticeable increase for the spreadsheets, but probably almost none for the terminal emulator. Price is around $100. 3. 8087 (8 MHz) - same as above, but a faster 8087 would be needed (faster than 5 MHz) is the clock upgrade was performed. Price is about $150. My feeling is to first purchase the clock/cpu upgrade, to see if the system can keep up at the higher speed. I think I remember seeing some of the memory marked at 150ms, and I don't know if it would work properly above 5 MHz). Once I found out what speeds worked, it would tell me what 8087 I need to buy. I wouldn't want to but a 5 MHz one if the cpu was running at 8 MHz, and if the system couldn't run properly at the higher speeds, I wouldn't want to spend the extra money for a faster 8087. (Note - should the 8087 be rated at the same speed (or faster) than the cpu?) I'd appreciate any and all comments, especially from owners of 1200's, since you would be most familiar with my hardware situation.. I usually don't read comp.sys.ibm.pc, so please reply directly to me. Thanks. Jeff White Drexel University - ECE Dept. rutgers!bpa!drexel!jeff