nadkarni@erlang.dec.com.UUCP (11/18/87)
Warning : looooonnnnng posting >I'm looking for information on two cheap clones which on the surface >look pretty good: > Everex > PC Prime >I would appreciate hearing about experiences with either. -- > Mark Harris mail:harris@ecsvax(UUCP/BITNET) I bought a XT Turbo from a company called PC Pro last June. A few weeks later the company changed its name to PC Prime (but same address, telephone number etc.). Now comes the confusing part - there is another company (not related) called PCPro (maybe that's why they changed their name) AND I've also seen a third company called PC Prime. So just to make clear which comppany I'm talking about, it is located at (this is from memory) 26th St, 8th floor in New York City although they seem to have offices/agents in CA as well. The last 4 digits of their 800 number were 1751 (again from memory, and I don't remember the middle digits). Anyway, onto my story - I bought a XT turbo (4.77,8) with 640K, a 20Mbyte ST-225, one floppy, multi I-O, EGA card (TAtung/ ATI EGA Wonder) and NEC Multisync monitor. I have been continually having two problems. One, the ST-225 HD has thermal problems until it warms up. So I've started booting from a floppy and then rebooting from the HD after the system had been on for 15-20 minutes. Secondly, the system regularly hangs at 8Mhz no matter what s/w I'm running. This does not happen at the lower clock rate. Overall, dealing with them, on the phone has left a bad taste in my mouth. Dealing with them in person was even more aggravating, the guys there were extremely rude (not just to me, but to other folks there as well.) When I took the system to them on a visit to NY (I live in MA) they simply did a low-level format on the HD. It tested out fine at the time since it had been running a while but the problem with a bootng a cold system still persists. Sending it to them by UPS means I have to pay shipping charges both ways so I've been avoiding doing it. When I called about the problem at higher clock rates, they said others had also told them about it but they did not offer a solution other than "bring it in and we'll take a look at it". I would have thought if they had seen the problem before they should have a fix for it. Anyway, I'm going to try again next time I'm in NY. Other flames are minor (document does not match motherboard etc.). Be aware that DOS is not included with the system. On the good side, at 4.77Mhz, the system has proved compatible with every piece of s/w that I've tried. It also was compatible with a EVEREX EMS card I bought. The price was the best I could find at the time (you get what you pay for, I guess) Now onto EVEREX - The only experience I've had is with them is the EMS card. I had some problems with it initially. The fault turned out to be the dealer's and not theirs. The dealer had not installed the RAM chips correctly. There was also a minor problem with the installation doc for the EMS driver. But their tech support was great, they knew what they were talking about. From what I've read, EVEREX is a very fast growing company with a solid reputation. Of course, I have no connection with them other than being a customer. In conclusion, if you have a choice, I would strongly suggest you go with EVEREX rather than PCPrime. You can tell how strongly I feel about PCPrime from the length of this message ! Again, remember there are two different companies by that name. I wouldn't want to flame the wrong one ! /Ashok Nadkarni Digital Equipment Corp. PS Anyone out there know why an XT Turbo system might keep hangin at 8Mhz ? Could it be a BIOS problem ?