mark@sickkids.UUCP (Mark Bartelt) (01/12/89)
A few questions, now that the Big Announcement has happened ...
DEC's re-entry into the PC game comes just as I'm about to buy some sort
of 286 (or maybe 386) machine. [ No, not because I *want* to. I confess
to being one of those curmudgeons who considers the whole family of Intel
processors to be an abomination. Unfortunately, we have some 8088-based
laboratory instruments that we need to develop software for. Sigh. ]
Have any of you folks out there been field test sites for the DECstation
210, 316, or 320? If so, what are your opinions?
Also, one question raised by DEC's glossy brochure: The main difference
between the 316 and 320 seems to be the clock speed (16 MHz vs 20 MHz).
Yet the brochure claims that ...
The DECstation 320 offers all the features of the DECstation 316 --
and 35 percent more computing power.
Can someone explain how/why Digital feels that by cranking up the clock
by 25%, they can give you 35% more computing power?
Finally, what about add-ons? The fact that the 210 comes with several
AT/XT-compatible expansion slots, and a VGA-compatible graphics card,
implies that (at least at some level) they're providing compatibility
with real ATs and the popular clones. But what about things like disk
drives and other things? (Yes, a Brand X disk drive would ruin all the
aesthetic uniformity of the box that DEC's marketeers seem to feel is
so terribly important, but many of us consider minimizing cost to be a
much higher priority.) Are there any features of these machines that
would preclude (or, at least, make difficult) adding some third-party
equipment?
Mark Bartelt UUCP: {utzoo,decvax}!sickkids!mark
Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto BITNET: mark@sickkids.utoronto
416/598-6442 INTERNET: mark@sickkids.toronto.edu