asd_mar@eagle.wesleyan.edu (12/11/90)
Just an FYI: I recently (3 months ago) purchased a 20 Mhz, 386 clone from a company advertising in Computer Shopper for just under $2700. It came with a 40 Mb Conner IDE drive, VGA 640x400 LED (beautiful screen!), and a half-size expansion slot built in. Expandable to 16 MB RAM, came with 2. Internal 3 1/2" disk drive (of course). Imperial is the California Company that sells the Taiwainese computer (Nan Tan Computer Corporation), and I've actually seen a couple other vendors that charge quite a bit more for the exact same machine. Options: 100 or 200 MB Conner Drive external 5 1/4" drive expansion chassis w/five 16-bit slots (I think) I've had no problems with it up until now -- the internal floppy drive has pooped out on me, and although it's on warranty, Imperial doesn't have what you'd call a comprehensive customer service division. The woman I talked with didn't speak english very well, and I ended the conversation no wiser about what to except that I knew that I'd better call them back. The guy I talked to originally was easier to communicate with, but of their staff he might be unique. So I'll call back and keep y'all posted. Look -- no flames, please. I'm just telling it as I see it. Hear it. Basically, I think I got a good deal, this computer's a poor student's dream (I upgraded from a 12Mhz 286 for only $1100 extra capital), and I thought I'd share it with y'all.