cliburn@sleepy.bmd.trw.com (04/06/91)
I entered the world of personal computing recently with the purchase of a Packard Bell 386DX from a local warehouse department store. (You know, the kind of place where you have to dodge forklifts while looking for breakfast cereal :-) I picked up a 386-25, 125MB HD, 2MB RAM, internal 2400 baud modem, SVGA, etc., etc. for about $2300. This compared pretty well with various mail order houses that I looked at (except for the RAM capacity). Well, I got it home, opened the box, and immediately found an owner's manual for the PB 386-33! Surely this is a mistake, I thought. Maybe they only printed one manual for all 386DX products. Then, like any inquisitive child, after removing in from the box, I removed the cover from the case to gawk at the internals and see what kind of goodies I REALLY bought (Seagate HD, Panasonic FDs, Oak video board, 256K SIMMS). When I looked at the processor chip I saw, much to my astonishment, 80386DX-33 stamped on it!!! I hooked everything up, ran Norton V5.0 SI, and happily watched as the processor sped along at 32.9 Mhz. I GOT A 33 MHZ MACHINE FOR THE PRICE OF A 25!!!!! The front of the system unit cover plainly reads: Packard Bell 386/25, but the rear of the unit, in small print near the serial number, identifies it as a 386/33. Does this happen often? What do you suppose possessed the good folks at Packard Bell to do this? I talked to a guy at the store about it and he chuckled and said, "Yeah, they screwed up and we got lucky." Comments? Jay Cliburn
smithrd@laine (Randy D. Smith) (04/09/91)
In article <1317.27fc88ab@sleepy.bmd.trw.com> cliburn@sleepy.bmd.trw.com writes: >I entered the world of personal computing recently with the purchase of >a Packard Bell 386DX from a local warehouse department store. ... >... I picked up a 386-25, 125MB HD, 2MB RAM, internal >2400 baud modem, SVGA, etc., etc. for about $2300. ... > >Well, I got it home, opened the box, and immediately found an owner's >manual for the PB 386-33! Surely this is a mistake, I thought. ... > >I GOT A 33 MHZ MACHINE FOR THE PRICE OF A 25!!!!! ... > >Does this happen often? What do you suppose possessed the good folks >at Packard Bell to do this? I talked to a guy at the store about it >and he chuckled and said, "Yeah, they screwed up and we got lucky." > >Comments? > >Jay Cliburn Yep, we were fortunate. Your excitement mirrors mine almost exactly. I checked with Packard Bell while asking about a different problem, and found that they had "accidentally shipped a load of Pack-Mate 386-25s with 386-33 motherboards". I was not only surprised that it had a 386-33 motherboard, but a QUALITY 386-33 motherboard! When I was looking at the systems at "the warehouse", I was comparing the 386 system with a 486-25 system next to it. A warehouse worker came along and asked if I had any questions, such as about differences in the two monitors, etc. Curious, I asked what WAS the difference in the two monitors. He said the 486 system came with a .28mm monitor while the 386 came with only a .31mm monitor. I then pointed to the 386 monitor box, boldly labeled .28mm; he was surprised, and said the pallet I was pointing to (and from which I subsequently purchased) was just received. So...you should be thankful not only for the improved speed, but also the improved quality of the monitor. I got the impression that was another of the "mistakes" in that shipment. Where all did these mistakes go? Mine came from Oregon, and I would presume Mr. Cliburn's are from So. Cal.? Look at it this way...instead of being disappointed 3-6 months down the road about what coulda-been, or what we coulda-got--it'll be 6-12 months instead. We've only achieved a brief respite from the ever-decreasing cost and ever-increasing capabilities. (Ever the pessimist! Also, think about the additional cost of a 33Mhz 387 over a 25Mhz 387! :-) ) -- Randy D. Smith