edj@cbnewsj.att.com (edward.jung) (04/05/91)
In article <1991Apr4.163841.4831@watdragon.waterloo.edu> dvadura@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Dennis Vadura) writes: >Computer Sales Professional, >764 Easton Ave., Somerset, NJ 08873 > >Is advertizing in the April Issue of Computer Shopper a 486/25 system with >4M memory, monochrome VGA, 200M 14ms IDE drive, for $2625. The system includes >other goodies as usual (101-key keyboard, 1.2 and 1.44 M floppy, 200W PS, >etc). > >My question is: > >Has anyone dealt with these people? If so, what were your experiences, do >they deliver what they advertize? Their system appears to be the cheapest >I could find in computer shopper. Mind you the 486 board has no external >cache. I saw their ad in BYTE magazine and promptly ordered one. I just received mine on Tuesday (4/2). Config: Base system witn VGA and 80 MB drive ($2509) Upgrade to 120 MB IDE drive ($50) Upgrade to Sony 1304 Monitor ($300) NO DOS/WINDOWS/MOUSE $2859+tax (no shipping charge) I received the system with 3 weeks after placing the order. Pros: Cheap. The price is absolutely amazing. The video is excellent. The card (Trident 8900 w/ 1MB ram) and Sony monitor are great together. (I ran Windows at 1024x768x256 just to test it out, extremely stable, no flicker except when one program drew a red pattern on the screen - that red flickered and nothing else - it was very strange looking...) SIMM memory. The motherboard has two banks of 4 SIMM sockets. One bank comes filled with 1Mbit rams (hence 4 Mbytes) The other bank can be filled with 256K, 1Mbit, or 4Mbit rams, providing an additional 1, 4, or 16 MB of memory, without any add on cards. 45 day moneyback guarantee, no questions asked. Cons: It is NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to reach them by phone. The line(s) are ALWAYS BUSY. A week and a half after I had ordered the system they lowered their prices by several hundred dollars and made DOS/WINDOWS/MOUSE an option instead of a "freebie." I could not get though by phone. I was, however, able to FAX a message requesting a return phone call and received a call back within 30 minutes. The case that I ordered (Baby-AT, the only case that was FCC Class B certified) is cheap. In order to take off the cover 5 screws have to be removed in the back. The power switch is in the back. The keyboard is el-cheapo. Yuck. Not at all close to any of the top clone makers. The bios is by Quadtel (who?) The revision is dated February 1991 (I hope they got the bugs out. I'm running everything under the sun to make sure that the system doesn't crash.) It does have a lot of features, including VGA and BIOS ROM shadowing, password protection, audible keyclicks, and more. The motherboard is a clean looking no name board with the 486 as a daughtercard sitting on top of the 386 socket. Still, not too messy. The Norton SI 4.5 that I ran gave it a 38.8 rating, not the 41.6 that is advertised and slower that my ALR 33/386 at work (40.8) Conclusion: If the BIOS proves crashworthy, then I will keep it. It is a hell of a bargain. I will probably get tired of the keyboard after several months. NOTE: If anyone can recommend test procedures and things to look for (e.g. 486 chip lot no.) etc. I will be grateful. Good Luck (and wish me luck!) Ed Jung mtdcb.att.com!edj