wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales) (01/23/91)
As I mentioned to the net a week or so ago, I'm planning to upgrade my 8-MHz 286 system by getting a 386 motherboard. (Sorry, I already have a firm buyer for the old 286 board; so, please, no offers to buy it.) The board I'm currently leaning toward is a 33-MHz 386 motherboard by a company called "Beaver". As best I can tell, it sounds like a good buy. However, one thing gives me pause: whereas the standard for 386 BIOSes appears to be AMI, this board has an Award BIOS. Now, I know Award is a "big name" in the BIOS world. And my 286 has an Award BIOS and runs just fine. I probably wouldn't even give it a sec- ond thought, except that I also plan to get a Colorado Memory Systems "Jumbo 120" tape backup unit -- and CMS says they've had problems with Award BIOSes. Specifically, their tape backup software checks for Award BIOSes, and sets up to access the tape in "non-concurrent" mode (i.e., tape and disk are not accessed simultaneously) in order to get around various supposed problems with the BIOS. So, my question is, is an Award BIOS in a 386 "bad news"? Should I put my foot down and settle for "nothing less" than an AMI BIOS? Has anyone else had problems with a 386 with an Award BIOS? Or is everything just fine, and am I getting all worked up over nothing? -- Rich Wales <wales@CS.UCLA.EDU> // UCLA Computer Science Department 3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, CA 90024-1596 // +1 (213) 825-5683 "I could be chasing an untamed ornithoid without cause."
rcollins@altos86.Altos.COM (Robert Collins) (01/25/91)
In article <1991Jan23.063229.4654@cs.ucla.edu> wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales) writes: >Now, I know Award is a "big name" in the BIOS world. > Actually, in terms of revenue, they are almost the "smallest." Of the "big-3" BIOS vendors, they are the smallest. >So, my question is, is an Award BIOS in a 386 "bad news"? IMHO, if I had a choice, I wouldn't use any of the big-3 BIOSs at all. It all depends on which chipset is in the '386. If it is a newer chipset, chances are that one of the newer BIOS vedors might have a BIOS for it. Surely, the big-3 use old technology, and the code is not bug-free, but in many cases error-prone. Try MR BIOS or QUADTEL. Both company's have a state-of-the-art BIOS that will out benchmark any of the big-3, has more features, has less bugs, and is therefore more reliable. Both of these two smaller company's are 'more' compatible than any of the big-3. >Should I put >my foot down and settle for "nothing less" than an AMI BIOS? Has anyone If your choices are limited to the big-3, then you are in trouble! MR BIOS (408) 395-4096 QUADTEL (714) ???-???? (ask for information in Costa Mesa, CA) -- "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." Mat. 4:10 Robert Collins UUCP: ...!sun!altos86!rcollins HOME: (408) 225-8002 WORK: (408) 432-6200 x4356