jdb@reef.cis.ufl.edu (Brian K. W. Hook) (01/18/91)
In article <1991Jan17.081458.3191@cs.ucla.edu> wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales) writes: >I'm seriously considering buying a 386 motherboard in order to upgrade >my 8-MHz 286 system at home. > >One dealer gave me the following recommendations, which I'd appreciate >any feedback on: > >(1) He advised me not to get a 33-MHz 386, but to get a 25-MHz instead. > He claims there are engineering problems with motherboards running > at such a high clock speed as 33 MHz. That's funny. I haven't a single problem. Maybe those problems explain why 33mhz machines are considered the ultimate in price and performance! I really doubt that "engineering" problems play a big factor in 386 design at high speeds. Now I do know that 286s at high speed will be real flaky. > >(2) He advised me to avoid motherboards using the Chips & Technologies > chip set, as these supposedly have problems at high speeds (even > 25 MHz). He claims he's had personal experience with flaky 386'es > with C&T chips. I find that HIGHLY difficult to believe since the C&T is the industry standard chipset for AT compatibles. I mean, it's only competition is VLSI or INTEL or OPTI, neither of which are really posing a big problem. Calling the C&T chipset flaky is akin to calling the Western Digital ST506 a flaky interface or Intel 80386 a flaky chip. Their industry standard for a reason, folks. >(3) He recommended that I should look for a 386 motherboard with support > for a 287 (that's right, 287) coprocessor -- since 287's are =much= > cheaper than 387's and can still give an acceptable increase in math > speeds for all but the heaviest number-crunching applications. True, a 386 witha 287 will be faster than one without a 287, but that is kind of useless, don't you think? You pay for speed, and then you cripple yourself with a slow coprocessor? I don't know, kinda like buying a Ferrari and putting on a gas cut off valve at 55MPH. > >Again, I am not making these claims myself; I am passing them on from a >dealer -- albeit one who runs his own company (i.e., not a salesdroid), >seems to know what he's doing, and with whom I've done business before >(I bought a RAM card from him for my laser printer last year). > >I'd welcome any comments. > I'd like to hazard a guess that this guy you have been talking to has for sale: A 386 motherboard that has a slot for an 80287 and that it does not use a C&T chipset. Oh, I bet it isn't a 33mhz, is it? :) Brian
jching@watnow.waterloo.edu (John Y. Ching) (01/19/91)
In article <26368@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> jdb@reef.cis.ufl.edu (Brian K. W. Hook) writes: >In article <1991Jan17.081458.3191@cs.ucla.edu> wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales) writes: >>I'm seriously considering buying a 386 motherboard in order to upgrade >>my 8-MHz 286 system at home. >> > >I'd like to hazard a guess that this guy you have been talking to has >for sale: > > A 386 motherboard that has a slot for an 80287 and that it does > not use a C&T chipset. Oh, I bet it isn't a 33mhz, is it? By the way, your dealer's name does not happen to be Gordon Lupien of WPI, does it? See article #4472. :-) -- ________________________________________________________________________________ John Y. Ching (jching@watnow.waterloo.edu) | "Thought without Learning is Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence Group | Useless; Learning without Department of Systems Design Engineering | Thought is Dangerous."
wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales) (01/22/91)
In article <1991Jan17.081458.3191@cs.ucla.edu> I asked for comments on
the recommendation of a dealer that I should:
(1) avoid 33-MHz 386's in general, because of engineering problems;
(2) avoid the Chips & Technologies (C&T) chip set, because of flakiness
at high speeds; and
(3) get a 386 motherboard with support for a 287 coprocessor, because
287's are much less expensive than 387's.
Virtually everyone who replied to me agreed that the dealer in question
was "dead wrong" on all the above points, and that I should disregard
his advice across the board.
Thanks to all who commented, either via e-mail or in this newsgroup.
--
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."