lasky@iris.ucdavis.EDU (Ty Lasky) (10/12/90)
I just wanted to let the group know about what I feel is a very good
mail order company.
I just bought a 386/33 MHz machine from a company called EPS.
They advertise in PC magazine sometimes. The total cost of the system
was $4000. The thing that attracted me to EPS was that they tell you
exactly what components you will be getting in your system, unlike
other mail order companies who say, for example, that you will get a
14 inch VGA monitor, and you don't know who makes it, what the
dot-pitch is, whether it is interlaced, etc..
There is a good reason that EPS is willing to tell you what will be in
your system: they use some of the best components available
throughout the entire system.
386/33MHz Motherboard, AMI BIOS.
4 MHz RAM (0 Wait State)
64K (25 ns) Static RAM Cache
200 Watt power supply
2 serial/ 1 parallel /1 Game port
1 32 bit slot / 5 16 bit slots / 2 8 bit slots
Teac 1.2 and 1.44 MB Floppy Drives
Micropolis 1654-7 160 Meg HD (16 ms access time)
Adaptec 64k Cache Controller
Sony CPD 1304 Color VGA (0.25 dot pitch, 1024x768 non-interlaced)
Orchid Pro-designer II with 1 MB video RAM
101 Keyboard
DOS 3.3 or 4.01
QEMM 386
1 Year Warranty / On Site Service (TRW)
60 Day Money Back Guarantee (First 30 days no restock fee)
As you can see, this baby is loaded. You can get a 386/33 machine for
cheaper, but not with a comparable configuration.
EPS also has really good service. The salesman that I talked with,
Todd Booge, was very helpful and willing to deal a little bit with any
customizations that I wanted for the system.
The only thing that is lacking on this system is good documentation.
You just get a bunch of manuals from the various manufacturers, but no
manual for the overall computer system. So, if you really need good
documentation, you may want to consider this. However, EPS does have
really good tech support too.
Disclaimer:
I have no affiliation with EPS other than as a satisfied
customer. I just wanted to pass this information on to the network.
Do with it what you will. If you ARE in the market for a new
computer, then I think this company is at least worth checking out.
As usual, your mileage may vary.
Ty A. Lasky
University of California, Davis
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Robotics Research Laboratory
Internet TALASKY@ucdavis.edu or lasky@iris.ucdavis.edu
BITNET TALASKY@ucdavis
UUCP {ucbvax, lll-crg, sdcsvax}!ucdavis!TALASKY or
{ucbvax, lll-crg, sdcsvax}!ucdavis!iris!laskysmsmith@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Stephen M. Smith) (10/12/90)
In article <7813@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> lasky@iris.ucdavis.EDU (Ty Lasky) writes: >I just wanted to let the group know about what I feel is a very good >mail order company. > >I just bought a 386/33 MHz machine from a company called EPS. >They advertise in PC magazine sometimes. The total cost of the system >was $4000. The thing that attracted me to EPS was that they tell you >exactly what components you will be getting in your system, unlike >other mail order companies...[edited] > >There is a good reason that EPS is willing to tell you what will be in >your system: they use some of the best components available >throughout the entire system. > > [specifics on system edited] > >Ty A. Lasky >University of California, Davis The above posting is very timely. I have spent about 4 months intensively looking at various mail order companies--comparing them, writing out their specs and calling them with questions, asking for them to send me more material, reading numerous reviews on various hardware components and looking for those mail order companies that included them in their packages, reading old issues of PC Magazine, Computer Shopper, Byte, etc. to get a feel for the track record of different companies, etc., etc... I have learned a great deal not only about the companies but about good PC packages/systems as a whole. The reason I am posting this is that I too have narrowed my choice to EPS Technologies. They seem to be the only mail order company which WANTS to be upfront about EVERYTHING that goes into their systems. And, they are the only company which sent me material of any depth about their components. I talked with Bob Goin, a rep for the company (via their 1-800 number) and he sent me about 20 pages worth of materials--not a simple general packet of info with nice pictures showing how nice their building looks like you get from some of the other companies-- but a detailed packet of reviews and specs for each piece of hardware. My interest has been mainly in the 386-33, so I have to admit that I am very narrowly focused as far as comparisons go. But it is GREAT to see someone volunteer a good review of EPS. I was just going to post a note asking Netlanders if they had had any experience with EPS before I put down $4000 toward a system, too. I do not represent anybody but myself (my own disclaimer). And I do not want to clutter the group news with a debate on which is the best company. If, however, you have had personal experience with EPS (good or bad) please Email me and if there are enough responses I will post a summary. (Also, Ultra-Comp has impressed me, so I would appreciate any advice about them.) Thanks a bunch, S. Smith <smsmith@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu>
ntj@cbnewsk.att.com (najmi.jarwala) (10/14/90)
In article <5587@nisca.ircc.ohio-state.edu>, smsmith@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Stephen M. Smith) writes: > In article <7813@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> lasky@iris.ucdavis.EDU (Ty Lasky) writes: > >I just wanted to let the group know about what I feel is a very good > >mail order company. > > > >I just bought a 386/33 MHz machine from a company called EPS. > > [material deleted...] > >Ty A. Lasky > >University of California, Davis > > The above posting is very timely. I have spent about 4 months > intensively looking at various mail order companies--comparing > [material deleted...] > S. Smith <smsmith@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu> What do you think about Northgate, Dell, Zeos, and Gateway? They appear to have a decent reputation. Northgate and Dell were highly rated in a recent (September?) issue of PC magazine and in that same issue Zeos had a large ad supplement describing the components of their system. I've been looking at these systems also and curiously had not come across EPS. Is it a relatively new company? I had narrowed it down to Dell or Northgate! Najmi Jarwala jarwala@ohm.att.com
jstone@world.std.com (Jeffrey R Stone) (10/14/90)
Just to put in my own $0.02 -- I've just bought a '386/33 from ACMA in Fremont, CA. I noticed them 'cause their prices were lower than the others (the first _complete_ 33 MHz machine I've seen for under $3000. I'd seen their ads in PCMag for 1-2 years, so I called for a quote. They seemed knowledgeable and were up front about their system when I called for a quote, ie., they were willing to tell me who made which component, the spec's, etc. The also offered a generous trial period (45 days). I ordered a system from them, which they said they'd ship in three working days, after burning it in for that period. They shipped it when they said they would, and posted the charge on that date. The machine arrived two days later, and ran straight out of the box. It's still running. I had occasion to call on their tech support folks, to help find a video blanking problem (which seems now to be a vidio card which is marginal at this bus speed (a little fast, at 8.33 MHz)). They were very helpful, even sending me a new motherboard to try, in case that were the problem (it wasn't). The machine appears well made, the motherboard (which I've had occasion to examine in some detail :-) looks to be of high quality, no wire patches, etc. Hope someone will find this infor useful. Usual disclaimer: No connection with the company, very satisfied customer, etc... -jeff-
Rick.Holzer@FtCollins.NCR.com (Rick.Holzer) (10/15/90)
>>>>> On 11 Oct 90 20:11:04 GMT, smsmith@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Stephen M. Smith) said: Stephen> In article <7813@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> lasky@iris.ucdavis.EDU (Ty Lasky) writes: >I just wanted to let the group know about what I feel is a very good >mail order company. > >I just bought a 386/33 MHz machine from a company called EPS. >They advertise in PC magazine sometimes. The total cost of the system >was $4000. The thing that attracted me to EPS was that they tell you >exactly what components you will be getting in your system, unlike >other mail order companies...[edited] > >There is a good reason that EPS is willing to tell you what will be in >your system: they use some of the best components available >throughout the entire system. > > [specifics on system edited] > >Ty A. Lasky >University of California, Davis Stephen> The above posting is very timely. I have spent about 4 months Stephen> intensively looking at various mail order companies--comparing Stephen> them, writing out their specs and calling them with questions, Stephen> asking for them to send me more material, reading numerous reviews Stephen> on various hardware components and looking for those mail order Stephen> companies that included them in their packages, reading old Stephen> issues of PC Magazine, Computer Shopper, Byte, etc. to get a Stephen> feel for the track record of different companies, etc., etc... Stephen> I have learned a great deal not only about the companies but Stephen> about good PC packages/systems as a whole. The reason I am Stephen> posting this is that I too have narrowed my choice to EPS Stephen> Technologies. They seem to be the only mail order company Stephen> which WANTS to be upfront about EVERYTHING that goes into their Stephen> systems. And, they are the only company which sent me material Stephen> of any depth about their components. I talked with Bob Goin, Stephen> a rep for the company (via their 1-800 number) and he sent me Stephen> about 20 pages worth of materials--not a simple general Stephen> packet of info with nice pictures showing how nice their Stephen> building looks like you get from some of the other companies-- Stephen> but a detailed packet of reviews and specs for each piece of Stephen> hardware. A colleague and I have just purchased identical systems from EPS. Our systems are the same as Ty Lasky's (see original posting) except that we bought 386/25 MHz systems without cache, and a 118Meg hard drive. System Price = $3140.00. So far, I am very pleased. The system is very fast, and the Adeptec controller with 64K disk caching is very nice. My only concern has been the lack of reputation with the company. The sales representative, Todd Booge, said the the company had been in business for two years. Not long enough to feel real safe, but it all seemed very stable: excellent components, excellent service (so far), great performance. The reason I am posting this is that I had seen several requests for info about EPS here on the net, but I had seen no responses. I e-mailed off requests for any info the posters may get, but I didn't get anything back. So...I hope to give others some good feedback. (After all, the more people with good feelings about EPS, the safer my system is! :-) Feel free to request any specifics by e-mailing to me. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rick Holzer "NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!!!!!" NCR Microelectronics Products Division Rick.Holzer@FtCollins.NCR.COM 2001 Danfield Ct. uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-mpd!bach!rickh Fort Collins, CO 80525 (303) 226-9600 X341 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------