sjo@cci632.UUCP (Steve Owens) (08/14/90)
Let me explain the background to this question before I go farther: First, I'm looking to pick up an inexpensive box for doing relatively simple work around the house: word processing, spread sheet analysis, budgeting, etc. This may or may not eventually grow into doing CAD work and some desk top publishing, but this is not definite. There are two systems in particular that I've found recently that seem to fit the bill: From FastMicro, a 286, 12Mhz box with a 40MB hard disk and 1 Meg of memory( expandable to 5 Meg on the motherboard,) 1:1 interleave Western Digital controller, 6 unused expansion slots, and a Phoenix BIOS. This comes with a monochrome monitor & card, and my choice of 5 1/4" or 3 1/2" high density floppy drives for $999. An Epson Equity 1+ with 10Mhz 8088, 20MB Hard disk and 640K of ram. It comes with the Aidin (sp?) integrated software package, a monochrome card & monitor, and a 360K floppy for $665. Which one is the better choice? The Epson, being a brand name with the software bundled sounds like the best deal, but what about future expandability? Are there any other manufacturers that I should look into? Also, does anyone know about the Aidin package? I've never heard of it personally, but the customer service reps *say* it's a good package. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. SJO