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RBBS in a Box Volume 1 #2
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hotpcjr.txt
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1986-03-17
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Got a PCjr? The following will detail some up-grades you can use to
increase the speed and versatility of your PCjr.
NEC V/20: This is a direct replacement for the 8088 CPU in your Jr.
It is usually available for less than $20 through the mail, and in
major metro areas can generally be found at larger electronics parts
houses. According to tests by PC magazine, you can expect a 10%
increase in overall speed and a 25% increase in computational speed.
In the PCjr, however, you will notice a couple of additional
benefits. First, you will eliminate the dreaded keyboard beep.
That's right, you can hold down that keyboard key without being
annoyed by those stupid beeps, and the cursor won't overshoot the
desired position while the machine runs stored keyboard impulses.
Next, if you've had a tendency to fall asleep while running Flight
Simulator, you're in for a pleasant surprise. Screens will come up
nearly twice as fast as before, and other games will run somewhat
faster also. The more dependent the program is on calculations to
generate screens, the better the improvement will be. INSTALLATION:
On the PCjr, the 8088 is located under the disk drive. Your Guide to
Operations shows how to install the drive, and will answer most
questions about how to remove it. The only thing I would add is that
the plastic drive carrier snaps into the motherboard quite firmly,
and requires quite a bit of force to unseat it, so be careful here.
Make sure you locate the notch on the end of the chip on the same end
as that on the 8088.
MEMORY: More memory will allow you to run a wider variety of programs
and much more will allow you to use ramdisks, which can emulate one
or more additional disk drives. POWER: You don't always need to add
an additional power supply to add a memory sidecar. I use a Quadram
Quadmem jr, configured to a system total of 640K, and the IBM
Parallel Printer Attachment in addition to the internal modem with no
additional power.
KEYBOARD: If, like me, you've needed to increase your usage of your
jr because of business or other needs, you've probably come to
dislike the keyboard after typing lengthy reports or run a long
session on Lotus. Don't bother with the KB5149 numerical keypad, you
still have to buy IBM's keyboard cable to use it. Look at the
KB5150jr or KB5151jr. They're more money, but the KB5151jr makes
using Lotus much easier and faster, and they include the cable.
WHY BOTHER? While jrs are being heavily discounted, buying anything
else with the same kind of options (color graphics, game ports, 13"
RGB moniter, etc.) will generally cost much more. If you sell it
you'll probably lose some more. It's up to you, but if you're
wondering if the PCjr is capable of expanding into a business role,
the answer is yes. If you use the cartridge version of Lotus 1A, you
already run 10% faster than the PC. Just add a V/20 and you'll wait
even less. If you add memory and use larger resident programs, the
lack of a second drive will be almost unnoticable.
Hope this is useful. I'd appreciate knowing any other tricks or
ideas out there. The V/20 is the best thing going at less than $20,
and I'd recommend it to anyone. Messages can be left for Roger Nye.