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- From: edwardm@hpcuhe.cup.hp.com (Edward McClanahan)
- Newsgroups: comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32
- Subject: Re: What's your favorite hardware for Windows NT?
- Message-ID: <115320003@hpcuhe.cup.hp.com>
- Date: 13 Nov 92 01:33:13 GMT
- References: <1dooifINNsv1@im4u.cs.utexas.edu>
- Organization: Hewlett Packard, Cupertino
- Lines: 123
-
- Russell Turpin writes:
-
- > I am in the process of selecting a system on which I wish to run
- > Windows NT (and perhaps SVR4 later).
-
- Likewise...
-
- > The three systems on my short list are:
-
- > Zeos 486/33 VESA Local Bus
-
- > The DX2/66 is listed on the October compatibility list,
- > and so I suspect the 33 Mhz version will also work.
- > Their SCSI adaptor is not currently supported, so I
- > would purchase this elsewhere.
-
- I asked ZEOS about their SCSI chip and was told:
-
- 1 - SCSI-1 and SCSI-2
- 2 - They don't know if it is implemented on the VL-Bus
- 3 - Supposedly Adaptec 1542 compatible
-
- Another tidbit (market differentiator) for the ZEOS products
- are the "claimed" support for "P5SX" upgrade when Intel releases
- such a chip. See below for more comments re: this "feature".
-
- > Ariel 486/33 VESA Local Bus
-
- > This is also on the October compatibility list, *but*
- > Ariel standardly packages this with an ATI Ultra Pro
- > card which we know is *not* supported. Their sales rep.
- > is currently looking into alternative video cards.
-
- > Gateway 2000 486/33V
-
- > The 486/33C is listed on the compatibility list and I
- > suspect the local bus version will work if one chooses
- > their usual video card rather than the ATI Ultra Pro.
-
- I assume NT on either the Ariel or Gateway machines is either
- using a different Video Card (in which case Microsoft committed
- a BIG BLUNDER putting non-qualified instances of these two
- machines on the Compatibility List) -OR- they operated the
- ATI cards in VGA-mode (yuck). In any event, I would think you
- could live with VGA until ATI releases their NT drivers (at
- Comdex this month?), but that is your call and I could understand
- any discomfort you may feel in not trusting ATI. They clearly
- have an Image Problem to overcome with a large number of
- informed would-be purchasers.
-
- As to the Gateway product, I have a few of comments:
-
- 1 - The 66V (66MHz DX2) is a MUCH BETTER DEAL - if you can
- spare the extra money. For an additional $600, you get
- a 340MB H.D. (instead of 210MB) and the 15" monitor
- upgrade (which the SalesPerson I spoke with) claimed
- was the much awarded MAG 15H (not to mention the step
- up from the 33MHz DX to 66MHz DX2)
-
- 2 - When challenged on a key difference between the Gateway
- and ZEOS products, that of support for the "P5SX", the
- SalesPerson I spoke with (Monroe) claimed that ZEOS (and
- many other of Gateway's competitors) are wrong about their
- capability of simply upgrading to the "P5SX". Well, I
- admit I accepted this on faith (from Monroe) and had
- resolved to discount this claimed feature of Gateway's
- competitors. Then, I read in PCWeek that AMI and Micronics
- were releasing (at Comdex) new VL-Bus boards (both ISA
- and EISA) which claim to support this "P5SX" chip. Now
- the important fact to understand is that Gateway is
- probably the LARGEST PURCHASER of Micronics motherboards.
- My cut on this is that Monroe (whether intentionally or
- not) was merely being a "salesperson-let-loose" trying
- to discount a clear advantage of a competitor's product.
- I fully expect to see Gateway offer VL-Bus ISA and EISA
- systems based on these new boards from Micronics and they
- will then claim to support "P5SX" upgradeability.
-
- 3 - A friend of mine has the pre-VL-Bus top-of-the-line ISA
- 50MHz DX2 system from Gateway. He ordered the 15" monitor
- upgrade which was claimed to be the MAG-15H. Now I don't
- know how much "value added" Gateway claims to do to this
- monitor - and I've never actually seen face-to-screen an
- actual MAG-15H, but from the pictures I've seen and the
- reviews I've read of the MAG's, I doubt very much that
- my friends monitor is the same MAG-15H. It may be 15".
- It may do Non-Interlaced 1280x1024. But it sure didn't
- impress me in video quality and the front panel controls
- on my friend's monitor were laid out completely differently
- than on the pictured MAGs I have seen. BTW, the ATI (Mach 8)
- video card was driving the "Crystal Scan 15" monitor, but
- he couldn't find a driver to support ATI's "crystal fonts".
- Still, it was not the fonts that were unimpressive, it was
- the variations in distances between scan lines. While the
- center of the screen looked good, the upper and lower few
- inches were very grainy.
-
- Good luck in your search! I guess I've decided to build up my own
- system from the following:
-
- Micronics or AMI EISA VL-Bus MotherBoard
- 486/33 - why spend more if what I really want to do is drop
- in the "P5SX" as soon as it is available
- 256KB Cache (<20nsec)
- 16MB Memory
- ATI Ultra Pro 2MB (hopefully), S3 (C924) or ET-4000/W32 VL-Bus graphics card
- UltraStor 34F VL-Bus SCSI-2 controller
- 200-400MB SCSI (hopefully -2) H.D.
- MAG-15H (if I can find a "real" one and am convinced it is as good
- as the reviewers claim it is) - or some other monitor
- capable of handling >60Hz refresh at 1280x1024 (that the
- ATI Ultra Pro is capable of generating) - note this leaves
- out such wonders as the NEC 3FGx and 4FG...
- Toshiba 3401 CD-Rom (200msec, 330Kbps, SCSI-2)
-
- I believe the above system can be built for <$4000. For any of you "smart
- enough" to want a vendor to do the integration, I'd suggest looking at
- TriStar. They have several systems configures very much as I listed above
- (although they advertise 50MHz and 66MHz DX2 systems with fancy 17" monitors)
- in the $4500 range. I expect several vendors will agressively compete with
- these offerings in the very near future!
-
- Ed "Of course there's always something better around the corner" McClanahan
-