Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!walt.cc.utexas.edu!nghiem
From: nghiem@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Alex Nghiem)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: 80386 components/ BIOS summary
Keywords: 80386 Motherboards BIOS Phoenix Award AMI
Message-ID: <15744@ut-emx.UUCP>
Date: 26 Jul 89 04:52:12 GMT
References: <15617@ut-emx.UUCP> <15771@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> <7449@athertn.Atherton.COM>
Sender: news@ut-emx.UUCP
Reply-To: nghiem@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Alex Nghiem)
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
Lines: 51

In article <7449@athertn.Atherton.COM> you write:
1>In article <15771@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> slin@cory.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Steven Philip Lin) writes:
1>
1>>Micronics does not and has never used the AMI bios.  Micronics sells
1>>sells Award version C3.04 and Pheonix Bios Plus 1.10 Revision 10 for their
1>>boards.  Hope this clarification helps.
1>
1>For that matter, does any major brand name board maker use the AMI bios?
1>I don't think you will find it an any major brand name clones that I
1>know of, at least not Compaq or Everex.  Who uses AMI besides the 
                                 ^^^^^^^^
1>inexpensive import clone builders? 

In the August 1989 issue of PC Magazine, there is a review of
80386SX machines. The only 80386SX in this review to get
Editor's Choice was the Everex. The features tabulation states
that the Everex BIOS is derived from the AMI BIOS. Technically,
it is not an AMI BIOS as the BIOS in the Dell systems is not the
same as the generic Phoenix 386 BIOS 1.10 due to propriety extensions
or revisions.

All of the Everex 80386 machines tested in the May 30, 1989 issue of
PC Magazine had the AMI BIOS. (See p. 269) 

It was posted that the Phoenix BIOS had ROM Shadow 
problems: however, apparently this problem does not exist with
the Dell systems. On a Dell system, it was posted that if the 
ROM Shadow is disabled, the 384k is accessable by VDISK. Dell
also uses the Chips and Technologies chip set. Any problems
other boards have with the loss of 384K to VDISK when the
shadow is disabled may be due to the board itself and not the chip set.

For those who reported that the Phoenix 386 BIOS had netware problems:
The current version is advertised to be NOVELL and NETWARE compatible
by Wholesale Direct. See p. 421, August '89 Computer Shopper.

It should be noted that the goal of PC Magazine Editor's Choice and
the Computer Shopper's Best Buy Awards is to report
the best values for your money. Since AMI BIOS systems are generally
cheaper that their Award or Phoenix counterparts, it should not be
surprising that if the machine does what it is supposed to do it will
end up with an Editor's Choice or Best Buy Award. 

In the PC Magazine May 30, 1989 Review of 80386 machines, the
only three systems that got Editors Choice that did not have
an AMI bios were Dell(customized Phoenix), Tandy(customized Phoenix), and
IBM (IBM BIOS, of course!) See the features tabulation on p.272. No Editor's
choice machine had the Award BIOS.

nghiem@walt.cc.utexas.edu
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