Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!husc6!psuvax1!psuvm!cunyvm!nyser!njin!limonce From: limonce@pilot.njin.net (Tom Limoncelli) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech Subject: Re: Expansion boxes vs 2000 slots Message-ID: Date: 2 Aug 89 03:13:02 GMT References: Organization: Drew University/NJIN Lines: 45 In article rg20+@andrew.cmu.edu (Rick Francis Golembiewski) writes: > How different > is the 2000 expansion slots compared to an expansion box (such as the > tool box)? Speed is the same, and you'll find that most of the boards you try will work (depending on which vender you buy). Noise is a big problem which mades some boards not work, and causes other problems too. Reliability? Well, it all depends on who built it. Also, consider that to make a box inexpensive enough that customers will want to buy it (instead of an Amiga 2000) the design has to be "cost-driven". This (in my book) is a polite way of saying "cheap". This is further justified by the fact that high-end customers can afford a new machine while everyone else isn't looking for anything but a bargain. One thing that I've noticed is that there are no published specs for a proper way to design a card-cage like that for the Amiga. You can read the B2000 specs but it's not the same. There are just so many things that you could leave out. I know there are a number of designs out there, but for each of them I've heard someone say, "yeah they did it well, but they didn't do it RIGHT." C-A never published all the things that should go into a box like that because (we can guess) they're trying to sell new machines, not upgrades and also because it doesn't look good for the Amiga when you see a machine with a zillion little boxes attached to it. In my book, it comes down to this: You get what you pay for. If you are willing to live with certain difficulties (not knowing if that last guru was bad software or just plainly some flakey hardware you have) then go for it. Otherwise, if you prefer the safe method, go for a real upgrade to a 2000. Since it's a personal, "what's best for me" decision, I won't say what's better (but I will mention that I thought about it and ended up buying a 2000). ;-) > // Rick Golembiewski rg20+@andrew.cmu.edu \\ -- Tom Limoncelli -- tlimonce@drunivac.Bitnet -- limonce@pilot.njin.net Drew University -- Box 1060, Madison, NJ -- 201-408-5389 Standard Disclaimer: I am not the mouth-piece of Drew University :) Is it my imagination or are a lot of people posting everything twice? (: ...or is this some new rule that I don't know about?