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From: apollo@bucsb.UUCP (Doug Chan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: 386 upgrade for old AT?
Message-ID: <90@bucsb.UUCP>
Date: 19 Nov 89 08:55:55 GMT
References: <19500043@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu>
Reply-To: apollo@bucsb.bu.edu (Douglas Chan)
Followup-To: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Organization: Boston Univ Comp. Sci.
Lines: 40

In article <19500043@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu> beaucham@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu writes:
>
>I am interested in upgrading my old 6 MHz genuine PC AT to a 386 (SX?) 16 MHz 
>or up.  I would appreciate product recommendations.
>
>Is a new motherboard the best way to go?
	I believe getting a new motherboard is the way to do.  The prices
have come down to the point where a low cost 386 motherboard (re:made in
Taiwan, no caching) can cost less than an Intel Inboard.  I just came 
back from computer show and bought a baby AT 386-25Mhz motherboard w/ an
AMI BIOS $665! (and even a real 25mhz chip, not a push 20mhz.)  I saw
20mhz full size AT mbs going for around $590.  As for 16mhz units, I
remember seeing any being sold although I believe 16mhz SX's were going
for around $350-$400.
	The only other thing I had to buy were 80ns SIP RAMs through
some mail-order place.  I ordered 4Megs for a total of about $430.
As an aside, the motherboard can handle up to 8Megs of SIPs plus another
8Megs of DIP RAMs on a separate 32 bit card.
(BTW, does anyone want to buy a slightly used 4.77mhz XT motherboard????)

>What about the Intel Inboard AT?  They were selling for a hefty price but
>I heard that they are no longer available, although the one for the PC still
>is.  This or a similar product would be much easier to install, I suppose.
	I suppose they'd be a good buy if you can find them really dirt 
cheap otherwise I'd stick with a replacement motherboard.  True, sticking
in a card is easier than replacing the motherboard but it shouldn't be
all that much of a problem... all you have to have is some spare time, and
a screw driver plus yanking a few cables and setting some jumpers.  A friend
managed to replace the motherboard in his AT in about 2 hours, unfortunately
I took a bit longer because I was trying to fit this board into an IBM XT
type chassis and found it didn't fit quite right. :-{
Since you have an AT, you shouldn't run into any problems.

>Or is it really not worth it to upgrade? but rather one should invest in a
>new machine?
	Well, if you have some extra time and want to save some money and
fairly satisfied with the rest of the components in the system then upgrade...
I managed to keep all the old plug-in cards and even run them
at a 12.5mhz bus speed! (the bus speed can be changed in the CMOS settings
to 8/8.33/12.5mhz.)