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Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!nghiem
From: nghiem@ut-emx.UUCP (Alex Nghiem)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.intel
Subject: Re: Intel 386/PC Board
Keywords: Intel 386/PC, Intel, IBMPC
Message-ID: <26370@ut-emx.UUCP>
Date: 19 Mar 90 01:35:02 GMT
References: <1990Mar18.085014.18588@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>
Reply-To: nghiem@emx.UUCP (Alex Nghiem)
Organization: UTexas Computation Center, Austin, Texas
Lines: 92

In article <1990Mar18.085014.18588@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> gec@cscosl.ncsu.edu (Errol Casey) writes:

I have an Intel 386/PC and am pleased with it.

>Preliminary Questions:
>
>(1)  Can I use my existing 640K of memory, along with the memory that
>comes on the Intel 386/PC board.

Yes and No. You need the PC's main memory for intial dos boot only. After the
initial boot, a device driver is loaded and all of the PC's conventional
memory is bypassed. The amount of memory for the intial memory needed
for boot varies from motherboard to motherboard. My clone with Phoenix
BIOS only needs 16k to boot dos. I put all of my extra memory on an
additional expanded memory board.

>(2)  How much memory can the Intel 386/PC board have installed on it? I
>have heard that their are daughter boards that will allow up to 4
>megabytes to be installed on the board.  Any users have this
>configuratioN?

Intel 386/PC comes standard with one meg of memory: 640 is used for
main memory, 128K is used for bios shadowing, and the remaining 256k
is available as extended memory. You can add three more megs of memory
on a daughter board, however, very few places sell the daughter card.
I believe it is cheaper to add expanded memory than buy the 
Intel daughter card.

>(3)  Is the board compatible with such 386 programs as Microsoft
>Windows/386 and Desqview with the QEMM/386 memory manager program?

Microsoft Windows/386 has drivers for the Intel 386/PC. UltraScript
PC also has drivers for the 386/PC. I can't say for the QEMM program.
I don't have access to it.

>(4)  I have been told that some software is not compatible with this
>board.  Does anybody have any know software that is NOT compatible with
>it?

Software that conforms to Lotus Intel Microsoft 4.0 extended/expanded
memory specifications should work with this board. If it does not
conform, it may not work. OS/2 does not work with the 
Intel 386/PC.

>(5)  Any sources to reliable mail-order firms that sale this product
>will also be helpful.  I have seen an add for it by PC Connection in
>the latest issue of BYTE.

I bought mine from CompuAdd. The going mail order price is about 560.00
with one meg of memory.

>(6)  Can the memory on the INTEL/386 PC board be used as EMS 4.0
>memory?

Yes. The 386/PC comes with a device driver to convert extended to
expanded memory, however it will not work with 80386 specific programs
such as Windows/386. Intel also provides a BBS where you can download
the latest drivers.

>Reasons for upgrading:
>
>(1)  Increase speed.  For compiling and editing large files.

Yes, however disk I/O will be limited by the standard 4.77 Mhz 8 bit
bus.

>(2)  Increased memory.  For multitasking and disk caching.

Yes, Windows multitasking is nice. Intel's disk cache works
well to.

>(3)  Multitasking.  Background telecommunications.

Yes. I can run MS-Kermit 3.0 in a window and play with my downloads
in another window.

>Looking forward to the replies.
>
>Granville Errol Casey, Jr.
>NCSU Computer Science Department 
>Email Addresses:  gec@cscosl.ncsu.edu
>		  gec%cscosl@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu

__________________________________________________________________________
This article is posted for factual information only. Any misrepresentation,
if any, is purely unintentional. Any opinion expressed or implicit in
these remarks are solely my own.

nghiem@emx.utexas.edu
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nghiem@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
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