Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!psuvax1!psuvm!rfm
From: RFM@psuvm.psu.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Sota 286i and 386i Accelerator Cards
Message-ID: <90077.221237RFM@psuvm.psu.edu>
Date: 19 Mar 90 03:12:37 GMT
References: <1990Mar19.003132.29661@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>
Organization: Penn State University
Lines: 34

I have a SOTA 386si installed in a Zenith Z-159 (XT-level PC). Installed
it in early January, it ran well for 5 weeks, then started acting up --
I'm not clear if the problem was the card or the Zenith installation; they
have to "tweak" the board in various ways to optimize it for different systems,
and mine came untweaked originally. Anyway, it's back in my machine now & all
seems well. I have a Norton SI rating of 15.6 with the card installed & the
cache turned on. Turn caching off so you're running in the "native" (???)
386sx mode & the Norton is 2.8. They supply software drivers for all sorts
of caching; before my cad went in, I had to uncache my video & BIOS to get my
machine to run any software --WP50, LOTUS, etc. Everything works with all
caches turned on now, so they did something while they had my board.
   I have 1.2 megs of memory. It's all expanded memory (EMS4.0) & runs under a
Sota EMS driver. 256k is a hard drive cache (also SOTA software) & works ok.
Not sure where all my other EMS memory is, but LOTUS uses it.
   The 386si is a half-card. SOTA sells an add-on called Memory 16i which
plugs into the 386si & adds up to 8 megs of 1 mb SIMMS. They claim OS2
compatability (extended memory) or EMS 4.0 (expanded) capability - you
could use with DesView (they have a driver), etc. I plan to buy when I can
afford.... I'm not sure if the 16i will disable my other memory. I can reason
to an argument that optimum performance would dictate that the 16i memory
should take precedence -- 16-bit BUS, etc. Maybe I can move my present
memory chips to the 16i. I haven't gotten that deep into it yet.
i
   Anyway, all my software runs with the board. The folks at SOTA seem
responsive to inquiries, helpful, etc. No hassles concerning repair/modifi-
cation. I like the performance enhancement. I run WP50, SPSS-PC, LOTUS,
DBASE, ProComm Plus, Harvard Graphics, Norton Utilities & Commander, and
the WP Library shell program. Microsoft Paint, too. Maybe some others, but I
can't think of any. All run with no problems.
   I'm a little apprehensive
about reliability right now -- spooked by my earlier experience, I guess. But
everything is working fine right now. I have some 350+k LOTUS files that used
to take 1/2 hour to sort; they sort in less than a minute now.
---Bob Munzenrider, Penn State U - Harrisburg.