Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!sjsca4!poffen
From: poffen@sj.ate.slb.com (Russ Poffenberger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: 386 questions
Keywords: 386 ems
Message-ID: <1990Jul9.223234.12970@sj.ate.slb.com>
Date: 9 Jul 90 22:32:34 GMT
References: <3698@bdt.UUCP>
Reply-To: poffen@sj.ate.slb.com (Russ Poffenberger)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Schlumberger Technologies, San Jose, CA.
Lines: 34

In article <3698@bdt.UUCP> doug@bdt.UUCP (Doug Asherman) writes:
>I find myself in market for a 386 right now, and have found a 386sx 
>(upgradeable to a regular 386) that sounds like a good deal.
>However, I have some questions on it:
>
>1) It has an Excel motherboard.  This, I believe, was made by Excel
>in Sunnyvale, CA.  Does anyone know anything about these?
>
>2) The ad states that the motherboard has an "EMS Device On Board."
>I've heard rumors that these can cause compatibility problems that
>software memory managers won't, and that you can't disable them.
>Is this true?
>
>3) I asked about replacing the hard disk (65MB) with a larger one
>(80MB), and was told that the 80MB drive the store had in stock was
>a Seagte SCSI drive.  I wasn't aware that there was such a beast (a 
>friend of mine says that there isn't, and the salesmen if proabably 
>mistaken.

The salesman is mistaken. Seagate does indeed have a complete line of SCSI
drives. Many of which were inherited when they acquired the CDC/Imprimis line.
An ST number that ends in 'N' is a SCSI drive. (ie ST277N).

A SCSI disk subsystem is not a bad choice if you get a good controller. The
el-cheapo "adapter" such as the ST-01 is not nearly as good as a true SCSI
controller like an Adaptec AHA1542B or Western Digital FASST. I can get 3Mbytes
per second from my AHA1542B reading out of disk cache. A Wren IV can sustain
greater than 1.3Mbytes per second to and from the disk (no cache). No MFM or
RLL controller will go that fast.

Russ Poffenberger               DOMAIN: poffen@sj.ate.slb.com
Schlumberger Technologies       UUCP:   {uunet,decwrl,amdahl}!sjsca4!poffen
1601 Technology Drive		CIS:	72401,276
San Jose, Ca. 95110             (408)437-5254