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From: awessels@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Allen Wessels)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Low cost Mac's ?
Message-ID: <36626@ut-emx.UUCP>
Date: 22 Aug 90 19:59:19 GMT
References: <66968.26D14DFC@cmhgate.FIDONET.ORG> <1990Aug22.164847.7912@portia.Stanford.EDU>
Sender: news@ut-emx.UUCP
Reply-To: awessels@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Allen Wessels)
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
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In article <1990Aug22.164847.7912@portia.Stanford.EDU> aaron@jessica.stanford.edu (Aaron Wallace) writes:

>It's nice to include it all--but not on the motherboard.  What if you want, 
>say, a 1:1 interleave HD controller, a high-density floppy controller, faster
>networking, or, as happens, something breaks?  Swapping cards is cheaper than
>swapping motherboards, as a friend of mine with an old SE discovered when
>looking into getting a "super"drive.  I can stuff one of those in an XT for
>about $130...

The SCSI port handles most of what you're talking about.  With software, I can
format a SCSI drive to 1:1 even on a Plus.  I can hang an Ethernet connector 
off SCSI.  It won't do full 10Mbit/sec, but the Plus couldn't drive it that 
fast anyway.  You can hang a 2.4 meg floppy off the Plus and better already.
It may cost a bit more, but not the cost of a motherboard swap.

Basically all you're telling us is that if you know where to buy, you can get
things cheaper.

>Better yet, find a dealer whose prices are more in line with the industry,
>get the $700 12 MHz AT clone *with* 40 meg hard disk and monitor, and then
>give it a try...  (p.s. it works!)

I just scanned the current issues of PC Magazine and Computer Shopper. That
'286/40M HD/monitor combo runs more like $1000-1100 in most of the ads I 
scanned, and I don't know many dealers that beat mail order prices.  It may well
be that you can part together a 12Mhz 286 for $700, but I wouldn't call that 
price any sort of industry price.