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From: elliot@xenna.encore.com (Elliot Mednick)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: 286 w/co-processor vs. 386 price/performance ???
Keywords: 286 386 co-processor
Message-ID: <13126@encore.Encore.COM>
Date: 1 Nov 90 19:02:07 GMT
References: <15914@netcom.UUCP> <144365@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Sender: news@Encore.COM
Reply-To: elliot@xenna.encore.com
Organization: Encore Computer Corp.
Lines: 70

In article <15914@netcom.UUCP>, ergo@netcom.UUCP (Isaac Rabinovitch) writes:
> In <144365@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> gchin@ssf.Eng.Sun.COM (Gary Chin) writes:
> 
> >I am looking into a system for home/small business applications.
> >I was given some advice claiming that a 286 w/co-processor
> >is a better buy today than getting a 386SX or a 386.  If anyone
> >has any benchmark data or references, please post it.
> 
> [...]
> 
> Nowadays, the fastest 286 board seems to be about 12 Mhz, the slowest
> 386 about 16 Mhz.  That's probably just because nobody's found it
> worthwhile to design a 16 Mhz 286 motherboard, now that 386's are all
> the rage.  If you need that extra speed, you buy the 386.  But how
> many people need that extra speed?  Most probably don't even need
> 12Mhz.
> 
>[...]


In article <1990Oct31.185158.27459@idt.unit.no>,
thoger@solan8.solan.unit.no (Terje Th|gersen) writes:
> In article <144365@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>, gchin@ssf.Eng.Sun.COM (Gary Chin)
writes:
> [...]
> 
> A 386sx is only slightly more expensive than a similarly equipped '286, and 
> you get all the memory-managment advantages a 386 offers, like the ability
> do 'loadhi' TSR's and device drivers out of the 640k DOS base RAM area. This 
> gives me 570K free base RAM now, vs. 510K when I had the same TSR's / device
> drivers installed on a 286.
> 
> [...]
> 
> A 386sx/dx can also remap it's exTended memory into real EMS 4.0 for programs
> who use this, without speed or compatibility penalties. Although some newer
> 286's support EMS 4.0 on the motherboard, most 286's need a dedicated
EMS 4.0 
> expansion board on the bus to do this. On my 386sx, motherboard-based
RAM is 72% 
> faster than the RAM I have on the expansion bus.
> 
STOP!!  I dislike reading responses from people who speculate rather than who
know the facts.  All *new* 286 boards have LIM 4.0. A 286-16 board WITH
LIM 4.0 costs $125.  A 286-12 board is $89.  And, there is a 286-20 
available.

A 386sx-16 still costs more that $300 (ok, so I saw it once in some
small ad in Computer Shopper for $295, but...)  To me, the $175
savings was significant.  And I could do everything a 386 could at
about the same speed (did you ever notice that the SI and Landmark
ratings for the 286-16 were actally slightly GREATER than
the 386sx-16?  Of course, there is that BUG in the SI program...) just
not at the SAME TIME.  Of course, ther exists some programs (NOT
Windows) that multitask on a 286: Double DOS, vmix (shareware: see SIMTEL),
etc.  I have not tried these yet, but I will try vmix.

Naturally, I reserve the right to upgrade my motherboard at a future date
when my multiprocessing needs become significant.  Staying in an editor
while a C program is compiling or with a terminal window on doesn't count.

Oh, if you really NEED the multitasking of the 386 (I'm going to offend
a lot of people, now) you should forgo the sx and get a 20-25-33MHz 'dx.
With cache.  Then you have a REAL computer.

So there.
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