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From: 6600m00n@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (Steelworker)
Newsgroups: alt.msdos.programmer,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc,comp.sys.tandy
Subject: Re: Making an 80386 system
Message-ID: <7793@hub.ucsb.edu>
Date: 12 Dec 90 07:38:53 GMT
References: <4622@iitmax.IIT.EDU>
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Organization: University of California -- Santa Barbara
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In-reply-to: demoydk@iitmax.IIT.EDU's message of 11 Dec 90 05:56:17 GMT

In article <4622@iitmax.IIT.EDU> demoydk@iitmax.IIT.EDU (Tommy) writes:
|   Here's the story:
|
|	   I am planning on making a 386 system.  I know what to get as far
|	   as hard disk, hard disk controller, graphics, and other things
|	   are concerned, but I am finding it difficult to choose a mother-
|	   board.  I know that AMI and Phoenix are good companies for BIOS.
|	   But I need to know which is good quality, good for compatibility,
|	   and for reliability.  Problem is that I have seen both with negat-
|	   ive things.  Like the Phoenix version requires a disk program for
|	   setup, or like the AMI version has problems with motherboards.
|
|	   Please everyone, give me your opinions and tell me the REAL
|	   truth about Phoenix, AMI, or both.
|
|					   Thank you for your support!
|
|					   Yung D. Kim.
|
|  WhateverNET (I forgot): demoydk@iitmax.iit.edu   "The Encore/MADMAX/IITMAX"
|  Another source <======> kimyung@harpo.iit.edu       "The VAX Marx brothers"
|

I have had no problems with AMI bios.  A few points to make about AMI bios:
  1)  Get the most recent AMI bios, ( at least 6-89 or later) because
it has fetures such as shadowing, and many low level configurable
params.
  2)   In addition to supporting the normal AT HD's, it supports
manual parameters well. ( Works for my RLL drives just fine).
I remember the last time I saw phoenix bios, it did not have that
capability.  
  3)   Bios Reliability is not the main problem.   It's motherboards
that go bad more often than bios.

Also, AMI bios does not need a configure disk, or setup disk.  Just
your standard partitioning and formating programs.

( I don't know much about phoenix bios)
Robert Blair
6600m00n@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu.
         .bitnet