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Path: utzoo!mnetor!tmsoft!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!world!iecc!johnl
From: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: 486 motherboard experience?
Message-ID: <1990Dec14.214622.9998@iecc.cambridge.ma.us>
Date: 14 Dec 90 21:46:22 GMT
Sender: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine)
Distribution: na
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Lines: 25

I am looking for a 486 motherboard to replace my burdened Intel 25MHz 386
board.  (X windows, uucp, news, and compiles slow it to a crawl.)  I'm
running ISC 2.2 Unix with their X, TCP, NFS, etc.

Desiderata:

	At least 16MB on board or on a cheap daughterboard
	Reasonable amount (64K, say) of secondary cache
	Built-in parallel and serial port
	EISA, maybe, for future upgradability

I've seen a few boards advertised, but would appreciate reports of experience
with them.  If it makes any difference the disk is on an Adaptec 1522B, the
Ethernet is a WD8003, and the screen card is a Paradise super-VGA, probably
upgraded to a WD 8514/A.  Both good and bad reports would be appreciated,
particularly from people running similar software.  I'd be happy to pay more
for a board that was really reliable than less for one that flakes out from
time to time.  A 25 MHz 486 is probably fast enough, though a 33 would be nice
if I can get it without sacrificing reliability.  Vendors that give me a month
to send it back if I don't like it would be good, too.

-- 
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 349, Cambridge MA 02238, +1 617 864 9650
johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {ima|spdcc|world}!iecc!johnl
"Typically supercomputers use a single microprocessor." -Boston Globe