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From: cliburn@sleepy.bmd.trw.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Is this a dream???
Message-ID: <1317.27fc88ab@sleepy.bmd.trw.com>
Date: 5 Apr 91 21:24:43 GMT
Lines: 33

I entered the world of personal computing recently with the purchase of
a Packard Bell 386DX from a local warehouse department store.  (You know,
the kind of place where you have to dodge forklifts while looking for
breakfast cereal :-)  I picked up a 386-25, 125MB HD, 2MB RAM, internal
2400 baud modem, SVGA, etc., etc. for about $2300.  This compared pretty
well with various mail order houses that I looked at (except for the RAM
capacity).

Well, I got it home, opened the box, and immediately found an owner's
manual for the PB 386-33!  Surely this is a mistake, I thought.  Maybe
they only printed one manual for all 386DX products.  Then, like any
inquisitive child, after removing in from the box, I removed the cover
from the case to gawk at the internals and see what kind of goodies I 
REALLY bought (Seagate HD, Panasonic FDs, Oak video board, 256K SIMMS).
When I looked at the processor chip I saw, much to my astonishment, 
80386DX-33 stamped on it!!!

I hooked everything up, ran Norton V5.0 SI, and happily watched as the
processor sped along at 32.9 Mhz.

I GOT A 33 MHZ MACHINE FOR THE PRICE OF A 25!!!!!

The front of the system unit cover plainly reads: Packard Bell 386/25,
but the rear of the unit, in small print near the serial number, 
identifies it as a 386/33.

Does this happen often?  What do you suppose possessed the good folks
at Packard Bell to do this?  I talked to a guy at the store about it
and he chuckled and said, "Yeah, they screwed up and we got lucky."

Comments?

Jay Cliburn