Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!midway!midway!chas From: chas@stax.uchicago.edu (Charles Blair) Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386 Subject: Is this a reasonable platform for SCO Unix? Message-ID: Date: 24 Apr 91 15:50:31 GMT Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (NewsMistress) Distribution: comp.unix.sysv386 Organization: The University of Chicago Lines: 28 I've just installed SCO Unix on a 16 MHz AST Bravo 386/SX, Paradise VGA Plus card, Princeton Max 15 monitor. The installation went well, and Open Desktop looks like it might be something I could put in front of our users (the configuration above is standard for them), but performance is very slow. Admittedly, the machine has only 4 MB memory (we'll install more, but the dealer said 4 MB was sufficient if we didn't push it). However, I wonder whether upgrading to 6 or 8 MB will alter performance sufficiently to make a real difference. Right now the unit might keep up with an old 4.77MHz PC running MS-DOS, but no more, in terms of how it looks to the user (obviously, it's doing a lot more). Is the 386/SX architecture just sub-optimal for Unix? (The doc said the SX is the slowest 386 around, and that some chips can barely keep up under some circumstances; as I recall, this was in re: drives and interleaving; our drives are pretty fast.) Is the video card too slow? What's a reasonable platform, to make SCO Unix an attractive alternative to something line MS-Windows? Any responses with people's experiences, etc., will be much appreciated. Thanks. -- Internet: chas@uchicago.edu