Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!wuarchive!psuvax1!coral.bucknell.edu!dworshak
From: dworshak@coral.bucknell.edu
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms
Subject: re: Windows 3.0 on a 286
Message-ID: <1991May19.111706.3172@coral.bucknell.edu>
Date: 19 May 91 15:17:06 GMT
Organization: Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA
Lines: 13

Regarding Windows 3.0 on a 286:

I have a 286 with 1M of RAM and a 40MB hard drive, and have been using Win 3
for about 1 year now.  Win 3 works fine by itself under 1M.  If you plan to
run any large applications, such as Word For Win or Excel, 1 MB isn't going
to cut it.  When running large applications, Win 3 starts to cache to disk
very frequently, and overall performance is quite poor.  The problem is 
made worse if you're also running ATM in the background.

In my opinion, anyone buying a new system should get at *least* a 386sx.
For those of us stuck with 286's however, Windows does seem to run
adequately *if* given enough RAM.  I don't know how much RAM is enough,
but I would guess a minimum of 3 or 4 MB's.