Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ucbvax!ge-crd.arpa!davidsen%kbsvax.tcpip
From: davidsen%kbsvax.tcpip@GE-CRD.ARPA
Newsgroups: mod.computers.workstations
Subject: Re: Low, Medium power Unix machine
Message-ID: <8603171939.AA14687@ucbvax.berkeley.edu>
Date: Fri, 14-Mar-86 08:43:00 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8603171939.AA14687
Posted: Fri Mar 14 08:43:00 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 18-Mar-86 08:17:02 EST
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: GE CRD, Schenectady, NY
Lines: 33
Approved: works@red.rutgers.edu

In article <510480039-17273-cs111olg@PEGASUS.LOCUS.UCLA.EDU>
cs111olg@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU (Oleg Kiselev) writes:
>In article <8603022205.AA04303@bu-cs.ARPA> you write:
>>Could/Would you send me some opinions on the UNIX PC.  I am about
>>ready to get a machine, but have not yet decided if I want to get a
>>UNIX machine or a MS-DOS(PC-DOS) machine.
>>
>>Thanks!
>One description : it is S----L----O----W!!!!!! And The ones I've
>seen (and played with) were *N*O*I*S*Y*!!!!! (Two fans humming away,
>a hard disk making grinding noises all the time [ swapping?])...
>

I ran some benchmarks on a 7300 and a Sun-2, and there was NO
difference in CPU performance. If you are having slow response to the
window interface you either (a) have the older release 2 interface,
an upgrade should be free, or (b) have something running in the
background which is eating LOTS of cpu cycles. I use Sun-2 (and
Sun-3) machines for Interleaf and a little software development, and
I am very pleased with the 7300 for a personal machine at a decent
price. With UNIX and 1MB the list is ~$6500, with discounts
available.

If you don't like the internal drive (fairly slow and noisy as you
said) spend $1k and buy a fast 40MB drive from the back of {Byte|PC
week|Inforworld|any other computer rag} and hang it on ($1k should
include the external box and cables). For more info talk to Randy
Suess (ihnp4!chinet!randy)_ who has done some larger disks.

I wouldn't give up my DOS machine until all the utilities are
available at the same prices, but all my software development is
being done under UNIX. Of course, in a year I expect the 386 machines
to be out, and I may get one machine which does both.