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From: connery@bnrmtv.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: IBM's new System 2 Personal Computers
Message-ID: <1607@bnrmtv.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 9-Apr-87 22:31:53 EST
Article-I.D.: bnrmtv.1607
Posted: Thu Apr  9 22:31:53 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Apr-87 14:41:58 EST
References: <775@oliveb.UUCP> <1579@bnrmtv.UUCP> <1339@uwmacc.UUCP> <5972@dartvax.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Northern Research, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 29

> Also, I'm surprised that we haven't had any comments from people
> that have used the new machines.  I used a 50 last week, and I
> want one for my desk...

I had the same reaction actually, though I was thinking more for home use.
Three slots would be a little limiting for some of the things we do here.
The only real problem (and I think its a major one for me, though perhaps
only temporary) is that the model 50 hard disk is terribly slow.  The
average access time is 80ms, essentially an XT class drive.  If you're
used to AT class performance this just won't make it.  Now I realize that
disk cache's are part of the new package, but then I'm already using a
huge one on my machine at work and it won't perform miracles.

At first I thought that there was a Model 50 without the hard disk.  Made
sense to me as a fast network station, but obviously IBM is trying to close
out a lot of the dealer practices that cost it money.  The reason for the
slow hard disk is obvious--its got to fit in the half-height 3.5" form
factor.  I suspect that the disks IBM bought in this size (presumably up
to a year ago) had to be this slow.  Anyway, I am still hopeful that within
a year or so, this will change.

p.s. I notice that the MCGA adaptor is only CGA compatible at the BIOS
     level.  Presumably this will break a lot of games and such on the
     model 30.  Does anybody know any more about this?  Is this true of
     the VGA as well?
-- 

Glenn Connery, Bell Northern Research, Mountain View, CA
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