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From: steve@nuchat.UUCP (Steve Nuchia)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.arch,comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: super new UNIX machine -- but are the disks fast enough?
Message-ID: <299@nuchat.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 28-Aug-87 10:32:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: nuchat.299
Posted: Fri Aug 28 10:32:07 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 30-Aug-87 08:59:29 EDT
References: <125@snark.UUCP>
Organization: Public Access - Houston, Tx
Lines: 33
Summary: seagate 251 aren't _that_ slow
Xref: mnetor comp.sys.ibm.pc:7283 comp.arch:2007 comp.unix.wizards:3971

In article <125@snark.UUCP>, eric@snark.UUCP (Eric S. Raymond) writes:
> Ny new personal micro is a Compaq-386 clone running at 16 Mhz. The memory
> 
> Now for the bad news. My mass storage devices are a pair of Seagate 251s
> hanging off a Western Digital WA-2 ST506 controller, rated at (I think) 80
> milliseconds average access time (someone please correct me if that's wrong).

The 251, which uses the same case components as the dreaded 225, has a
new head positioning mechanism, which it shares with the 277.  They are
rated at something more like 40 ms.  I have a 4096 and a 251 running,
and they perform comparably.  There is a bug in microport's driver
that is causing an error at drive select changover about once a day,
but other than that I'm happy with the drives.  I'd rather have an
eagle, but the prices aren't really comparable.  :-)

> Now if only the processor weren't an Intel chip... ;-( ;-)

"you get what you pay for".  sometimes.  I bought an AT because
I couldn't afford a real computer, I'll probably be upgrading
to a 386 "soon".  I may never get a real computer.

A question of my own, for the original poster or anyone else with
microport's 386 unix; response by mail is appropriate:

	I saw an add that indicated that the V/386 product
	supported "demand paged virtual memory".  I this
	true, or have they come up with an obscure new
	meaning for those words?  I didn't think the 386
	had the hardware for real demand paging, am I wrong?


	Steve Nuchia
	{{soma,academ}!uhnix1,sun!housun}!nuchat!stevee