Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!ukc!stl!stc!idec!camcon!mrh
From: mrh@camcon.uucp (Mark Hughes)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: AMSTRAD PC1512
Message-ID: <1162@titan.camcon.uucp>
Date: 12 Jan 88 10:51:40 GMT
References: <1096@kulcs.UUCP>
Organization: Cambridge Consultants Ltd., Cambridge, UK
Lines: 28

in article <1096@kulcs.UUCP>, lucb@kulcs.UUCP (Luc Bomans) says:
> From what I heard the PC1512 isn't hardware compatible with other PC's,
> so that you must buy one of there harddisks, which have two times the price of
> harddisk from another vendor. (Problably they need a non-standard controller?)

***** WRONG *****
The 1512 is about as compatible as you can get. I suggest that people don't
make worrying comments like this unless thay are sure of their facts.

Another chap mentioned that the 1512 had non standard graphics and blew up
when an EGA card was inserted. This too is misleading. First, the
1512 graphics are fully compatible with MGA and CGA IBM modes but also
include additional non-standard modes (which have been dropped in the 1640).
It is true that you can't plug graphics cards into the 1512 (because Amstrad
didn't provide for the on board graphics to be disabled) but I have heard no
reports (other than the one mentioned) of machines blowing up when this 
was tried. On the contrary, I believe it is possible to plug in a high res
card and use it in monochrome mode - you just can't access the high res
colour graphics modes. (See the benchtest that appeared in Personal
Computer World about a year or so ago for a more definitive explanation).

If you want high res graphics, you should not buy the 1512 in the first place.
The PC1640 is fully EGA cotmpatible and equally good value.
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