Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!crdgw1!ge-dab!tarpit!ucf-cs!wordproc
From: wordproc@ucf-cs.UCF.EDU (wordproc)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: 286/20 machines
Message-ID: <1533@ucf-cs.UCF.EDU>
Date: 16 Feb 90 21:47:32 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando
Lines: 46


/* ---------- "PC SURVEY RESULTS" ---------- */

> the 386, but I wouldn't be in the market for a 286 machine at all.
> -- Mike Van Pelt  

>>	If I had to spend my money on it, and for home use, I would
>>	buy the 286-20. I consider this the best value for the money
>>	given the power I need at home.

I heartily agree.  I have a PC BRAND 286/20 system at home with SVGA controller
and NEC-2A SVGA monitor; 110MB Toshiba hard drive; 2MB RAM with the upper meg
set up for SMARTDRIVE (except for 64K for HIMEM.SYS to keep Windows/286 happy);
1.2MB and 1.44MB floppies, which have no trouble reading and writing to
lower densities from other machines....

This has been an outstanding home machine, and for DOS-only use you just
can't beat it, especially since the benchmark tests prove that you have to
go to at least a 25-MHz 386 machine to begin to out-run the 286/20.  I bought
this machine a year ago, when the price differential was more significant,
but buying one today I might go for the 386/25, just because it's probably
a better investment.  I don't foresee ever using anything but MSDOS 4.01+,
so the 386/25 probably would be a waste for me.

I use the machine for programming in C, Ada (Janus/ADA), Modula-2 (using
a dynamite Modula-2 shareware package); paper work with Pagemaker and
Ventura, Harvard Graphics, Splash! paint program and lots more that the
machine all handles with literally *flying* colors.  No glitches, no
incompatibility, no problems, although....

it did somehow survive a surge that came through the house,
taking out three stereos in other rooms as well as the I/O board
in the computer.  PC BRAND replaced the I/O card free of charge
under their five-year warranty.  When I sent it in, I forgot to mention
the part about the stereos -- I just said the board quit working.

I forget things like that, sometimes....

___________________________________________________________________
                                            _________             /
      Marcus Clenney, WD4GQM   ___    ___  /___  ___/ ________   / 
      U. of Central Florida   /   |  /   |    / /    / ______/  /
 Dept. of Computer Science   / /| | / /| |   / /    / /        /
       Orlando, FL  32816   / / | |/ / | |  / /    / /_____   /
 wordproc@ucf-cs.ucf.edu   /_/  |___/  |_| /_/    /_______/  /
____________________________________________________________/