Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!polyslo!jdudeck
From: jdudeck@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (John R. Dudeck)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Need suggestions for PC system for Engineering student.
Keywords: system 386sx 286 request engineer compatibility clone
Message-ID: <25ec1dae.3a35@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU>
Date: 28 Feb 90 18:51:26 GMT
References: <32379@auc.UUCP> <25EB37D7.26293@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
Reply-To: jdudeck@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (John R. Dudeck)
Organization: Cal Poly State University -- San Luis Obispo
Lines: 17


In article <25EB37D7.26293@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca> cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Stephen M. Dunn) writes:
>In article <32379@auc.UUCP> rar@auc.UUCP (Rodney Ricks) writes:
>$   Math coprocessor slot
>$She wants to be able to run Lotus 123, WordPerfect 5.x, Autocad, and
>$Autocad Animator on the system.   Since she wants to run Autocad, and since

One point that can save a lot of money is that some 386 motherboards (such as
my X'Golden Baby 386) have TWO math coprocessor slots, one for a low-end
80287-8Mhz, and the other for a high-end 80387.  In your case, as mine, a
poor college student that wants a math chip, but doesn't necessarily need
the highest-powered chip, can get by with the '287, which costs about $189,
instead of the '387, which costs about $319 (from Nevada Computer Corp).

In any case, if you are going to do CAD you NEED a math chip, even though
some, such as Generic CADD will run without one.  But without a math chip
they are so slow that you will never get your work done, even on a 386 33Mhz!

-- 
John Dudeck                           "You want to read the code closely..." 
jdudeck@Polyslo.CalPoly.Edu             -- C. Staley, in OS course, teaching 
ESL: 62013975 Tel: 805-545-9549          Tanenbaum's MINIX operating system.