Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!oberon!sdcrdcf!ucla-cs!wales From: wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: PC/XT 286-based accelerator opinions wanted Message-ID: <14382@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> Date: 14 Jul 88 01:06:46 GMT Sender: news@CS.UCLA.EDU Reply-To: wales@CS.UCLA.EDU (Rich Wales) Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department Lines: 31 I am thinking about buying a 286-based accelerator board for my Taiwanese turbo. My system has an 8-MHz NEC V-20 CPU. The clock speed is software- switchable to either 4.77 or 8 MHz. The RAM chips are 150-nsec. The accelerator I am currently thinking of is the "Orchid Tiny Turbo 286" -- a half-sized card unit with room to add an 80287 coprocessor. One feature of this board which appeals to me is that it has a socket for your original CPU chip -- and a little toggle switch accessible from the back of the computer which lets you select either the 286 or your original CPU. The Orchid also claims to be usable at either 5 (I assume they really mean 4.77) or 8 MHz. Does anyone out there who is using (or has tried) the Orchid Tiny Turbo 286 know whether it can in fact be used in an 8-MHz turbo XT? Would I be able to drive it at the 8 MHz clock speed? Even at the standard 4.77 MHz speed, how much faster is it going to be than my current NEC V-20 system at 8 MHz? Would I have to replace my 150-nsec RAM chips with 120's (or faster?) in order for an accelerator to be worth the expense? Is this particular accelerator board a good one? I am very open to suggestions of better (faster and/or more reliable) units. The Orchid is currently selling for $290 at Egghead -- though I assume I can find a lower price if I shop around a bit. -- Rich Wales // UCLA Computer Science Department // +1 (213) 825-5683 3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, California 90024-1596 // USA wales@CS.UCLA.EDU ...!(uunet,ucbvax,rutgers)!cs.ucla.edu!wales "We would all become unpeople, undoing unthings untogether."