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Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!news.Hawaii.Edu!ames!saimiri.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wupost!bigboy.sbc.com!news.mtholyoke.edu!news.smith.edu!sophia.smith.edu!jfieber From: jfieber@sophia.smith.edu (J Fieber) Subject: Buying a new system: hardware suggestions? Message-ID: <1993Mar15.235027.6087@sophia.smith.edu> Sender: root@sophia.smith.edu (Operator) Organization: Smith College Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1993 23:50:27 GMT Lines: 78 Hi, I've prowling around the various newsgroups collecting information about running Unix on cheap "clone" hardware; now I'd like to stick some questions of my own... I'll be getting a new system in the next couple weeks and would like to be able to run 386bsd and XFree86 with a minimum of hassle. I also plan to run more the more typical MS-DOG and Windows software on occasions. I currently have two Quantum SCSI drives (P105s, PD210s) and an Archive 2150s SCSI tape drive that I wish to use in the new system which means getting a SCSI controller. To further complicate things, I'm a somewhat new to the nitty-gritty world of clone hardware (I have an Amiga now). My biggest point of confusion is with the ISA/EISA/VL-Bus stuff. The 386bsd FAQ says: >2.26 Are EISA cards supported? > > No, EISA cards are not directly support; however several, especially > Adaptek SCSI controllers will work in ISA mode. When and if EISA > is directly supported, they will give a significant performance > advantage to EISA bus machines. Until then, there is nothing that > is intrinsically better about owning an EISA bus machine. But... The FAQ for X on Intel based machines says: > Some people have asked if XFree86 would work with local bus or EISA > video cards. Theoretically, the means of communication between the > CPU and the video card is irrelevant to Xfree86 compatibility. It > could be ISA, EISA, or local bus. What should matter is the chipset > on the video card. Unfortunately,nthe developers don't have a lot > of access to EISA or VLB machines, so this is largely an untested > theory. However, we have yet to see any reports of things not > working on one of these buses and we have several reports of Xfree86 > working fine on them. Is there a contradiction here or does X talking to a video card have nothing to do with 386bsd talking to, say, a SCSI controller? Assuming the latter, I'm hoping to use an Orchid Fahrenheit 1280 VLbus card with the XS3 server. Will this work with 386bsd? Then, does this have any bearing on my selection of a SCSI controller? I hear that the Adaptec 174(x) cards don't work with the Archive 2150s tape drive which eliminates that option while the 1542 provides less than stunning performance. What other options do I have? In the context of a 33 or 50 MHz 486 system, how much of a bottleneck would a 1542 be? I've heard that the BusLogic (BusTek) BT742 is compatible with a 1542 and providns the advantages of EISA. Is this true? How about VLbus controllers? My budget allows for an ISA machine with a VLbus *or* an EISA machine. I'm leaning toward the former at this point. Now a couple (hopefully) simpler questions: - What is the difference between the Adaptec 1542A, B, and C? Just different revisions or different features? - A modem wired to a serial port shouldn't be any problem, but how about an internal bus modem? - Anybody have some good wisdom about mice? On an Amiga you just plug it into the mouse port and that is that. It isn't so simple on a clone. Bus, serial, PS/2??? If you have read this far, Thanks! If you can answer any of my questions, triple thanks!!! -john -- === jfieber@sophia.smith.edu ================================================ ======================================= Come up and be a kite! --K. Bush ===