Re: system questions

[TMatsumu@example.com]

Kise,
  I think you only need to send it to the mailing list (tlug@example.com), most of 
us only need to receive it once.  I'm sending this reply to the list, and to 
you via email, if for some reason you are not on the list.

Do you have $1600 total, or $1600 to upgrade with?

If you have $1600 total, how about something like this:

$500 Intel Pentium CPU, motherboard, case, 1.44mb floppy
$500 16MB RAM
$300 SCSI controller and gig SCSI HD
$300 monitor, sound board, and SCSI cd-rom

Now in the unlikely chance you can't find these prices new, then consider 
used or mail order.

Here is the page from Intel's ftp site: ftp.intel.com/pub/bios

Current directory is /pub/bios

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The BIOS files on this FTP site are designed only for standard products and
may not work with your hardware or may not be supported by your hardware
supplier. You should always check with the place where you purchased the
baseboard or system to make sure you have the latest BIOS that is specific
to your product.

BY DOWNLOADING AN INTEL BIOS FILE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS
OF THIS AGREEMENT.  DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS FILE UNTIL YOU HAVE CAREFULLY READ
AND AGREED TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS.  IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO
THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, PROMPTLY DELETE THE FILE FROM YOUR COMPUTER
SYSTEM.

IF YOU DOWNLOAD THE FILE, YOU WILL BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT.

LICENSE:  Intel grants you the right to use the download software program
(the "Software").  You will not use, copy, modify, rent, sell or transfer
the Software or any portion thereof except as provided in this Agreement.

You may:

1. Copy the Software for use on any system containing an Intel supplied 
motherboard at your site.

2. Copy the Software for distribution with any system containing an Intel
supplied motherboard as part of your normal course of business, provided you
are already authorized to distribute prior versions of the Software and you
distribute the Software under terms no less restrictive than this Agreement;
and

3. Copy the Software solely for backup or archival purposes.

RESTRICTIONS:

You Will Not:

1.      Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software;

2.      Copy the Software except as provided in this Agreement;

TRANSFER:  You may transfer the Software to another party if the receiving
party agrees to the terms of this Agreement and you retain no copies of the
Software and accompanying documentation.

Transfer of the license terminates your right to use the Software.

OWNERSHIP AND COPYRIGHT OF SOFTWARE:  Title to the Software and all copies
thereof remain with Intel or its vendors.  The Software is copyrighted and
is protecte
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Finally, Intel is always going to reduce their CPU prices.  Read about 
"Moore's law" in "The Road Ahead", basically it states that every 6 months, 
prices will drop in half, as the technology of PC hardware advances.  Do you 
need a computer now?  Or do you need one in 6 months??


*****
Ted Matsumura, Adaptec Japan Ltd. 
ATM Program Manager, InterNetworking Technology (INTO)
phone: 03-5276-8433, Fax (03) 5276-9364 
email: tmatsumu@example.com
http://www.rahul.net/tedm
*****
-------------
Original Text
>From s100234@example.com (Norihide Kise), on 1/3/96 1:18 PM:
Ted, thank you much for telling me very informative comments. Your 
suggestion is very persuasive. 

> > Indeed a P-90 is better than a P-75, but since my buget is limited, I 
think 
> > getting a P-75 is a good choice.
> 
> OK, you're using this for Linux, right?  Go to comp.benchmarks and sift 
> through some archives.  A P90 is significantly faster than a P-75, where 
> a P100 is very close to a P90.  How limited is your budget?  Have you 
> priced out the differences between a P75 and P90?

Right now I'm using my Mac to send this e-mail since my 486DX2-66 has some 
hard disk programs. About the benchmarks, although I have not checked the 
data yet, do the data mean much to us? In other words, many magazines, 
for instance, test CPUs; however, very often the data is not practically 
described. Perhaps to ordinary users, the difference between a P-75 and 
P-90 does not mean much. If the user wants to do heavy database stuff or 
some scientific calculation, there might be significant differences 
although I'm just guessing. I have not seen any empirical data, so don't 
get me wrong! About the price difference, yes the difference is less than 
$100. Since my budget for a new machine is about $1,600, somehow I have 
to compromise.  

> > Well, IDE/EIDE are much cheaper than SCSI. Plus, as you and I know that 
> > the computer technologies change extremely quickly. Perhaps by the time, 
> > I need a new machine (686??), SCSI might be a lot cheaper. I don't mind 
> > waitig if the performance differece between SCSI and IDE/EID is a second 
> > or two.
> 
> SCSI will not be a lot cheaper than it is now.  It is more expensive than 
> IDE/EIDE, because it performs much faster.  If you don't mind slow i/o 
> performance with multi-tasking OS's such as Linux, then IDE is fine.

Because of my limited budget, probably I have to go for IDE.

> > > Intel Triton motherboards come with Flash memory, if you require 
> > > upgradability, review the flash upgrade page on Intels web site.  It 
can 
> > > be very cryptic if you get a no-name Triton Pentium mb and need to 
> > > upgrade the BIOS.         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > 
> > Are you saying that if I get a non-name Triton Pentium motherboard, and 
> > upgrade some flash memory, I'm going to have some problems? Could you 
> > explain little more because I don't fully understand it?
> 
> Let me clarify.  Triton chipset Pentium mb's are made by Intel.  Intel 
> OEM's them for dozens of companies.  Intel organizes their flash updates 
> by the OEM vendor.
> 
> We have some Triton chipsets that were OEM'd for company xxx and we can 
> easily find the file to upgrade the BIOS via Flash.  We have other Triton 
> chipsets that we have to use trial and error.  Did you browse the intel 
> flash download directories??

No. I haven't. In fact, I can't. Since my machine is currently sick, I 
have to use my Mac. By the way, do you know the address (ftp, not URL) of 
the 
Intel flash download directory? 

> How much do you have to spend?  What are your priorities with computing?  
> Speed, or sexy looking monitor?

Well, getting a powerful machine like P-90, and a 17" monitor is great, 
but I said before, somehow I have to compromise since my budget is limited. 

Anyway, I'll wait for the next issue of the "Computer Shopper" magazine. 
By the way, Intel is going to reduce its CPU prices again this coming 
month. Does anyone know how much Intel is going to reduce its CPU prices?

Sincerely,

Kise