From: faruque@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Abdullah Faruque,334CH,3752,2654247)
Subject: Re: Chipsets: OPTI or SIS ? Which would you prefer ?
Organization: Clarkson University
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 21:57:13 GMT

From article <1992Oct5.082254.22338@nuscc.nus.sg>, by isc10085@nusunix1.nus.sg (NG YENG YONG):
> Ching Tai (ctt31684@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu) wrote:
> : 
> : I'd recommand OPTi over SIS simply because I've used OPTi and it works
> : very well.  (I have NEVER used SIS, so I can't comment.)  However,
> : my OPTi mother board bench marked slower than the FOREX and C&T; i.e.
> : you may want to know if the OPTi is faster/more compatible than the SIS
> : or if it's the other way around.
> 
> 	FOREX is also manufactured in TAIWAN, is that right? Quite a
> long time ago, while I was hunting for a 386DX Motherboard, a vendor
> recommends FOREX to me as it was cheap. When I took a look at it, I feel
> that the board is not reliable because (1) it looks plain and simple
> that I wonder if it would stand up to intensive 386 applications and (2)
> its price is so low that gives me a second thought. Since then, I have
> not heard of FOREX. Could Ching Tai please supply me more information on
> FOREX chipset as well as SIS and if possible PC-Chips too. Thanks in
> advance.
> 
> Best regards,
> Steve
>  

First of all, I have a 386/486 upgradable motherboard that uses Forex
chipset. I have used both 386 and 486 CPU in this motherboard and it
works fine with DOS 5.0 , Windows 3.1 and OS/2 2.0.

But, I think the whole issue of determining the compatibility of a
motherboard does not depend on the brand of the chipset. The cpu,
chipset and other discrete logic chips are the necessary building
blocks for a motherboard.  With all of those chips one manufacturer
may design a very good motherboard and other may come up with a junk.
So, the main issue is the design of a motherboard using a particular
set of components (CPU, chipset etc.). Also a well written BIOS code
for a particular chipset is a necessary for a well designed
motherboard.

Some chipsets have more functionality than others. So, if you are
looking for a particular chipset specific function, then go for that
particular brand. Normally the chipset specific informations are not
available from most motherboard dealer and you have to contact the
chipset manufacturer for details.

Now the problem is how to determine whether a motherboard is good or
bad. This is not an easy task for an end user because normally an
average end user does not have an access to all of those hundreds of
softwares. Normally, this test should be run by all motherboard
manufacturer or dealer. So, when you want to purchase a motherboard
you should ask them if it is compatible with all the major operating
systems available (DOS, OS/2, Unix etc.) and any specific software of
your interest . If they say yes (they always say "yes"), then tell
them that they have to return all your money back if it fails to
operate with any of those OS or software. Buy it only if they agree,
otherwise go for another dealer. After getting the board, try it with
atleast another OS other than DOS. Most motherboards will run DOS
without any problem. So, you have to give it a some more complex
task. 

-Faruque
Email: faruque@sun.soe.clarkson.edu