From: doedens@let.ruu.nl (Crist-Jan Doedens)
Subject: summary: which pc for frame
Summary: this is a summary
Keywords: hardware pc unix windows bucks
Organization: Faculty of Arts, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Date:  9 Oct 92 15:56:25 GMT

Hello.

   Some time ago I posted some questions concerning what hardware, given
   a tight budget (my own pocket) I should use for FrameMaker. 
   I got 3 responses.

   1. Summary of my posting:

      I want to buy a machine to run Frame.
      For instance: 386 40 MhZ, 16 MB RAM, 210 MB disk, 
                    supervga color 1024x768 card, 14'' monitor.
                    Price 3600,- Dutch guilders = 2100,- US dollar.
      - Is PC cheapest platform?
      - Is Frame stable on PCs?
      - Is indicated configuration OK?

   2. Summary of answers:

      Yes, PC is cheapest and Frame on it is stable. Indicated configuration
      is good, except for monitor, which is small.
      However PC with Windows is not the best environment you could wish
      for. For more bucks (or guilders) you can get much better systems,
      i.e. Mac or Unix (SCO). But I (Crist-Jan) think, that if the only thing 
      I want is just running that one application (Frame) on your PC,
      windows won't hurt too much.

   3. Answers 
   
      Tom Pickett <tpickett@auspex.com>:

        For me the PC was the cheapest, but then again I live in Silicon Valley.
        I am running a 486/33 with 127-MB drive and 4-MB RAM.
        
        With windows 3.1, it is faster than the Mac IIci at work with 20-MB of
        RAM and just as quick as my friends Sun IPC with 8-MB RAM.
      
        i paid about $1900 for this but I can tell you the 14" screen is not
        much fun.
	
      Steve <eiswirth@mgi.com>:

        Christ-Jan:

	I would recommend that you go away from the PC platform and go
	with a Mac.  You can get a system (IIci or IIsi) similar to the
	PC system you described for $500-$1000 more (U.S. dollars), but
	the time you'll save by avoiding installation and other
	nuisances with PCs is worth the extra money.  Speaking from
	experience, I got away from PCs because of all the problems
	related to hardware conflicts, memory management, software
	incompatibilities, different software interfaces, etc.  With
	the Mac, everything works together the way it is suppossed to,
	you can just add memory and not worry about programs to manage
	the memory, software programs are consistent, the user
	interface is far superior to DOS and Windows, etc.  I'll never
	go back to a PC, and I think the extra money that you pay
	initially for a Mac is made up over the course of a few months
	because it is so much easier to use and is simply a better
	computer than a PC.  That's just my opinion.  No matter what
	choice you make, I hope everything works out well for you.

      Art Campbell <artc@atex.kodak.com>:

        In article <doedens.717855030@ruulot> you write:
        |> 
        |> Question: Is the PC really the cheapest platform?
        |> 
        In the U.S. it is.

        |> Question: Is FrameMaker really stable enough already for the PC platform?
        I think so. I was a beta test site for the Windows version and even the
        pre-release versions were stable.
        
        An alternative is to put SCO UNIX on the PC and get that version of FM.
        
        |> 
        |> Question: What configuration do I need?
        |> 
        |> For example I am considering the following configuration:
        |> 386 40 MhZ, 16 MB RAM, 210 MB disk, supervga color 1024x768 card, 14'' monitor.
        Sounds fine. Except for the monitor.
        
        |> The monitor is small, but so is my financial reach.
	You need a 19" to see a full page at 100% or better. If you
	only use the machine for occasional writing and editing at
	home, you can probably get by with 14. But if you're going to
	use it all day, every day, spring for the bigger monitor.

Crist-Jan

-- 
Crist-Jan Doedens   doedens@let.ruu.nl          (Scipio adapted).... and further
it is my opinion that the wealth of a nation primarily depends on its people 
being well-educated and the availability of cheap money for investment. So 
prohibit deficits and make education first-rate and free.