HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: gion@chopin.udel.edu (Timothy C. Gion)
Subject: flickering monitor
Keywords: 486-33, whining noise, flickering
Organization: University of Delaware
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 21:18:12 GMT

I have a problem with my monitor flickering.  I upgraded my computer
from a 386-20 to a 486-33 through a motherboard swap out.  After
installing the motherboard, I noticed that my monitor flickered badly.
At first, I thought it was just my old VGA card (it didn't give me color
either unless the program I ran had its own graphics driver), but after
getting a Boca SVGA card, I still had the problem.  I tried dropping the
bus speed from 8.33mhz to 5.33mhz, but the problem persisted.  Recently,
I connected the fact that when the monitor flickers, there is a soft whining
sound coming from the computer.

Besides the previous components mentioned and a serial/parallel IO card,
the rest of the computer is two years old.  Does any one have any idea what
could be causing the problem?  Thanks in advance.
-- 
Timothy Gion AKA  /     \     University of Delaware - Computer Science
                 -Merdion- 
                  \     /
From: rantapaa@s6.math.umn.edu (Erik E. Rantapaa)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Benchmarking Gateway machines (was Re: has anyone used the 486dx2 66mhz gateway)
Date: 16 Oct 92 03:55:22 GMT
Organization: University of Minnesota

imbri_m@aesc.cs.odu.edu (Mark Imbriaco) writes:

>Comparative to a 486/50DX what is the performance of the 66 Dx/2?  Faster?  
>Slower?  Seems that I have heard that it is not quite as fast as a 50DX but
>I am not sure on the reliability of that source.  Please elaborate.

Here are some of Gateway's own benchmark numbers (from their latest brochure
which I just got in the mail)

			DX-33V	DX2-50V	DX2-66V	DX-33E	DX2-50E	DX2-66E
Norton Sl v. 6.0	 72.20	107.20	141.90	 70.60	 92.00	122.80
Landmark CPU 2.0	120.47	180.70	240.95	120.21	178.91	235.74
PC Mag 5.6:
  386 CPU inst mix	 1.06	 0.73	 0.55	 1.08	 0.81	 0.62
  486 CPU inst mix	 1.08	 0.74	 0.56	 1.09	 0.83	 0.63
  fp w/o coproc. 	 1.76	 1.26	 0.93	 1.81	 1.32	 0.99
  Conv. Mem. Read	 0.22	 0.17	 0.16	 0.17	 0.17	 0.16
  Conv. Mem. Write	 0.16	 0.11	 0.11	 0.17	 0.16	 0.11
  Ext. Mem. Read	 0.65	 0.66	 0.55	 0.44	 0.39	 0.38
  Ext. Mem. Write	 0.60	 0.61	 0.50	 0.44	 0.27	 0.22
Cortest 2.92:
  64K			 4357	 3566	 4714	16103	16352	16746
  32K			 4252	 3490	 4573	12316	12504	12883
Power Meter 1.8:
  Whetstones		 3266	 4899	 6531	 3245	 4851	 1843
  Dhrystones		 19.0	 27.5	 36.2	 18.7	 24.5	  5.4????
  MIPS Test		 10.8	 15.5	 20.6	 10.7	 13.9	 18.8

All CPUs are 486.  -V means local bus, -E EISA.

Again, these numbers come from the fancy brochure Gateway just sent me,
so caveat lector.

If people are interested, I can post the numbers for Gateway's other
machines too.
--
" The loss of life will be irreplaceable.
       -- Vice President Dan Quayle 
          after the San Francisco earthquake"

Erik Rantapaa    rantapaa@math.umn.edu
From: broadley@neurocog.lrdc.pitt.edu (Bill Broadley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Flowcharting Computer operations.  (file available)
Date: 7 Oct 92 23:43:28 GMT
Reply-To: broadley@neurocog.lrdc.pitt.edu
Organization: University of Pittsburgh

I have a limited knowledge of how an ISA bus machine works,
cache's, memory access, disk access, etc.

I flowcharted all the major compenents and described how I thought
they worked.  If anybody wants a copy in postscript or xfig format
please let me know.  Postscript file is only 11k

I'd love to get corrections etc.  If your new to computers it
might even show you how a computer works.  No promises.

If I get it fixed up, it might even become part of a FAQ, with
EISA and local Bus versions available etc....

I might be able to convert it to another format if needed.
Email if ya want a copy, if there is a ftp site for such things let me know.
-- 
Bill				1st>	Broadley@neurocog.lrdc.pitt.edu
Broadley@schneider3.lrdc.pitt.edu <2nd 3rd> 	Broadley+@pitt.edu
			Novell, AFS just say NO! 
Xref: sparky comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware:26691 comp.periphs:1376
From: aris@unisup1.uucp (Aris Stathakis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.periphs
Subject: Problem with Fujitsu M2263E Hard Drive
Summary: Anyone got one of these working?
Keywords: Hard Drive Fujitsu M2263E ESDI
Date: 12 Oct 92 11:06:03 GMT
Organization: Lasernet (pty) Ltd.

Hi.

I have a Fujitsu M2263E hard drive which I just cannot get to work
with my DTC6280-15 Hard Drive controller on an AST 386 PC.  Does 
anyone have this configuration working?  Does anyone have one of 
these drives working at all?  If so, which controller are you using?

Please reply by e-mail and/or post as my newsfeed is less than reliable.

Thanks

Aris

-- 
Aris Stathakis        Tel +27 11 887 4220 |Gimme a beer and money sandwitch -  
SCO Unix Support      Fax +27 11 887 1141 |Hold the bread. - Waldo D.R. Dobbs
UniNet - A Division of Lasernet (Pty) Ltd |_________________________________
P.O. Box 78446, Sandton, 2146, R.S.A       Internet:   aris@unisup1.UUCP      
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: thomasr@cpqhou.compaq.com (Thomas Rush)
Subject: Re: FAST 1024x768x16 SVGA wanted
Reply-To: thomasr@cpqhou.UUCP (Thomas Rush)
Organization: Compaq Computer Corporation
Date: Fri, 09 Oct 92 16:24:09 GMT

In article <9210080847.AA07412@unirsvl.RSVL.UNISYS.COM> bert@unirsvl.RSVL.UNISYS.COM writes:
>
>I'm looking for the fastest 1024x768x16 non-interlaced non-Windows-accelerated
>high refresh rate ISA-bus super VGA cards available now.
>
>Would anybody care to make comments and/or recommendations?

Check out the Compaq QVision card -- in a recent PC Mag, it scored
nearly twice the Winmarks of the closest competitor (nearly 20M, I
think).  Some other magazine had a very favorable review recently.

The card is available in both 32-bit EISA and 16-bit ISA configurations,
and does up to (at least) 1024x768x16.  Further information from
1-800-345-1518.

Note:  I do work for Compaq.


thomas rush				uunet!cpqhou!thomasr
compaq computer corporation		their employee,
deep in the hearth of texas		not their opinions.
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: weare@bostech.com (Ged Weare)
Subject: What does "tag RAM" do, anyway?
Organization: Boston Technology, Wakefield, MA
Distribution: us
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 92 22:04:56 GMT


I just bought a 486dx-33 no-name motherboard (Opti chipset) at a
computer show.  When I got it home, I noticed that there was an empty
chip socket.  The "manual" identified it as the "tag RAM".  The board
seems to work fine, both on DOS and Unix.  Never having had a MB with a
cache before, and knowing nothing about "tag RAMs", I called the vendor
asking whether the chip's absence was detrimental.  They answered a
different question.  When I asked it again, they claimed not to
understand the question.  When I got insistent, they refused to
understand English.

So, my question is:  is the absence of the "tag RAM" a Bad Thing?  I
guess the chip holds flags about the cache contents, including whether
something is in the cache, and maybe whether a location has been
modified.  Maybe the worst that can happen is that the CPU thinks there
is no cache, thus slowing performance, but that's bad enough.  What
*does* the "tag RAM" do?

Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks
----
Jed Weare                      weare@bostech.com
Boston Technology              (617) 246-9000 x3519
100 Quannapowitt Parkway
Wakefield, MA 01880.

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: rbarnett@NeoSoft.com (Rick Barnett)
Subject: Need ATRONICS Phone #/E-mail address
Organization: NeoSoft Communications Services -- (713) 684-5900
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 00:25:52 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Summary: won't work with OS/2 2.0
Keywords: atronics os/2 bios

I have an Atronics 386 40 MHz B2 motherboard which I have been trying to
get to work with OS/2 2.0. I suspect that I need a ROM upgrade to fix the
problem. 800 directory assistance has no number for Atronics but they are
still manufacturing motherboards. Does anyone have a phone # or internet
address for tech support?

Thanks -
-- 
| Rick Barnett		  | A real engineer never reads the instructions first;
| Senior Systems Engineer | he figures out how it works by playing with it.
| CAE-Link Corporation	  | Email Addresses: 
| Houston, TX		  | rbarnett@sugar.neosoft.com    5220045@mcimail.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: nwalczak@dcs.warwick.ac.uk (Nick)
Subject: Wait states and Expansion bus Q's
Organization: Department of Computer Science, Warwick University, England
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 09:46:05 GMT

Hi there, I have two questions which occurred to me when I was reading a
letter in a magazine last month.

This guy wrote in saying he had bought a 486 running at 25MHz, firstly he
said:

"The wait states had been set to 2 but the system could cope with just 1"

Q: How do you determine the no. of wait states given the processor speed
and the memory access speed?

He then went on to say:

"The bus had been set to clkin/4 but could easily be set to clkin/3 and
possibly clkin/2"

Q: Does he mean that the expansion bus was set to run at 6.25 Mhz but could
run at could run at 8.33 Mhz or even 12.5 Mhz - I thought the expansion bus
ran only at 8Mhz.

Yous puzzledly,

Nick Walczak
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: shane@cs.UAlberta.CA (Ruman Shane James)
Subject: Laser info
Organization: University of Alberta
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 20:28:22 GMT

      At the risk of sounding naive(okay the assurdness), I have a few 
questions about superiority of laser printers.  Will a 300 dpi laser printer
have better output than a HP deskjet 500(also 300 dpi).  I also have heard 
that a laser printer can't do full page graphics, graphic extensive tasks, 
without more than a meg of memory.  Why is this?  Can't the image be stored 
in main memory and just spooled out?  I guess what I'm really looking for 
is resaons why a laser is better than the aforementioned deskjet.  Any info
would be appreciated.
                                                 Shane

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: ngai@nova.bellcore.com (John Ngai)
Subject: Diamond SpeedStar 24X -- Hype or Fact?
Organization: Bellcore
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 92 19:33:27 GMT

My brother is thinking about getting a good quality ISA graphics card that will
support 1024 x 768 at 256 colors, non-interlaced at >=70 HZ refresh. We scanned
ads from PC Magazine and Computer Shopper, and it pretty much comes down to the
ATI graphics ultra. However I saw ads that claim the Diamond SpeedStar 24X is
even FASTER than the ATI graphics ultra both in DOS and Windows mode. A look at
its price (~$170 for the Diamond Card) versus that of the ATI card (~$380) makes
me wonder if the claim is just hype!? Can someone shed some light on this??

Also do we know if the Diamond SpeedStar 24X ship with drivers for OS/2 and UNIX,
in addition to those for Windows 3.1?

Thanks -- John


Organization: Junior, IM - H&SS Track, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1992 16:14:54 -0400 
From: Kwan-Ju Chen <kc2x+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: ViewSonic???


Someone please tell me the differences among the following Viewsonic models?

6E, 5E, 5E+, 4, and 6
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: gerry@cmu.edu (Gerry Roston)
Subject: Re: CD-ROM shows up as network drive
Reply-To: gerry@cmu.edu (Gerry Roston)
Organization: Field Robotics Center, CMU
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 22:30:20 GMT

Dumb question:

I have a SCSI based tape backup unit (I don't remember whose make).
Can Norton backup make use of this device?  I have seen nothing in the
documentation that indicates it can...

--
Gerry Roston (gerry@cmu.edu)    | I - Congress shall make no law respecting 
Field Robotics Center,          | an establishment of religion, or prohibit-
Carnegie Mellon University      | ing the free exercise thereof; or abridging
Pittsburgh, PA, 15213           | the freedom of speech, or of the press; or
(412) 268-3856                  | the right of the people peaceably to
                                | assemble, and to petition the Government
The opinions expressed are mine | for a redress of grievances.
and do not reflect the official | 
position of CMU, FRC, RedZone,  | 
or any other organization.      | 
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: jrc@brainiac.mn.org (Jeffrey Comstock)
Subject: HP VECTRA - Info wanted
Summary: are they still weird ?
Organization: Sewer of Source Code
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 92 05:28:02 GMT

A LONG time ago I got my hands on a Vectra and chuckled when it wouldnt
run quite a few commercial programs.  Now someone I know wants to buy
a new one.  Are they still incompatible with everything ? 


-- 
Jeffrey R. Comstock 
HOME  jrc@brainiac.mn.org
CW    -. .-. ----- -..
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: kgermann@zeos.com (Ken Germann)
Subject: Media Vision - Thunder Board for Windows FAQ
Organization: Zeos International, Ltd
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 17:58:00 GMT

-- 
Ken Germann              ZZZZ EEEE  OO   SSS    ZEOS International, Ltd.  
support@zeos.com   INET     Z E    O  O S       Technical Support Dept.
uunet!zeos!support UUCP    Z  EE   O  O  SS     530 5th Ave N.W.
800-228-5390      VOICE   Z   E    O  O    S    St. Paul, MN 55112
612-633-7337             ZZZZ EEEE  OO  SSS     FAX         612-633-4607
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: news@udel.edu
Subject: Re: Mouse interrupt docs
Organization: University of Delaware
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 21:59:16 GMT

test

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: nett@technix.mn.org (Jerry Nettleton)
Subject: Re: Need ESIA 32-bit DMA card
Organization: Private System - Saint Paul, MN
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 23:08:46 GMT

In article <210620001@hplred.HP.COM> myerholt@hplred.HP.COM (Carl Myerholtz) writes:
>I am in need of and EISA (posibbly ISA) bus card that can do 32-bit
>(16-bit might be acceptable) wide DMA transfers at rates of a few
>megatransfers/second. Any referrals would be greatly appreciated.  
>
>Carl Myerholtz
>
>myerholtz@hplabs

I was wondering what devices you intend to use that require 32-bit
DMA capability.  The only controller that I know if the Intel 82380
which has 4 channels.  I developed some diagnostics for a fiber optic
board which had an 82380 as the data pump.
-- 
Jerry Nettleton
email: nett@technix.mn.org
       ...!uunet!cs.umn.edu!kksys!edgar!technix!nett
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: jdalin@devildog.att.com (Jimmy Dalin)
Subject: Re: Good low cost Laser Printers and Ink Jet Printers
Organization: AT&T IMS - Piscataway, NJ (USA)
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 19:53:40 GMT

In article <paul.336.719240006@ace.acadiau.ca> paul@ace.acadiau.ca (Paul Steele) writes:
>I am looking to replace my old ImageWriter II with either an inkjet printer 
>or a low cost laserprinter (laserjet or laserjet clone).  What are some of 
>the better Inkjet printers for use with Windows?  I want a good sheet feeder 
>and reasonable speed.

A Hewlitt-Packard representative recently told me that they will be
announcing the Laserjet IV later this month (Oct. 27, I believe).  It will
feature 600x600 dpi, microfine toner, more built-in fonts, and a price lower
than the III.  Plus other features, of course.

-- 
Jim Dalin            "No Salga Afuera"  
AT&T                    N.Y.C.T.A.
ATTMail id: !jdalin            
Compuserve: 72260,1573 
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: dpalmer@mcnc.org (W. Dev Palmer)
Subject: Re: Hardware solution for speaker volume ?? help!??
Keywords: PC, speaker, volume
Organization: MCNC Center for Microelectronics, RTP, NC
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 14:53:03 GMT

In <sehari.718656602@vincent1.iastate.edu>, sehari@iastate.edu
(Babak Sehari) writes:
> In <1992Oct9.040641.24116@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca
> q1hl@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca (Nameless CS Student) writes:
> >In article <Bvu35G.5vC@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca
> darek@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Darek Dabrowski) writes:
> >>I need a simple way to lower the volume of the computer's speaker...
> 
> >Simply connect the speaker in series with a variable resistor of
> >maybe 10 or 20 ohms.  Speaker volume is a function of current, and
> >the speaker output is constant voltage ...
> 
> That's one solution but might not really, decrease the sound level that
> much.  This is due to the fact that sound is a log creature not a linear
> creature.  So make sure to buy logorthmic variable resistor from 10 to 100
> Ohm. Then discounect one speaker wire connect it to one side of the
> variable resistor, connect the other side to the wire already connected to
> speaker, and finally connect the middle head of the variable resistor to 
> the other side of speaker which does not have any connection like this:
> 
>                _____
>    From Computer   |
>                    <            /
>                    > <-----|  /
>                    <       8||
>                    |       8||
>                ------------|  \
>                                 \
> 

That would work great if the impedance of the speaker were much higher
than the resistance of the potentiometer.  Say the speaker is 8 Ohms,
the potentiometer is R1 Ohms, and the part of the potentiometer in
parallel with the speaker is R Ohms.  Then the current through the
speaker as a function of R is given by

I(R) = 5 R / (8 R1 + R1 R - R^2)

Clearly, this is a non-linear function of R, so the fact that R1 is a
logarithmic pot does not mean that the current through the speaker is a
logarithmic function of pot rotation.  The power in the speaker is a
function of the square of the current, so now you are even further from
your logarithmic function.

If you look at the way the PC drives the speaker, you will see that the
impedance of the speaker is not critical.  I have found that a 5 Ohm
resistor in series with the speaker works "well" to reduce the sound
output on my XT.  Just make sure you use a 2 - 5 Watt resistor.  If you
are really concerned about smooth volume adjustment, buy an "L-Pad"
from Radio Shack and hook that in.

Have fun,

Dev Palmer
dpalmer@mcnc.org
MCNC Room 212
P.O. Box 12889
RTP, NC  27709-2889
(919) 248-1837
(919) 248-1455 FAX

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com (fred j mccall 575-3539)
Subject: Re: 486 CPUs need cooling?
Cc: f89ba@efd.lth.se
Organization: Texas Instruments Inc
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 22:43:14 GMT

In <1992Oct7.101929.24418@lth.se> f89ba@efd.lth.se (Bengt Ask) writes:

>I'm about to install a 486DX-33 motherboard in my old PC box.
>The air flow through the case isn't very good.

>Now, is it safe (in the long term) to run the computer without
>any extra cooling of the CPU? I've seen some machines with
>quite impressive heat sinks on top of the CPU. Is it common 
>with extra cooling of a 33 MHz 486DX? 

Some places just do that.  For example, my 386025DX shipped with a
huge heat sink on top of the CPU.  The only thing to watch out for is
that if they heat-sink the CPU, they may be 'pushing' the chip beyond
its rated speed.  So far as I know, the i486-33DX requires no special
extra cooling.

>The board I'm considering is also available with a 50 MHz CPU,
>and that version ships with a small fan directly above the CPU,
>so that's why I thought that the combination of a 33 MHz clock
>(not that much lower than 50 MHz) and low air flow might fry the
>processor.

Some of the early 50 MHz parts ran very hot and tended to crash if
left up for any length of time.  That's probably what the extra little
fan is for.  I'm running a 50DX part at home and it runs fine without
a heat sink (but my tower has pretty good airflow, with two fans).

>If cooling is recommended, could anyone suggest a suitable
>heat sink. I don't want yet another nosiy fan in my machine.

I wouldn't think extra cooling would be necessary.  If you do want it,
you might want to look into a little widget called an IceCap (I
think).  It's a little tiny thermally controlled fan that fits over
the CPU.



-- 
"Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live
 in the real world."   -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me.
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 01:17:49 EDT
From: Erik Rubin <EJR106@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: OAK VGA

   Hello.  I am currently using an OAK VGA type video card, with 512K of
video memory.  I am looking for the best GIF viewer that supports this card
and chip.  I tried VPIC, but it does not seem to be able to use this board
as anything more than a 'plain vanilla' VGA card with 64K.  What can I use?
Can this board display 256 colors at 640 * 400 / 480?  If so, what software
will let me do so?  Thanks for any help.

  -- Erik
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: No VL-BUS for 486/50 Mhz?
From: Spartacus At CunyVM <I18BC@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Date: Friday, 9 Oct 1992 20:23:27 EDT
Organization: City University of New York/ University Computer Center

In article <1992Oct07.153900.7878@zeos.com>, kgermann@zeos.com (Ken Germann)
says:
>The specification states that the max speed for a VL-Bus Card is 40Mhz due
>to electrical limitations. You can place a VL-Bus Device directly on
[...stuff deleted...]
>with a 64-bit BUS. VL-Cards are backwards and forward compatible. i.e. You
>can put a VL-Card that is 32-bit in a future 64 bit Vl-Bus connector and
>it will work. You can put a VL-Bus card that is 64-bit in a 32-bit VL-Bus

Great info Ken,
however I have a question. if Vesa is limited to 40mhz,
wouldn't this create another bottleneck for faster processors
like the p5? or would a 64bit vl-bus operate faster when they
become available.  I ask this question because VL-BUS is
suppose to eliminate bottlenecks, but it seems to create another
for the 486-50mhz...(Yup I know...the differences between 40 and
50 is minuscule...but shouldn't this new bus leave alot of
breathing space for future processors?
It seems like the VL-BUS will be short lived at 40mhz particularly
when 66mhz p5 or 100mhz cpus will be out later.

Don't get me wrong...VL-BUS would give today's PCs a nice boost in
performance.  But VL-BUS locked in at 40mhz doesn't seem to make
sense to me. Please enlighten me if I'm missing something.
-------
------------------------------+      All The Best,
Reply To:                     |
                              |      Edward Galarza,
     I18BC@CunyVM.Cuny.Edu    |      Brooklyn College Of The
     I18BC@CunyVM.BitNet      |      City University Of New York
------------------------------+      "Que viva el OS/2!"