Keith, at 22:15 on Jan 31 1996, you wrote to Bill Grimsley...

KR> i cant see the need for dual 16550s, the mouse can only go so fast (:

BG> True, but it makes sense if you want to run your modem on either COM port.

KR> yearh, but then i have an internal modem anyway (:

No matter, it's still better to have dual on-board 16550 capability if you
need it, than not at all.  I quite like these PCI/VLB boards with built-in
disk and serial I/O too.  Dad has one, along with an internal modem, and
one of the best things about the BIOS is that you can swap COM ports, IRQs,
or disable them completely, whatever you like.  A very elegant solution
IMO, and it sure beats having to fuck around disabling I/O card jumpers.

BG> A bit of an an exaggeration, I'll admit, but the high-end Adaptecs, for
BG> example, do indeed cost as much, if not more than a 2Gb EIDE drive these
BG> days.  Besides, dealer cost on a WD 1.6Gb drive is now well under $400.

KR> my 1542cf cost $350, but i suppose that the pci version could be that
KR> expensive, guess i'll find out at the next upgrade, whenever that comes
KR> round.

I'm not up with current costs re SCSI controllers, but a quick perve at the
Computer Shopper mag shows that the 2940 Adaptec is not quite as dear as I
initially thought (or maybe their prices have dropped recently).  They
still cost as much as a decent Mode 4 1.6Gb EIDE drive though.

Regards, Bill

--- Msgedsq/2 3.20