*BSD News Article 24331


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From: storm@cs.mcgill.ca (Marc WANDSCHNEIDER)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Subject: Re: pc-unix hardware
Date: 23 Nov 1993 04:15:01 GMT
Organization: SOCS, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Lines: 66
Message-ID: <2cs2o5$gv6@homer.cs.mcgill.ca>
References: <1993Nov22.180311.12805@news.csuohio.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: mnementh.cs.mcgill.ca

In article <1993Nov22.180311.12805@news.csuohio.edu>,
tim werner <thx1139@knuth.cba.csuohio.edu> wrote:
>From the PC-clone UNIX Software Buyer's Guide:
>>The Xfree maintainers recommend ET4000-based boards, except for recent
>>Diamond models (Diamond won't give them interfacing info).  There is
>>no support for S3, ATI 8514 or TIGA chipsets.
>
>Is this a still a problem, and, if so, does it apply to other versions
>of Un*x? Are a lot of people running Diamond video boards? They seem to
>be semi-standard hardware.

	This is mostly untrue.

	While the XFree86 team still will not support Diamond (an
	entirely reasonable viewpoint), S3, 8514, Mach32, Mach8, and
	Cirrus Logic are now all supported with quite impressive
	results.

	An S3 928 card can get up to about 120K XStones.

	I'm currently running an ATI graphics Ultra card at 1280x1024 in
	accelerated mode.  Opaque drags are a GAS.

>
>From the PC-clone UNIX Hardware Buyer's Guide:
>>The bus wars are over --- at least until Intel's Peripheral Connect
>>Interface hits the street and goes head to head with VESA... 
>
>Well, it seems to have hit. Can anyone comment on this? I'm not sure what
>it means.

	Currently, VESA is the most popular bus.  Despite being Icko and
	hacky, it's fast, and mostly works.  The ISA still ships with
	most systems, since EISA still costs an arm and a leg. (100$-200$
	seems to be too much for the average street buyer).

	PCI might very well be the best bus to come by in ages, but
	it's still going to be shipping on predominantly ISA systems.

	Once they make a PCI only system, I'll move.

>Also, I already bought 4 4meg simms when someone told me the price was
>going to keep going up and up. (I know, I was a sucker).  Can these
>simms be used on motherboards that have PCI?
o
	The system bus typically has little to do with SIMM types.

>Also, is there going to be an update to these guides anytime soon? I'm
>on the verge of making the plunge.

	VERY much so, yes:

	comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit


	Your best bet in the short term is to get a VESA Local Bus
	system, and put the graphics card on the VLB.


						Toodlepip!
						Marc 'em.
-- 
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Marc Wandschneider					    Seattle, WA
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