#EISA
15 messages in this thread
I was really surprised that you cannot get a SCSI magneto-optical disk to
work on an EISA system. But I do read that the whole SCSI thing is still in
a state of non-standard. For one thing, I believe I keep hearing that the
commands are still not settled down so that everyone speaks with the same
dialect. Is that a true statement? Then there is SCSI-2 which is coming
but not yet here. Or am I wrong about that? It just seems to me that it
will have to settle in more before the real-time bit-mapped thing you
mentioned can happen. One good thing is that the optical disks seem to be
dropping to a more reasonable price area.
Yup, the SCSI thing is pretty bizarre. In addition to the problem with
EISA busses that we've seen, the latest "rumour" is that SCSI drives can't
handle Windows 3.0 filing system correctly. Especially when using the
smartdrive cache, the word is that Win3.0 is extremely toxic to SCSI
drives. Apparently Microsoft has a 3.0A update that takes care of this
problem, and it's also fixed in the upcoming 3.1.
Optical drives are coming way down in price, and their data transfer rates
are really improving. We sure need it.
– G
Okay, okay…
I just *have to* jump in here.
I just bought an EISA machine, and it kind of works right out of the box!
My setup: Mylex MNE 486/33 EISA motherboard, Artist ZX-1, DPT EISA SCSI
adapter, HP 330MB HD, 16MB 60ns RAM, Western Digital 16bit network card
(ISA, -sigh-), and, oh yes, a Weitek! I have also installed a SONY CDU-531
CD-ROM, and a Howtek Personal Color Scanner, MS-Mouse, and a Kurta IS-ONE.
I am *VERY* happy with the HD access time (and it also works under Win
3.0). The trick with the DPT controller is that either you can use it's
`SmartROM' feature (autoconfigures for your operating system) or it can
emulate a Western Digital controller. I opted not to get a cached
controller ($$$) and am now regretting it even though my dealer said what I
would probably have not noticed the difference (I don't believe him).
Mylex makes a very good EISA graphics controller, which I believe is VGA
compatible. At NCGA we did some informal benchmarks in an AST 486/33 EISA
tower. This setup was performing regen's of SITE-3D.dwg at the rate an
ARTIST card was redrawing!
EISA is here, and it works (with a lot of setup time, though). This
technology WILL NOT CATCH ON as long as we all sit back and wait for it.
We have to be aggressive about asking, and then using new products!
After all, where would we be if we all waited for 3DS 4.0 (or even 2.0)
before trying?
-Mike.
The HD a
Micheal,
The Mylex EISA Graphics Adapter is not a VGA. It is a 34020 board
and has drivers for windows and ACAD. Not for 3DS. 3DS appearently is
religiously tied to the VGA.
Oh well, too bad.
I just heard that their card is being re-designed to make it more
competitive ($$).
-Mike.
This EISA is like a (metaphor coming) big wide highway that was built with
much expense and hoopla, only to find that an occassional Ferrari goes
racing by every 5 minutes or so. The mass-market folks are still busy
serving the 100 million word processor users, who are quite satisfied with
their good old dirt road, thank you..
If multimedia catches on, tho, I'd be willing to bet that another great
"paradigm shift" in hardware will take place, and the highway will be full
of users saying, "Why didn't they make it wider?.."
Mylex, yeah! – John Gummere +SP+
Ahhh, but John,
What about those designers who would benefit from REAL TIME 3D INTERACTION
during the design process. Industrial designers & Architects would be able
to use interactive viewing to better understand the results of their
efforts! Also, the temporal design elements are too often overlooked in
Architectural design, and with realtime presentation, this would be less
likely to happen.
This is already available, to some degree, using high-end boards (IRIS,
Matrox), but wouldn't it be nice to have an AutoCAD that took advantage of
my WEITEK, and an EISA SVGA? Realtime wire-frames, etc? It would be like
the DVIEW aiming routines on every regular AutoCAD command!
Anyway, what I am saying is that this Multimedia stuff is interesting, but
that is not going to be the real application (although I guess it depends
upon your definition of Multimedia <g>). Even wordprocessors will be more
data intensive in five years! Everyone can benefit from faster throughput,
it is just too bad that all of this technology is not readily available
because of certain `industry leaders' that chose to muddy the water through
smear campaigns.
Btw, I am having trouble with Mylex. -sigh-
-Mike (boy, am I getting off the topic, or what?)
Yea, Windows and SCSI. If I don't install PC-KWIK with windows it will
crash. The funny thing is that if I do install PC-KWIK. Windows run
radically fast! iT IS GOOD.
I'd like to know more about PC-KWIK… What is it?
– G
10-Dec-91 21:19:51
One of the ugly and in-sensitive disk caching packages. I keep a 1MB disk
cache around to speed up things that already happened. Like loading a
program to exit it to do some little thing and then loading the same
program again.
** WARNING ** Disk caching can be dangerous, only set it up if you know
what to do. I need about 4 command line switches to make it work.
I've been using PC-KWIK for about four years without a hitch that couldn't
be resolved quickly. It runs on mulitple machines, mulitple
configurations, etc. I would NEVER run a machine without it (or an
equivalent package).
–Steve
Ditto! PCKWIK has been the most reliable cache software for GRAFX for a few
years now on all kinds of machines… No compatibility problems whatsoever.
Steve, a random comment, if I may. We find that *some* people do have
trouble with disk caches. Others don't. It may be the brand of cache; it
may be karma…
PhilD – I certainly believe that some people could have problems with
certain cache software, under certain circumstances. My experience has
always been that any conflict I ever had with PCKWIK could easily be
resolved – and in four years, across 20 machines or so, various DOS
versions, and various programs, I might have had 1 or 2 slight problems.
My point was just that cache software makes such an incredible difference
in most applications that any time spent solving an incompatibility will be
repaid over and over and over.
–Steve
Steve, glad to hear that you have had such reliability with PCKWIK. I'll
file that recommendation away for future use. –Phil