At 10:25 PM 12/25/98 -0700, you wrote:
>Eric wrote:
<SNIP>
>> Merry Christmas.
>>
>> My Father just purchased the 5050 at a local retailer here in NJ.  It runs
>> great for the price, but I have to say that it is slower than my Pentium 233
>> MMX.  It may be due to the video, but I just think the Celeron 333 is a
>fairly
>> slow chip.
>>
>> If it was me, I'd toss in $200 extra and go for a PII or an AMD K6 chip.
>>
>> When setting up the computer for him, I did not notice a setting to use
>system
>> RAM for the video.  It could be there, I just didn't notice it and I went
all
>> through the BIOS.
>>
>> Eric
>
>That's odd, Eric
>   Not doubting your observation.  But I read in PC Mag that the Celeron
>333MHZ was a little faster that the P-II 300.  Wonder if the video could
>be slowing down your fathers system?  If it is indeed slower than a P-II
>233, then you have probably changed my mind about the purchase.  Thank
>You for the response.
>
>John

That is entirely possible (about the video slowing it down).  I really didn't
play around too much with hardware.  He was so happy with the new system that I
tried to keep my mouth shut.  Having upgraded from an IBM PS/2 Model 70, he
basically thought he was moving at warp speeds 8-)

Then again, on this very list I have heard other people warn about the earlier
Celeron's.  I believe they only have a limited amount of on-board cache (maybe
32K but I don't remember), while the PII's have 512K on-board.  I have heard
good things about the AMD chip (K6's), but I have no experience with them.

Overall, the Compaq is a good value for the money.  The amount of software
included was impressive and the package was put together with quality in mind.
My Father somehow managed to get the 5050 with a 17" monitor (digital),
flat-bed scanner, color printer (a good one too!) for under $900.  It was a
good choice for him and may be for you.

Happy Hunting.


Eric

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