First post, by i486_inside
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I have recently acquired a CompuAdd 316s
Specs
386sx @ 16mhz
4MB ram
Compuadd branded motherboard
-Chips and Technologies chipset
-Onboard WD ide controller
-Pheonix Keyboard Controller
120MB WD AC2120
1.44MB floppy
512K tseng ET4000
235W SPI ATX Power supply with AT converter
-The original 200W senstron blew up in an accident where the power switch shorted to ground(The power switch on the side of the front bezel was the wrong kind of switch it had 0.187" solder receptacles instead of 0.187" quick connect receptacles as a result the wires (with .187" quick connect terminals) where loose and shorted with the case)(It still baffels me that anyone ever thought it was a good idea to run 120VAC(or 240V in other countries) to switch on the front of the box instead of doing the safe thing and put the switch on the back of the power supply)
-The power switch on the front of the unit is now there just for show , since I shorted the power on therminals on the atx unit and I turn the computer on/off with the switch on the back of the PSU.
I am considering upgrading the ram to 16MB( from 4MB) but, I am not sure if it will take the full 16MB that the 386SX can adress, I found some old ads in old issues of PC World and Info World on Google books that say that it was upgradeable to 4MB I'm not sure if that is the true hardware limit ( only 22 of 24 adress lines connected) or if it is was just marketing bunk to protect sales of more expensive models.
I have also been looking at coprocessors There are some sellers on ebay from china that have have them for ~$11 shipped most of them have a copyright from '86, but one seller has one that has a copyright date of '98, Is the '98 version real ( possibly a newer stepping because intel sold the 386 for embedded use for years after they were obsoleted in the PC market) or a fake knockoff?