GBU - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

From OS2World.Com Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Article Info
Author
Date
OS Version
Companion File N/A
Source N/A

GBU Version 1.09

What is GBU?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

It is no secret that many people have had less than wonderful experiences getting OS/2 to work with sub-standard computer hardware. This document is an attempt to minimize these problems in the future. It can be used as a shopping list, or to compare against your machine to find if other people using the same hardware have had similar problems.

As is the case with any document of this type, it can only be helpful if it is supported by the potential users. This means that enough people must send in enough messages that a representative sample of the available hardware gets listed. Please email me new submissions at altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca. New versions will be posted as additions are made to the list.

Feel free to upload this document to any ftp site, BBS, or online service that does not already have it, or that has an older version of it.

Detailed Description

Since many of the problems people have had with OS/2 stem from semi-compatible PC hardware, I will maintain a live document of computer hardware with respect to its performance with OS/2. I will make this document available by uploading it to a local BBS, ftp-os2.nmsu.edu, and ftp-os2.cdrom.com. It will be distributed both as a viewable INF file and as clear text.

Please send me messages about any hardware experiences you want to share. In particular I am looking for information on motherboards, video cards, multi-I/O cards, SCSI controllers, floppy drives, hard drives, CD-ROM drives, printers, modems, mice, track balls, graphics tablets, multi-serial port cards, and any other hardware you have had good, bad, or ugly experiences with.

The definitions I am using are:

GOOD
hardware that caused no known problems, software drivers were available in shrink wrap either with OS/2 or with the hardware, or drivers were freely available on BBSs.
BAD
hardware that has proved to be incompatible with OS/2 due to excessive numbers of trap messages, or OS/2 drivers do not exist. The hardware might still work in DOS or Windows sessions with appropriate drivers.
UGLY
hardware that has had problems which could be corrected only after some serious work (changing jumpers doesn't qualify as serious), the available drivers take advantage of only some of the features of the hardware, only beta level (or worse) drivers exist, or the hardware works only in a "compatibility mode". If there are several messages with conflicting votes for a piece of hardware, it will automatically be placed in this category.

The specific information I need includes: type of hardware (mother board, video card, etc.), the manufacturer, model number, chip set, serial number range (if it matters), version of OS/2 used to test the hardware, and a vote on Good, Bad, or Ugly, with a specific problem report or glowing recommendation, and any caveats regarding the GBU vote.

To decide which category your submission fits in, ask yourself if you would recommend this hardware to someone who does not have any DOS or Windows programs. I may change the GBU designation based on the comments or caveats if they point to a different designation using the guidelines above.

Any script files or chunks of code supplied with a submission can be included as a footnote. Cross references to other submissions will be maintained as hypertext links.

If you wish to refute a previous category for a piece of hardware, please provide adequate documentation that the hardware should change from one category to another. It is almost impossible to promote something from Bad to Good directly without said hardware spending at least one release of GBU in Ugly. Likewise for the opposite (less likely) demotion.

Please send messages directly to me via Internet or the networked IBM BBS based in Canada. On the (Canada) IBM BBS, send messages to John Altstadt. Private messages may be sent via the Ibm.Bbsmsg forum or uploaded as files with a note to the sysop to forward the file to me.

To reduce the time required to generate a new edition of GBU, I prefer that messages are sent to me in IPF format, as I can just cut & paste them into the source files, and then bang out a new version quickly. If this is a problem for you, then send them in ASCII format and I will do the appropriate conversion. Please use only one format for any submissions. These panels show example text that you would be replacing highlighted this way.

Not all fields will make sense for all hardware categories.

The examples given are for hardware that does not exist.

IPF Source Format Example.

Select this window, press <Ctrl> to copy this text to the clipboard, then press <Shift> to paste it into your editor.

 Category:  CD-ROM drive
 GBU rating:  good
 
 :p.----
 :hp8.
 :dl break=all tsize=3.
 :dt.:hp2.Type:ehp2.
 :dd.SCSI-2 interface, octuple speed
 :dt.:hp2.Manufacturer:ehp2.
 :dd.Toshisonic
 :dt.:hp2.Model Number:ehp2.
 :dd.XJ-9/4000
 :dt.:hp2.Chip Set:ehp2.
 :dd.Fish &amp. Chips
 :dt.:hp2.Comments:ehp2.
 :dd.Driver included with OS/2.  Uses 25 disk cartridges.
 :dt.:hp2.Caveats:ehp2.
 :dd.The drive will overheat and melt the CD-ROM after 50 milliseconds if
 the liquid helium coolant hose is disconnected.
 :edl.
 :dl compact tsize=18.:dthd.:hp2.OS/2 Version:ehp2.:ddhd.:hp2.Rated by:ehp2.
 :dt.Warp 5.0
 :dd.altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca - good
 :edl.
 :ehp8.

A skeleton format without the sample text. Delete the text above before saving the file.

 Category:
 GBU rating:
 
 :p.----
 :hp8.
 :dl break=all tsize=3.
 :dt.:hp2.Type:ehp2.
 :dd.
 :dt.:hp2.Manufacturer:ehp2.
 :dd.
 :dt.:hp2.Model Number:ehp2.
 :dd.
 :dt.:hp2.Chip Set:ehp2.
 :dd.
 :dt.:hp2.Comments:ehp2.
 :dd.
 :dt.:hp2.Caveats:ehp2.
 :dd.
 :edl.
 :dl compact tsize=18.:dthd.:hp2.OS/2 Version:ehp2.:ddhd.:hp2.Rated by:ehp2.
 :dt.
 :dd.
 :edl.
 :ehp8.

ASCII Source Format Example.

Select this window, press <Ctrl> to copy this text to the clipboard, then press <Shift> to paste it into your editor.

Category:  CD-ROM drive
GBU rating:  good

Type:  SCSI-2 interface, octuple speed
Manufacturer:  Toshisonic
Model Number:  XJ-9/4000
Chip Set:  Fish & Chips
Comments:  Driver included with OS/2.  Uses 25 disk cartridges.
Caveats:  The drive will overheat and melt the CD-ROM after 50 milliseconds
if the liquid helium coolant hose is disconnected.
OS/2 version:  Warp 5.0
Rated by:  altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca - good

A skeleton format without the sample text. Delete the text above before saving the file.

Category:
GBU rating:

Type:
Manufacturer:
Model Number:
Chip Set:
Comments:
Caveats:
OS/2 version:
Rated by:

Other Sources of Help

Check for the following documents on BBSs, Internet archive sites, Usenet news groups, and WWW sites.

PCMTAB.ZIP
IBM's list of 3rd party hardware that has passed compatibility tests with OS/2. This is an excellent list, but each entry is limited to the information that can be contained on a single line. Information on equipment that has failed the standard set of tests is not included. Much of the list covers complete systems as supplied to IBM by the various clone manufacturers, so it would be a good resource for people about to purchase a new system.
Patrick Duffy's PCI Lists
Patrick Duffy posts several lists to the Usenet news group comp.os.os2.misc every week. These lists cover PCI chip sets, motherboards, video cards, and SCSI controller cards.
FAQxxx.ZIP
The FAQ maintained by Timothy Sipples contains some tips regarding hardware and OS/2 in general.
http://pclt.cis.yale.edu/pclt/default.htm:The PC Lube and Tune site has general information on the PC architecture.

This is a list of anonymous ftp sites mentioned elsewhere in this document.

creative.creaf.com       drivers and software for Creative Labs cards
ftp-boi.external.hp.com  drivers for Hewlett-Packard printers
ftp.europe.ibm.com       drivers for PCMCIA on Compaq Contura Aero
ftp-os2.nmsu.edu         collection of OS/2 shareware, freeware, and information 
ftp.gate.net             drivers for Optics Storage CD-ROM drive 
microsoft.com     Windows drivers, mscdex

What's New?

Good Audio cards

Type
   8-bit mono card
Manufacturer
   CPS
Model Number 
   Soundblaster Junior
Caveats
   Does work only with recent Soundblaster drivers. The CD audio
   connector has to be changed from 1234 to 2143 for use with a
   Mitsumi FX001D CD-ROM drive

OS/2 Version      Rated by
< 3.0             marc_van-woerkom@ac3.maus.de - good
Type
   16 bit stereo with SCSI-2 port
Manufacturer
   Creative Labs
Model Number
   Sound Blaster 16 SCSI-2
Chip Set
   Creative CT174x
Comments
   Drivers supplied on MMPM diskettes. The card comes with DOS and
   Windows drivers and software. New drivers for DOS, Windows, and
   OS/2 are available via anonymous ftp from Creative Labs
   The DOS drivers will let you change the IRQ
   and DMA channels, so the card can be set for IRQ10 under OS/2 and 
   Windows, while older DOS programs can use IRQ 2, 5, and 7 inside a 
   BAT file wrapper.  OS/2 will allow DOS programs to change the IRQ 
   on the fly.  See the Good SCSI Controller cards section for more 
   info.
Caveats
   The SB16 cards are known for hiss, clicks, and pops when playing 
   8-bit wav files.  Some of the system sounds skip the first chunk of 
   the file, but sound correct when using the Audio Player.  The 
   updated drivers from Creative Labs solve these problems.  OS/2 will 
   allow DOS programs to change the card IRQ on the fly, which has 
   potential for serious problems.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
2.11 - 3.0        altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca - good
Type
   8-bit FM synthesis card
Manufacturer
   Creative Labs
Model Number
   SoundBlaster "Value Edition"
Chip Set
   Creative Labs
Comments
   Very minimal card, but works fine.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good
Manufacturer
   MediaVision
Model Number
   Pro Audio Spectrum-16 Basic
Comments
   Requires 3rd party drivers for OS/2 2.1GA. Readily available.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
< 3.0             jim.royer@nmebbs.org - good
Type
   ISA 16-bit
Manufacturer
   Orchid ?
Model Number 
   Sound Producer Pro
Comments
   Cheap!, Creative Sound-Blaster Pro emulation - runs Doom in stereo
   under DOS fine :)  Works perfectly with the v2.1 and newer Creative 
   Labs SB drivers (OPL 3) with a wide range of IRQs and base
   addresses.  Also includes a Panasonic CD-ROM ifce. and optional (and
   pretty useless) CD-ROM only Trantor SCSI chpiset.

   The CR563 hitched without any problems as long as you remember 
   (1) to turn on the CDROM interface and (2) ignore the CD drivers 
   that come w/ the SP-Pro card (my disks are v1.1)! They didn't 
   work, but the CDROM drive came with IBM's ISA CDROM drivers which 
   installed first time under DOS and seem to work fine. Under OS/2 I 
   have v2.11 (serviced v2.1) and installation was rather worse: 
   Selective Install mentions the 563 but installation requires putting 
   disks 3-9 in succession into the drive and very little is done. After 
   reboot the SBCD2.ADD driver had NOT been copied to the OS/2 
   directory on my boot disk, so I did it manually and lo! the Feb 94 
   driver from Hobbes worked first time, though I think Selective Install 
   damaged the file system slightly on my OS2 boot drive which 
   CHKDSK subsequently fixed.
Caveats
   Only 8-bit sound.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
2.1               j.c.w.price@qmw.ac.uk - good

Ugly Audio cards

Type
   8-bit stereo
Manufacturer
   ATI
Model Number
   Stereo F/X
Chip Set
   Yamaha
Comments
   Run with driver for SoundBlaster (SBD2.SYS) included in OS/2. The
   card setup (Channel, IRQ, DMA) is done by DOS software - no
   jumpers!
Caveats
   Not the whole functionality of the ATI Stereo F/X is supported by
   the Soundblaster driver:  playback of MIDI, digital stereo and files
   with a sample rate of 44,1 kHz doesn't work.  If many sounds are 
   played in a short period of time, the WPS often hangs, due to bad 
   driver programming. Quite old model, which is scarcely supported by ATI.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
Warp 3.0          gerber@kilo.emk.e-technik.th-darmstadt.de - ugly
Type
   16 bit sound card
Manufacturer
   Advanced Gravis
Model Number
   Gravis Ultrasound
Comments
   I used a revision 2.2 board; there is little physical difference between
   the early 2.2 rev.  board and the more recent boards, rev 3.X I
   believe.  The Gus Max is similar and uses the same drivers. The GUS
   ACE is a add on for the soundblaster series and may work
   differently under OS/2 than the GUS card.
Caveats
   Only drivers available are _alpha_ Gravis drivers and shareware
   drivers.  Winos2 support non-existant unless you register the
   shareware drivers because Windows drivers are VXDs.  Emulation of 
   the soundblaster and roland cards under dos also not possible for 
   same reason.  Manley drivers, when registered will address this in a 
   future release.  No Midi support for os/2 unless you have midi device 
   attached. (Not tested)
OS/2 Version      Rated by
3.0               homi@netcom.com - ugly
Type
   8-bit mono
Manufacturer
   MediaVision
Model Number
   Thunderboard
Chip Set
   MediaVision Thunder
Comments
   Other soundcards which claim to be SoundBlaster 2.0 compatible
   (some using the Thunder chipset) do not work with the Warp SB 2.0 
   driver either. It has to be patched in order to work.  See below. 
Caveats
   Not the whole functionality of the Thunderboard is supported by the
   Soundblaster driver, most notably playback of MIDI (FM synthesis
   with OPL3).
   o 2.1:  search for the patch tbos2.zip on ftp.cdrom.com, etc.
   o 3.0:  search for the patch sb2warp.zip on ftp.cdrom.com, etc.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
2.1, 3.0          leeuw@fwi.uva.nl - ugly

Bad Audio cards

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good CD-ROM drives

Type
   AT-BUS, double-speed
Manufacturer
   Mitsumi
Model Number
   FX 001D
Comments
   Good and cheap
   Double Speed successor of the LU-Drive; driver kit available on
   various BBSes (mitfx.zip; 17131 bytes).  Includes MMPM/2-Support
   (CD-Player).  Easy to install.  Can use upper interrupts (10,11) or
   software polling.
Caveats
   I had to change the audio connector from 1234 to 2143 to connect to
   to my soundblaster clone. This may not be a problem with other
   Soundcards
   No OS/2 drivers shipped with the drive, To install OS/2 from CD-ROM 
   you need to change the first boot disk (explained in the mitfx.zip archive).
OS/2 Version      Rated by
< 3.0             marc_van-woerkom@ac3.maus.de - good
< 3.0             Pascal.Gienger@uni-konstanz.de - GOOD
Type 
   proprietary interface 
Manufacturer 
   Mitsumi
Model Number 
   LU005
Comments
   Driver available from the usual sources. Caddyless.
Caveats
   Can't install OS/2 from CD-ROM unless you've modified the OS/2
   installation disks to include the driver.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good
Type
   SCSI-1 interface, double speed
Manufacturer
   NEC
Model Number
   CDR-84
Comments
   Driver included with OS/2.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good
Type 
   SCSI-2, triple speed, caddy 
Manufacturer 
   NEC
Model Number 
   CDR 510
Comments
   OEM version of NEC 3Xi. Cdthru says that the drive tops out at 401
   kbytes/sec.  OS/2 2.1 GA and later recognize the drive as either an
   NEC Multi-Spin or as an NEC 3Xx right out of the box.
Caveats
   There are rumors that NEC doesn't support OEM drives in any way,
   and is even hostile to people that buy such drives.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
2.10 - 3.0        altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca - good
Type
   SCSI-2, Quad Speed, internal
Manufacturer
   Plextor
Model Number
   4Plex (PX43-CH)   
Comments
   Fast.  1Mb Buffer ram.  Uses caddies.  OS/2 Warp recognizes it
   automatically.  Software Eject.
Caveats
   No automatic loading, you have to push the caddy all the way into 
   the drive by hand.  For some reason it suddenly developed a 
   problem with spinning certain discs, but then the problem 
   disappeared.  Expensive. 
OS/2 Version      Rated by
Warp 3.0          tam@usc.edu - good
Type
   SCSI-II, double speed
Manufacturer
   Plextor (formerly TEXEL)
Model Number 
   DM3028
Comments
   Driver included with OS/2 (use the Texel 3024 driver). Uses caddies.
   Self-cleaning lens mechanism. Software eject.
Caveats
   Does not support digital transfer on audio-CD's
OS/2 Version      Rated by
< 3.0             paltiel@cnj.digex.net - good
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 
Type
   proprietary interface
Manufacturer
   Reveal (Panasonic)
Model Number
   CD-620 (Panasonic CR-563b)
Comments
   Requires SBCD2.ADD or SBCD2PAN.ADD drivers to operate in OS/2 2.1
   GA. Fully supported under OS/2 2.11.
   Panasonic CDROM support under OS2 is excellent provided you have 
   OS/2 v2.11 or greater which supports the 563 directly.  The DOS 
   drivers are out of date, but drivers that ship with the CDROM drive 
   work fine.  Appears to be a decent standard port, though there is 
   no support for IRQ-driven data transfer, which is supposedly quicker 
   and less CPU-intensive than the pure I/O port stuff.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
< 3.0             jim.royer@nmebbs.org - good 
2.1               j.c.w.price@qmw.ac.uk - good 
Type 
   Quad speed, Panasonic/creative labs interface
Manufacturer 
   Teac
Model Number 
   CD-55a
Comments
   Requires driver CD55os1.zip from Hobbes, found in /os2/drivers.  
   Works with both Warp (under which I tested it) and 2.11. 
Caveats
   Installation procedure on driver disk is both simple and thorough. 
   Drive installs without incident, and seems to work well in OS/2, DOS, 
   and Windows 3.1.  (note:  some users have reported that this drive 
   requires either the TEAC proprietary interface card, or a genuine 
   Creative Labs Soundblaster card.  Clones may or may not work 
   properly.) 
OS/2 Version      Rated by 
3.0               farnold@alberich.duch.udel.edu - good
Type
   SCSI-2 Single Speed
Manufacturer
   Toshiba
Model Number
   3301
OS/2 Version      Rated by
<=3.0             dguthrie@iisys.com - good

Type
   SCSI interface
Manufacturer
   Toshiba
Model Number
   3401
Comments
   Driver included with OS/2.  Uses caddies.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good
Type
   SCSI Interface, double speed
Manufacturer
   Toshiba
Model Number
   4101
Comments
   Driver included with OS/2. Caddyless
OS/2 Version      Rated by
< 3.0             reinhard@ifki50.informatik.fh-muenchen.de - good 
Type
   Proprietary interface, double speed
Manufacturer
   Wearnes
Model Number 
   CDD-110
Chip Set
   Philips
Comments
   Includes interface card and DOS drivers. Caddyless
Caveats
   Sony OEM drive but it doesn't work with the Sony drivers.  OS/2
   drivers are available at ftp-os2.nmsu.edu in
   /os2/2_1/drivers/wearnes.zip.  This driver works with OS/2 2.1 and 
   OS/2 3.0 Warp.
OS/2 Version      Rated by
2.1, 3.0          peterpv@ice2.utwente.nl - good

Ugly CD-ROM drives

Type 
   Proprietary interface, double speed. 
Manufacturer 
   Optics Storage 
Model Number 
   Dolphin 8000AT 
Chip Set 
   Philips 
Comments 
   Includes interface card & DOS drivers. Caddyless. 
Caveats 
   From what I can tell the drive is a Sony OEM.  However, no drivers 
   for OS/2 can be found nor do the current Sony drivers work with 
   the card. However, the DOS drivers provided do load in a DOS box if 
   only someone can find a MSCDEX.EXE that will access the drive from 
   a DOS box. [sandman] 
   Sony OEM drive but it doesn't work with the Sony drivers.  OS/2 
   drivers are available at:  ftp.gate.net /pub/users/pyle/dolat001.exe 
   This driver works with OS/2 3.0 Warp.  [peterpv]
OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             sandman@netcom.com - ugly 
3.0               peterpv@ice2.utwente.nl - good 

Bad CD-ROM drives

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good Flopticals

Nothing supplied in this category.

Ugly Flopticals

Type 
   SCSI-II 
Manufacturer 
   Insite 
Model Number 
   Unknown (Only one revision, known) 
Comments 
   Driver support from 3rd party (Corel via CorelSCSI), reads and writes 
   1.44MB, 720K, 21MB 3-1/2" floppies, reads normal floppies at 2-3 
   times speed of a normal 3-1/2" drive 
Caveats 
   Software conflict with MMPM/2's system sounds, incorrectly formats 
   21MB flopticals, unable to format any media from OS/2 WPS, format 
   created by OS/2 version of CorelSCSI unrecognizable by DOS based 
   floptical drivers, unable to change size of floptical software cache, 
   accessing drive locks WPS 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             paltiel@cnj.digex.net - ugly 

Bad Flopticals

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good Hard Disks

Type 
   513MB IDE HD 
Manufacturer 
   Fujitsu 
Model Number 
   M2624T 
Comments 
   Very fast, durable, reliable, 5-year replacement warranty 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             fredng@io.org - good 
Type 
   SCSI-2 interface 
Manufacturer 
   IBM 
Model Number 
   1 GB SCSI-II HD 
Chip Set 
   
Comments 
   Fast and reliable. Flawless installation and operation with ADAPTEC 
   AHA 2842VL adapter. 
Caveats 
   A bit noisy when busy. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
<= 2.11           100424.3441@compuserve.com - good 
Type 
   SCSI-2 / SCSI-3 / SCSI FAST  4GB 
Manufacturer 
   Quantum 
Model Number 
   Grand Prix 34301 
Comments 
   Super fast, great for multimedia server 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
<=3.0             dguthrie@iisys.com - good  
Type 
   Fast SCSI-II, 340MB 
Manufacturer 
   Seagate 
Model Number 
   ST3390N 
Comments 
   Audible high-pitched whine; makes loud popping noises when 
   powered on or off. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good  
Type 
   340MB IDE HD 
Manufacturer 
   Western Digital 
Model Number 
   Caviar 2340 
Comments 
   Fast, reliable 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             fredng@io.org - good 

Ugly Hard Disks

Type 
   SCSI-II (?), 540MB 
Manufacturer 
   Quantum 
Model Number 
   LPS540S 
Comments 
   When used with a PCI-bus NCR chipset on a J-Bond or Asus 
   motherboard, OS/2 2.1 refuses to boot from the hard disk unless the 
   /!SN option is specified in the OS2CAM.ADD driver.  OS/2 2.99 Warp 
   Beta II will boot, but there's a 45-second delay during boot 
   (operation is normal after bootup).  Functions corectly when used 
   with an UltraStor 34F VLB SCSI controller on a Diamond FastBus VLB 
   motherboard with either OS/2 2.1 or OS/2 2.99 Warp Beta II. 
Caveats 
   In above OS/2 2.1 scenario with NCR SCSI chipset, the boot partition 
   was occasionally WIPED OUT (OS/2 identified it as unformatted and 
   gave error messages when access was attempted). 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - ugly 
Type 
   SCSI-2 interface, 220 Meg 
Manufacturer 
   Seagate 
Model Number 
   ST3283N 
Comments 
   Overall, the performance of the drive is actually quite good.  I've 
   had few problems with the drive itself, by itself. 
Caveats 
   It intensely dislikes other SCSI devices.  It uses weird termination, 
   which throws off the entire SCSI chain.  You will only get three 
   devices working, for example, by terminating every device in the 
   chain.  Needless to say, troubleshooting is an absolute nightmare. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             jcarmack@phoenix.sas.muohio.edu 

Bad Hard Disks

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good IDE cards

Type 
   ISA bus, with floppy controller 
Manufacturer 
   Boca Research, Inc. 
Model Number 
   IDE002 
Chip Set 
   GoldStar 
Caveats 
   Tested for floppy controller only; IDE adapter disabled. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good  
Type 
   ISA 16-bit 4xIDE HD/2xFDD controller 
Manufacturer 
   Promise 
Model Number 
   Promise DC200 
Comments 
   Caching HD controller for the lame ISA bus.  Flawlessly handles 1-4 
   IDEs under DOS and OS/2 (v1.0 driver supplied for OS/2, 1.0C and v1.2 
   available by ftp), allows use of two IDE drives that wont 
   master/slave properly.  Takes 1Mb/4Mb SIMMS in pairs (3 chip or 9 
   chip 80 ns OK) 
Caveats 
   Shutdown does not write the cache immediately, so you must wait 
   for the drive light to go out! v1.2 drivers seem to be for the VL-Bus 
   version, loses support for the second IDE cable :( 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
2.1               j.c.w.price@qmw.ac.uk - good  
Type 
   ISA IDE Controller 
Manufacturer 
   Western Digital 
Comments 
   Not very fast, but rock solid 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             fredng@io.org - good 

Ugly IDE cards

Nothing supplied in this category.

Bad IDE cards

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good I/O cards

Type 
   1 (bi-directional) parallel 2 serial (16550) ports, 1 game 
Manufacturer 
   Circo Technology 1-800-678-1688 818-369-5779 
Model Number 
   AT I/O for 2S 1p(bi-di). 1g 
Chip Set 
   16550 
Comments 
   Cost $30.00 After trying many parallel printer ports that were NOT 
   bi-directional and didn't work with WARP 3.0, I finally found one that 
   works with my second printer.  Most IDE/SCSI Multi I/O cards are 
   already bi-directional; try finding a second printer port that is 
   however--good luck! 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
3.0               ged17r1@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu - good 
Type 
   serial/parallel/game port 
Manufacturer 
   Kentech 
Chip Set 
   74LS series parts 
Comments 
   jumper selections for COM ports at 1/3 and 2/4, jumper selections to 
   put PRT at 1/2, one UART is socketed 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
2.0 - 3.0         altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca - good 

Type 
   ISA bus 
Manufacturer 
   Kouwell 
Model Number 
   KV 66 
Chip Set 
   SMC 
Comments 
   One of the better I/O cards I've seen.  This one has support for two 
   floppies up to 2.88, two 16550 compliant serial ports, one EPP/ECP 
   parallel port and one game port. 
Caveats 
   Limited choices when it comes to IRQ's. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
3.0               sbowers@primenet.com - good  
Type 
   4 port, 16554 chip 
Manufacturer 
   STB 
Model Number 
   4-COM 
Chip Set 
   16554 
Comments 
   Allows 4 com ports on 1 interrupt 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
<=3.0             dguthrie@iisys.com - good  
Type 
   2S/1P/1G card 
Manufacturer 
   ZyXEL 
Model Number 
   I/O 16550-1 
Chip Set 
   One 16450, one 16550 UART for serial ports 
Comments 
   In contrast to fredng@io.org's account, my card has a GoldStar 16450 
   and a Startech 16550.  Still works fine, though. 
Caveats 
   Game port can't be disabled. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 

Ugly I/O cards

Nothing supplied in this category.

Bad I/O cards

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good Keyboards

Manufacturer 
   Focus 
Model Number 
   FK6000 
OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good  
Manufacturer 
   Fujitsu 
Model Number 
   FKB4700 
Comments 
   full use of grey keys 
Caveats 
   keyboard driver would trap in version 2.0 GA + SP 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
2.0 - 3.0         altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca - good  
Manufacturer 
   IBM 
Model Number 
   1391401 
Comments 
   Rock solid!  It's been dropped, had liquid spilled into it and it still 
   runs great. 
Caveats 
   Required a 6 pin Mini DIN to 5 pin DIN convertor 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
3.0               sbowers@primenet.com - good  
Type 
   Programmable Keyboard 
Manufacturer 
   KeyPro 
Model Number 
   FK-9000 
Chip Set 
   
Comments 
   Standard OS/2 drivers work great 
Caveats 
   Contains 12 programmable keys (limited to 14 characters though) 
   and (my favorite feature) a built in calculator that uses the numeric 
   keypad 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
2.1, 3.0          scott@wymer.demon.co.uk - good  
Manufacturer 
   Keytronics 
Model Number 
   E03601Q 
Comments 
   full use of grey keys 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             jim.royer@nmebbs.org - good 
Manufacturer 
   Monterey 
Model Number 
   K104 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 
Type 
   101-key 
Manufacturer 
   NMB Technologies 
Model Number 
   RT101+ 
Comments 
   Sold as CompUSA "generic" keyboard; above manufacturer taken 
   from label on keyboard, and does not appear on display shelf box. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 
Type 
   101-key Enhanced 
Manufacturer 
   NorthGate 
Model Number 
   OmniKey/101 
Comments 
   Great tactile feeling, persistent to my abuse (I don't type, I pound on 
   my keyboard hard!), even better than IBM keyboards!  [fredng] 
   Unusual keyboard layout, especially around cursor keys.  Light but 
   "clicky" feel.  [rsmith] 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             fredng@io.org - good 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 

Ugly Keyboards

Nothing supplied in this category.

Bad Keyboards

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good Magneto Optical drives

Type 
   SCSI-2 interface 
Manufacturer 
   Fujitsu 
Model Number 
   DynoMO 230 
Comments 
   Great, fully re-writeable technology.  Drivers not included with OS/2 
   but can be found on Fujitsu BBS or Internet, contact Fujitsu for 
   filename. After drivers are obtained install is as easy a 123.  Works 
   in DOS and Windoze sessions great. 
Caveats 
   Only gripe I have is that OS2 and DOS seem to need a bit of 
   customizing to get top performance, it may be my lack of experience 
   with SCSI and Optical devices.  Not that it is slow, it just claims to 
   be able to do 2 Meg per second (I think), and it doesn't seem to be 
   doing that. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
3.0               myersd@cadvision.com - good  
Type 
   SCSI-2, 3.5in, 128Mb 
Manufacturer 
   Sony 
Model Number 
   SMO-F331 (internal) 
Chip Set 
   
Comments 
   Good reliable performance.  Tough, I accidentally dropped it 3-4 feet 
   before I installed it and still works fine.  Tested with Sound Blaster 
   16 SCSI-2 interface and Adaptec 2940 PCI.  Worked flawlessly.  
   Needs Optical.sys driver which I think could be found at hobbes.  Has 
   to be formatted the IBM way as one large floppy for OS/2 to read. 
Caveats 
   Termination cannot be set.  Not that fast with only 220kb/sec 
   transfer rate. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
Warp 3.0          tam@usc.edu - good 

Ugly Magneto Optical drives

Type 
   3.5", SCSI Interface 
Manufacturer 
   Fujitsu 
Model Number 
   M2511A 
Comments 
   OS/2 recognizes it's there, but thinks it's a 2.88MB floppy drive.  I've 
   been unable to get it to work better, but haven't tried too hard, 
   either.  [rsmith] 
   Tested with an Adaptec AHA1542CF SCSI adapter.  OS/2 recognizes 
   that the M.O.  drive it's there, but the WPS format utility apparently 
   thinks it's a 2.88MB floppy drive.  However a properly FAT formatted 
   cartridge is obtained nonetheless. 
   Adaptec SCSI drivers included with OS/2.  Available also at 
   ftp-os2.nmsu.edu.  [marziani] 
Caveats 
   Only FAT seems supported.  No HPFS for 128MB cartridges.  Not all 
   (i.e. very few) SCSI adapters and their respective OS/2 drivers seem 
   to support this unit.  Adaptec 1542CF works fine.  [marziani] 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - bad 
< 3.0             marziani@vaxfe.fe.infn.it - good 

Bad Magneto Optical drives

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good Modems

Type 
   external 
Manufacturer 
   AT&T Paradyne 
Model Number 
   Dataport 
Chip set 
   AT&T 
Comments 
   Flawless operation with both ZOC and Fax/PM 
Caveats 
   Does not come with OS/2 software. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good  
Type 
   V. 34 28,800bps Fax/modem, internal 
Manufacturer 
   Practical Peripherals 
Model Number 
   PM288HC II V.34 
Chip Set 
   Rockwell 
Comments 
   Good, basic, reliable and fast.  No fancy features like auto 
   data/voice detection.  Works with ZOC, Fax/PM, OS2CIM, and PPP.  
   Built in 16550A UART. Computer to modem rates of up to 115,200bps.  
   Connects to V.FC modems as well.  Group 3 Fax under Class 1 and 
   Class 2 operation at up to 14,400 bps.  I've gotten CARRIER rates up 
   to 24,000bps only, but probably due to bad phone lines. 
Caveats 
   Manual is a little too brief.  No Flash Rom for easy bios update. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
Warp 3.0          tam@usc.edu - good  
Type 
   External 
Manufacturer 
   Supra 
Model Number 
   FaxModem 288 
Comments 
   Documentation excellent, configuration easy, new led display is 
   great. The power switch is on the front for very easy access.  
   Performance is excellent and above average reliablility, compared to 
   my past Zoom 28.8 modem (which lost carrier often).  The 
   re-negotiating, due to line quality, is great, and with the led display 
   it shows instantly what the current modem-modem speed is. 
Caveats 
   The Fax software it comes with is lacking, but Data software is just 
   ok. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
3.0               myersd@cadvision.com - good  
Type 
   14.4k Fax Modem 
Manufacturer 
   US Robotics 
Model Number 
   14,400 Fax Modem 
Comments 
   Supported by virtually all communication programs, inexpensive, 
   reliable, although not a screamer in performance 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             fredng@io.org - good  
Type 
   internal v.32bis (14,400 bps) fax-modem 
Manufacturer 
   US Robotics 
Model Number 
   Sportster 
Chip Set 
   80186 with DSPs 
Comments 
   User should change the default settings, since it's set up for COM3 
   with an IRQ shared with COM1.  Includes built-in 16550 UART. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good  
Type 
   14.4 Fax/Modem 16550UART ISA (internal) 
Manufacturer 
   Zoom 
Model Number 
   VFP V.32bis 
Chip Set 
   Rockwell 14.4Kbps 
Comments 
   20 Mhz controller and v.32bix data pump on board. 16550UART. MNP 5 
   and v.42bis. Group III, Class 1 and 2 Fax (V.17). Selectable port 
   settings at (COM/IRQ): 1/4, 2/3, 3/4, 4/3, 3/2, 4/2, 3/5, 4/5 through 
   jumpers. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             davmp@alumni.caltech.edu - good  
Type 
   external 
Manufacturer 
   ZyXEL 
Model Number 
   U-1496E 
Chip set 
   68000 cpu & TI DSPs 
Comments 
   Flawless operation with many DOS, Windows, and OS/2 programs 
Caveats 
   Some versions of ZyXEL's Z-Fax DOS software don't run under OS/2; 
   does not come with OS/2 software. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 

Ugly Modems

Nothing supplied in this category.

Bad Modems

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good Monitors

Type 
   15" SVGA 
Manufacturer 
   KFC 
Model Number 
   1511 
Comments 
   Handles 30-60KHz horizontal, 50-90Hz vertical -- enough for 1024x768 
   at 70Hz but not (quite) 1280x1024 at 70Hz.  Manual controls. 
Caveats 
   First two units I received were defective; the third seems OK. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good  
Type 
   17" Multisync 
Manufacturer 
   Mag Innovision 
Model Number 
   DX17F 
Comments 
   Large display area.  Microprocessor controlled multifrequency.  
   100Mhz bandwith.  30-64kHz Horizontal Refresh, 50-100Hz Vertical 
   Refresh. Supports up to 1280x1024.  Good price.  Supports DPMS 
Caveats 
   1280x1024 Resolution will only work at up to 60Hz Vertical Refresh 
   rate, non-interlaced. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
2.1, 3.0          tam@usc.edu - good  
Type 
   15" Multisync, supports up to 1280x1024 
Manufacturer 
   MAG 
Model Number 
   MX-15H (MX-15F in U.S.), 1992 model 
Comments 
   Microprocessor-based Multi-freq. monitor, 100MHz bandwidth 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             fredng@io.org - good  
Type 
   15" SVGA 
Manufacturer 
   NEC 
Model Number 
   XE15 
Comments 
   Plug and Play compliant. 
   o VGA at 640 x 480 at 60, 72 & 75Hz 
   o SVGA at 800 x 600 at 56, 60, 72 & 75Hz 
   o 1024 x 768 Non-interlaced at 60, 70 & 75Hz 
   On-screen management, DPMS aware.  Curently running with a 
   Techworks Thunderbolt VL:  using a Tseng ET4000 w32i chipset 
Caveats 
    None 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
3.0               sbowers@primenet.com - good  
Type 
   14" SVGA 
Manufacturer 
   Panasonic 
Model Number 
   C1381 
Comments 
   Can (barely) handle 640x480, 72Hz or 800x600, 60Hz.  Manual 
   controls. Adequate, but not recommended for a new system. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good  
Type 
   17" SVGA 
Manufacturer 
   ViewSonic 
Model Number 
   17G 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 

Ugly Monitors

Nothing supplied in this category.

Bad Monitors

Type 
   17" SVGA 
Manufacturer 
   Samtron 
Model Number 
   SC-726V 
Comments 
   70Hz up to 1024x768, .28dp, analog controls, cheap! 
Caveats 
   1st unit was defective 2nd unit has had problems with a capacitor..  
   works good now though! 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
2.1               darryl.teichroeb@t8000.cuc.ab.ca - bad 

Good Motherboards

Type 
   486 (any type) EISA/VLB, 486DX2-66, DX2-50, DX-50 
Manufacturer 
   AIR 
Model Number 
   486EI 
Chip Set 
   SiS, AMI BIOS 
Comments 
   VERY solid board.  Personally tested with no problems using DX50 
   and DX2-66.  Takes nifty new 72-pin SIMMs.  [greck] 
   Very stable from day one. No problems running OS/2 2.11, or 2.99. 
   Uses 72-SIMMs. Good Docs  [jaycee] 
Caveats 
   Only 5 of 8 EISA slots are master-capable.  [greck] 
   Memory bank configurations are limited above 16M(28M).  [jaycee] 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             greck@catt.ncsu.edu - good 
< 3.0             jaycee@emh.osan.af.mil - good  
Type 
   486 EISA/VESA, SX/20, 25, DX/25, 33 or 50, DX2/50, 66, P24 
Manufacturer 
   AMI 
Model Number 
   Enterprise IV 
Chip Set 
   AMI 
Comments 
   Personally tested with a DX/33 and a DX/50.  Uses 72 pin SIMMs.  
   VERY good board!  Stable on 2.1 and Warp.  Has on-board floppy, 2 
   16550 compliant serial ports, 1 EPP compliant parallel port, PS/2 
   mouse port and IDE drive connector.  Outstanding docs! 
Caveats 
   Six of the seven slots are Bus-Mastering (5 EISA, 1 EISA/VESA) 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
3.0               sbowers@primenet.com - good  
Type 
   486DX/50, ISA 
Manufacturer 
   Amptron 
Chip Set 
   Opti, AMI BIOS, 08/30/91, 256K (20ns) RAM Cache 
Comments 
   The system has been used extensively (at least 16 hours a day, 
   sometimes on for a week or so without resetting), and yet is still 
   operating with extreme stability 
Caveats 
   Never used with more than 16MB of RAM 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             fredng@io.org - good 

Type 
   486 CPU, PCI bus 
Manufacturer 
   Asus 
Model Number 
   SP3G; motherboard revision 1.8 
Chip Set 
   Intel Saturn II (revision 4), 82420ZX; NCR 53c810 SCSI controller; 
   Award flash BIOS version 4.50G 
Comments 
   Includes on-board SCSI, IDE, 2.88MB floppy, two 16550 UART serial, 
   and parallel ports.  Uses 72-pin SIMMs in pairs.  Has 3 PCI and 4 ISA 
   slots (1 shared slot).  Takes 486DX, DX2, and DX4; and Pentium 
   Overdrive CPUs. Includes "green" features (only work with Intel 
   CPUs).  Comes with OS/2 drivers for the SCSI port. 
Caveats 
   This board reportedly doesn't work with AMD 486DXL-series CPUs, 
   but does work with AMD 486DX-series CPUs, as well as Intel and 
   Cyrix CPUs. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good  
Type 
   ISA/VLB Multi-speed Intel Chip 
Manufacturer 
   BioStar 
Model Number 
   1433/50AEA-V 
Chip Set 
   AMI 
Comments 
   2 VL Bus slots. 6 ISA. 8 32-pin SIMM slots. No ZIF socket. Came with 
   256K cache. I run mine with an Intel 486DX-66 and 16MB of 70ns RAM 
   - no problems. CMOS settings (and jumpers if I remember right) for 
   setting of clock speed. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             davmp@alumni.caltech.edu - good  
Manufacturer 
   generic clone, Intel 386DX20 
Model Number 
   ECS 386/32, ISA Bus 
Chip Set 
   C&T 8230, 1991 AMI BIOS, no cache 
Comments 
   With 8 MB RAM, 2 IDE drives on generic ctrlr, VGA Mono.  Just goes 
   to show how primitive a system can still run OS/2 acceptably. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rwh@gov.on.ca - good  
Type 
   486DX2-66 ISA/VLB 
Manufacturer 
   Gigabyte 
Model Number 
   GA-486VM 
Chip Set 
   UMC, AMI BIOS 256K 20ns cache, up to 32MB (2 simm banks) 
Comments 
   Reliable, small board 
Caveats 
   Not tested with more than 16MB; 1 bank of simms must be filled to 
   work (ie. for 4MB to work, 4 1MB simms must be used) 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
2.1               darryl.teichroeb@t8000.cuc.ab.ca - good  
Type 
   486DX2-66 EISA/VLB 
Manufacturer 
   Gigabyte 
Model Number 
   GA-486TA 
Chip Set 
   SIS,AMI BIOS, 256K (20ns) Cache, up to 128M (standard SIMMS) 
Comments 
   The system has been extremely stable. 
Caveats 
   Not tested with more than 32MB. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             reinhard@ifki50.informatik.fh-muenchen.de - good 

Model Number 
   EISA486P, ME009 
Chip Set 
   HiNT, AMI BIOS, EISA/VLB 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good  
Model Number 
   G486HVL 
Chip Set 
   HiNT Caesar, AMI BIOS, "Super ISA"/VLB 
Caveats 
   "Super ISA" is a subset of EISA; most EISA boards work, but not all. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good  
Type 
   PCI Pentium Motherboard 
Manufacturer 
   Intel 
Model Number 
   Premier/PCI II 90MHz Pentium 
Chip Set 
   Plato 
Comments 
   Fast. Very Fast! 
Caveats 
   Mine has the Pentium FDIV bug. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             Dave@OCCL-cam.demon.co.uk  
Manufacturer 
   Silicon Star, Intel 486DX33 
Model Number 
   AV433, ISA/VL bus 
Chip Set 
   SIS, AMI BIOS, 06/06/92, 256 K external cache 
Comments 
   One known problem (the Pentium APAR) corrected in CSD 2.11. 
Caveats 
   Not tested with more than 16 Meg of RAM. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             jim.royer@nmebbs.org - good 

Manufacturer 
   generic Taiwan clone, Intel 486DX33 
Model Number 
   Rev D2 486SC-P, June 1991, ISA bus 
Chip Set 
   Symphony, AMI BIOS, 07/07/91, 128 K external cache 
Comments 
   The system has been extremely stable. 
Caveats 
   Not tested with more than 8 Meg of RAM. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
2.0 - 3.0         altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca - good 

Ugly Motherboards

 Manufacturer 
    Diamond 

 Model Number 
    FastBus VLB, Flash EPROM revision 1.2I 

 Chip Set 
    Chips & Technologies with Diamond-modified C&T BIOS 

 Comments 
    Problems with speed of QIC-80 backup unit when UltraStor SCSI 
    controller installed.  Also some bugs in BIOS. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - ugly 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    VL SCSI 

 Manufacturer 
    DTC 

 Model Number 
    DTC 3270 VL SCSI 

 Chip Set 
    SiS 

 Comments 
    Card is *loosely* supported by OS/2.  Using the latest *beta* drivers 
    provided by DTC, access times for any units below unit 0 is 
    increased by 10 to 20 *times*.  (It usually takes my OS/2 system) 
    10-20 minutes to boot depending on whether or not it has to run 
    CHKDSK.  Better support is gained by ditching current DTC .ADD files 
    and using IBMINT13.I13 which supports only the first two DASD 
    devices at a fairly large but usaeable performance hit (compare 3x 
    slower compared to 10-20x).  Latest DTC .ADD files for 3270/3280 
    dated 11/7/94.  DTC is aware of the problem but has *no clue* as 
    to when it will be fixed and a corrected driver released.  (They've 
    been saying "A couple of months..." for the past *4* months.  
    Apparently users with 1 drive systems aren't experiencing problems 
    to this degree, however, there is still a slight slowdown even on 1 
    disk systems. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 3.0               cbwood@cbwood.beva.blacksburg.va.us - ugly 
 
 ---- 

 Manufacturer 
    Unknown 

 Model Number 
    Laser 9000 

 Chip Set 
    Unichip U4800 with Ami BIOS, 256K external cache 

 Comments 
    Machine operates with AMD 486DX40 CPU run at 50MHZ, jumper 
    selectable CPU speed, otherwise very stable 

 Caveats 
    System hangs and occasionally reboots when Mediavision PAS-16 
    uses 16-bit DMA channels, sometimes displays errors about not 
    finding basic ROMS during 16-bit DMA induced reboot, PAS-16 
    sometimes works flawlessly if there is no hang on system boot-up.  
    Not tested with more than 16MB of ram. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             paltiel@cnj.digex.net - ugly 

Bad Motherboards

 Type 
    486DX2-66/256K 

 Manufacturer 
    ASUS 

 Model Number 
    PCI/I-486SP3G 

 Chip Set 
    Intel Saturn II, NCR 53c810 SCSI controller (BIOS V3.06) & PCI-SC200 
    (for external SCSI devices); Award bios V4.05G (flash Revision 3.02) 

 Comments 
    Includes on-board SCSI, IDE, 2.88MB floppy, two 16550 UART serial, 
    and parallel ports.  Uses 72-pin SIMMs in pairs.  Has 3 PCI and 4 ISA 
    slots (1 shared slot).  Takes 486DX, DX2, and DX4; and Pentium 
    Overdrive CPUs. Includes "green" features (only work with Intel 
    CPUs).  Comes with OS/2 drivers for the SCSI port. 

 Caveats 
    Tried two different motherboards.  Floppy based tape drives won't 
    work reliably, they hunt or fail on excessive errors(DOS included).  
    Three different drives tried.  Won't wake up on incomming calls on a 
    modem attached to built-in com port 2. NE-2100 network card just 
    paused for 10 to 50 seconds at a time.  Proaudio Spectrum 16 drops 
    out after randomly.  All boards used successfully on other systems.  
    Internal IDE was disabled and only SCSI devices used on board. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 2.1, 3.0          102176.16@compuserve.com - bad 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    486 CPU, PCI bus 

 Manufacturer 
    J-Bond 

 Model Number 
    PCI400C-A 

 Chip Set 
    Intel Saturn I (revision 2), 82420TX; NCR 53c810 SCSI controller; 
    Phoenix BIOS 

 Comments 
    Manufacturer attempted to blame drivers for the below problem, but 
    changing to the IBMINT13.I13 driver doesn't help.  Has 3 PCI and 5 ISA 
    slots (1 shared).  Comes with OS/2 drivers for the SCSI port. 

 Caveats 
    Board occasionally crashes when doing SCSI I/O.  Disabling the 
    external cache seems to fix this.  This is a known Saturn revision 2 
    bug.  As of 9/27/94, J-Bond doesn't use the fixed (Saturn II, revision 
    4) chipsets. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - BAD 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    486DX2-66, DX2-50, DX-50 

 Manufacturer 
    Micronics 

 Model Number 
    EISA-VL-Bus (Part #09-173-05 Rev A) 

 Chip Set 
    Intel / Pheonix BIOS 

 Comments 
    Very unstable from day one.  Manufacturer support was poor (they 
    refused to call me back, said it was OS/2 and not their board, would 
    not provide RMA for return of Board for them to test; even after I 
    offered to pay for the testing and shipping to and from, etc).  
    Continous Trap 000D, 000E, and 0002 when I was able to even get it 
    to load.  Used built-in controllers, even worse.  Used 3 different 
    video boards, 2 different HDD/FDD boards, 8 differnt HDD, 4 different 
    FDD, 3 different CPUs, 8 different SIMMs (56Meg, same manufacturer, 
    one of their reccomeded ones and Part #), etc.  The only thing I 
    didn't change was the MB itself (even changed the cache).  Spent 4 
    months on this board, over 225 reloads before giving up (PC mag 
    gave this board a #1 reccomendation).  Fair Docs 

    P.S.  ALL of the hardware used works fine on another MB and my 
    current MB!  Some of the problems I am sure are also attributable to 
    the BIOS and not the MB. 

 Caveats 
    When, for the short time periods, it was running it ran like a champ 
    (Better than the AIR I currently use). Fast, clean, crisp.  REALLY 
    wish this board worked. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             jaycee@emh.osan.af.mil - bad 

Good Multi I/O cards

 Type 
    VLBus 

 Manufacturer 
    AIR 

 Model Number 
    Q-Access 

 Chip Set 
    Adaptec 

 Comments 
    Supports 2 IDE, 2 Floppy (up to 1.44 MB), SCSI-II, 2 ser, 1 LPT. 
    Included disk contains required drivers (replacements for OS/2's 
    AHA154x.ADD).  With ver 1.0 BIOS, COM ports will not work under 
    OS/2. Problem fixed with V1.01 BIOS. 

 Caveats 
    ASIC emulates a 16450 and cannot be replaced by 16550 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             jim.royer@nmebbs.org - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    VESA LB IDE Controller with Multi-Functional I/O 

 Manufacturer 
    Data Technology Corporation (DTC) 

 Model Number 
    DTC 2278VL 

 Comments 
    IDE controller with 2 serial, 1 parallel and 1 game port.  Jumper 
    configurable ports, IRQ's, addresses, enable/disable feature.  OS/2 2.x 
    drivers available on DTC BBS and found on ftp.cdrom.com. 

 Caveats 
    16450 UART. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             gsteckma@sdcc15.UCSD.EDU - good 
 
 ---- 

 Manufacturer 
    GoldStar 

 Model Number 
    IDE Plus-V3, December 1991, ISA BUS 

 Chip Set 
    GoldStar 

 Comments 
    jumper selections for primary, secondary, and disabled floppy and 
    hard drives, jumper selection to disable game port, jumper selections 
    to put COM ports at 1/3 and 2/4, jumper selections to put PRT port 
    at 1/2, jumper selections to put COM and PRT ports at IRQ3, 4, 5, 7, 
    9, jumper selections to disable COM and PRT ports 

 Caveats 
    ASIC emulates a 16450 and cannot be replaced by 16550 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 2.0 - 3.0         altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca - good 
 
 ---- 

 Manufacturer 
    StarGATE 

 Model Number 
    One Slot combination multiport board, ISA BUS 

 Revision 
    Unknown (Not first revision, known) 

 Comments 
    4 COM and 3 PRT ports, jumper selections to put COM ports at 
    {4,3,3,3}, {4,3,4,3,}, {4,3,12,15}, {4 AND 3 - with interrupt sharing}, PRT 
    ports at {7,5,5} and {7,7,5}, jumper selections to disable individual 
    interrupts and addresses 

 Caveats 
    Unable to get PRT3 to work under OS/2 2.1GA 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 2.1               paltiel@cnj.digex.net - good 
 
 ---- 

 Manufacturer 
    ZyXEL 

 Model Number 
    I/O 16550-1, ISA Bus 

 Chip Set 
    HM82C11C, NS16550AFN (National Semiconductor 16550AFN, the real 
    McCoy), HM83450 (16450 clone) 

 Comments 
    Jumper selections for COM ports at 1/3 and 2/4, jumper selections to 
    put PRT at 1/2, both UART chips are socketed. One game port (two 
    can be supported through a "Y" adapter cable).  Highly 
    recommended. 

 Caveats 
    Extremely hard to find (my friends have been trying for eight 
    months to no avail) 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             fredng@io.org - good 

Ugly Multi I/O cards

Nothing supplied in this category.

Bad Multi I/O cards

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good Multimedia Kits

Nothing supplied in this category.

Ugly Multimedia Kits

Nothing supplied in this category.

Bad Multimedia Kits

 Type 
    soundcard with integrated SCSI controller and external cd-rom drive 
    attached to it 

 Manufacturer 
    Media Vision 

 Model Number 
    Memphis 

 Chip Set 
    PAS16, Trantor SCSI, NEC CD-ROM 

 Comments 
    according to documentation, OS/2 2.1 support exists.  Not supplied 
    however.  In theory everything should work with the standard 
    drivers supplied with Warp... 

 Caveats 
    CD-ROM drive won't initialize; except when you turn the drive off 
    and on again during boot-up.  When you change a CD, OS/2 will 
    hang.  Had to go through lots of pain before making this conclusion... 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 3.0               reinout.van.schouwen@p25.f545.n281.z2.topnet.nl - bad 

Good Notebooks

Nothing supplied in this category.

Ugly Notebooks

 Type 
    Sub-Notebook 

 Manufacturer 
    Compaq 

 Model Number 
    Contura Aero (4/33C, 4/25, 84, 170 & 250MB HDD) 

 Chip Set 
    CPU:  intel 80486SLJ; VGA:  Tseng Labs ET4000, 256KB RAM, Compaq 
    BIOS; PCMCIA:  VLSI i82365 clone 

 Comments 
    Works well overall.  PCMCIA is supported (drivers at 
    ftp.europe.ibm.com in /pub/psmemea/os2drivers/pcmcia/cvlsi3.zip), 
    but not at the same time as the floppy drive (although 
    plug-and-play with the PCMCIA floppy can be 'fudged' - e-mail 
    dcheong@student.ecel.uwa.edu.au for details). 

    note:  there is a mailing list for the Contura Aero - send e-mail to 
    listproc@lassp.cornell.edu.au with message text "subscribe aero-l 
    <your name>" 

 Caveats 
    You MUST install sp1073.exe from ftp.compaq.com (Flash BIOS) to get 
    the floppy drive to work when the system is booted from the hard 
    disk.  Hence, you must install this BIOS to install OS/2 in the first 
    placewith (although it is possible to do so by response file).  This all 
    stems from the lack of OS/2 PCMCIA Floppy drivers. 

    Unfortunately this BIOS does not correctly return the battery status 
    to OS/2, but this is only a minor problem. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 2.1-3.0           dcheong@student.ecel.uwa.edu.au - ugly 

Bad Notebooks

 Manufacturer 
    Compaq 

 Model Number 
    Contura 4/25, 4/25c 

 Chip Set 
    Compaq AVGA 

 Comments 
    No drivers for AVGA display adapter (640x480x256) 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             marc@igwe1.vub.ac.be 
 
 ---- 

 Manufacturer 
    Toshiba 

 Model Number 
    1910 Satellite 

 Comments 
    I saw this one at a friend's.  Sorry, didn't write down the CPU etc.  I 
    wanted to try Linux since it can detect PCMCIA chipsets (it is 
    supposed to support the Toshiba PCMCIA chipset) but just never 
    bothered after reading frustrated posts of people trying to talk to 
    Toshiba... 

 Caveats 
    PCMCIA chipset not supported. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 3.0               leeuw@fwi.uva.nl - bad 

Good Pointers

 Type 
    mouse 

 Manufacturer 
    CompuDyne (CompUSA house brand) 

 Model Number 
    Serial 3-button mouse 

 Comments 
    OS/2 doesn't automatically identify the mouse type when set to 
    3-button mode, and it's inactive until installation is complete, but it 
    IS supported by OS/2's drivers. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    Joystick 

 Manufacturer 
    Gravis 

 Model Number 
    GamePad 

 Comments 
    4-button game pad permits greater control in games like DOOM and 
    Mortal Kombat 

 Caveats 
    [Strictly speaking, this should not be listed under "good" since OS/2 
    does not support joysticks, but where else can it go? - ed.] 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             fredng@io.org - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    mouse 

 Manufacturer 
    Logitech 

 Model Number 
    MouseMan, Serial-MousePort, M-CJ13-9F 

 Comments 
    the serial pointing device drivers supplied with OS/2 recognize that it 
    is a 3 button mouse, although the middle button is unused 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 2.0 - 3.0         altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    Serial 3-button Mouse 

 Manufacturer 
    Logitech 

 Model Number 
    First Mouse 

 Comments 
    Works great with OS/2 mouse driver.  Very reliable, mine is 2.5 years 
    old and has had zero problems. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             walgate@umr.edu - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    trackball 

 Manufacturer 
    Mouse Systems 

 Model Number 
    Trackball II, GK-T321 

 Comments 
    Full support in OS/2 2.1 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             jim.royer@nmebbs.org - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    Optical Mouse 

 Manufacturer 
    Mouse Systems 

 Model Number 
    Optical Mouse, M411 

 Comments 
    OS/2 recognizes the mouse out of the box, never needs cleaning 

 Caveats 
    Mouse must be held perpendicular to pad or screen movement will 
    be jerky 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             paltiel@cnj.digex.net - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    3-button optical mouse 

 Manufacturer 
    Mouse Systems 

 Model Number 
    PC Mouse, 403533-001 

 Comments 
    The mouse is inoperative during OS/2 installation, but becomes active 
    after installation is complete. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    mouse 

 Manufacturer 
    Z-Nix 

 Model Number 
    Serial 2-button mouse 

 Comments 
    OS/2 recognizes the mouse out of the box. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 

Ugly Pointers

Nothing supplied in this category.

Bad Pointers

 Type 
    joystick 

 Manufacturer 
    Advanced Gravis 

 Model Number 
    Phoenix Flight and Weapons Control System 

 Comments 
    

 Caveats 
    Completely incompatible with Warp, Gravis software will not 
    recognize the Phoenix in a DOS session.  Gravis' response:  "Yep, it 
    won't work and we're not really concerned." 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 Warp              raddy@unf.edu - bad 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    Joystick 

 Manufacturer 
    Logitech 

 Model Number 
    Cyberman 

 Comments 
    

 Caveats 
    Compatability with WPS and Win-OS2 not tested, I can't imagine this 
    to be a good general purpose mouse.  Its strength would be with 
    DOS games that are designed to take advantage of it.  
    Unfortunately, it cannot be used in DOS session, according to 
    Logitech. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 3.0               raddy@unf.edu - bad 

Good Printers

 Type 
    Bubble Jet, portable 

 Manufacturer 
    Canon 

 Model Number 
    BJ-10ex 

 Comments 
    Driver is not included with OS/2 nor is one available for this model. 
    However, it can be used in IBM Proprinter emulation of 180X180 dpi 
    for OS/2 apps with poor results.  Dos and Windows printing works 
    fine for the printer in native 360X360 dpi mode.  [walgate] 

    A driver is supplied with OS/2.1 GA, you use the IBM4070IJ driver!  
    This gives you access to all functions and resolutions of this printer!! 
    [rwalford] 

    Use the IBM 4070-IJ driver, which is include with OS/2 2.1 and later. 
    Make sure the printer is in native Canon mode.  Text performance is 
    acceptable, graphica performance tends to drag a little, so boost 
    your PRINTMONBUFSIZE settings.  [jdunlop] 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             walgate@umr.edu - bad 
 < 3.0             rwalford@mogul.apana.org.au - good 
 < 3.0             jdunlop@db-soft.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    Bubble Jet 

 Manufacturer 
    Canon 

 Model Number 
    BJ-200 

 Comments 
    Drivers are available through BBS and Internet. 

 Caveats 
    Printing is almost as good as in MS-DOS/Windows, but not quite. 
    Drivers are being worked on to improve performance. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             walgate@umr.edu - good 
 
 ---- 

 Manufacturer 
    Epson 

 Model Number 
    Stylus 800 

 Comments 
    excellent resolution in printing words 

 Caveats 
    OS/2 driver does not support high resolution (360x360dpi) graphics 
    modes.  Use a MSWindows or DOS based program with appropriate 
    drivers to print complex graphics or high resolution CAD art.  
    [mhinkle] 

    I never had any problems reaching this resolution.  The Stylus 800 
    driver that comes with Warp is fine.  Using JoeView I can print 
    images just as neat as any windows program would do with the 
    supplied windows-driver.  [Reinout.van.Schouwen] 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             mhinkle@NMSU.Edu - good 
 3.0               Reinout.van.Schouwen@p25.f545.n281.z2.gds.nl - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    color ink jet 

 Manufacturer 
    Hewlett-Packard 

 Model Number 
    DeskJet 1200C 

 Comments 
    Latest HP drivers available from ftp-boi.external.hp.com; these 
    drivers support color printing from OS/2 applications. 

 Caveats 
    Printer may run out of memory when printing large color images. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    laser 

 Manufacturer 
    Hewlett-Packard 

 Model Number 
    LaserJet 4L 

 Comments 
    Latest HP drivers available from ftp-boi.external.hp.com. Printer is 
    supported directly by OS/2 out of the box. 

 Caveats 
    Printer jams more frequently than it should.  Jams intensify if 
    double-sided (two-pass) printing is attempted from a program which 
    supports this (such as DeScribe). 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    4PPM PCL5 laser printer 

 Manufacturer 
    Hewlett Packard 

 Model Number 
    LaserJet 4P 

 Comments 
    HP quality, 600 dpi, Excellent printer drivers (4P drivers in 2.11) by 
    IBM 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             fredng@io.org - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    300/600 dpi laser printer 

 Manufacturer 
    Lexmark 

 Model Number 
    4039r 

 Comments 
    Driver included with OS/2.  Lexmark provides drivers and support 
    software for OS/2 

 Caveats 
    Rock solid printer, low maintanence, very versatile; PS and HP 
    laserjet emulation; VERY upgradeable, bios and PS interface on flash 
    card, takes HP font cartridges, takes up to 16M RAM; GREAT tech 
    support and manuals from Lexmark 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 tested with OS/2 2.1 and Warp scott@wymer.demon.co.uk - good 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    printer switchbox:  automatic 1-computer/4-printer or 
    4-computer/1-printer 

 Manufacturer 
    Computer Accessories (CompUSA house brand?) 

 Comments 
    Works in 4-computer/1-printer mode with no special drivers or 
    hardware (except for extra cables) 

 Caveats 
    Not tested in 1-computer/4-printer mode under OS/2; comes with DOS 
    driver software for this, so functionality for this is uncertain. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 

Ugly Printers

 Type 
    B&W ink jet 

 Manufacturer 
    Hewlett-Packard 

 Model Number 
    DeskJet 500 

 Caveats 
    Margin problems -- depending upon the program, the top margin is 
    from 0" to 0.5" too small, and the bottom margin is correspondingly 
    too large.  If it weren't for this, I'd call the printer "good," but this 
    problem can be very obnoxious in some situations. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - ugly 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    Ink Jet 

 Manufacturer 
    Hewlett-Packard 

 Model Number 
    DeskJet 520 

 Comments 
    Successor to DeskJet 500; capable of 300x600 resolution (but see 
    below) 

 Caveats 
    OS/2 printer drivers don't support the 520's 300x600 resolution, only 
    the 500's 300x300 resolution.  They also have margins problems with 
    many applications (see comments on DJ500). 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 
 
 ---- 

 Manufacturer 
    Hewlett Packard 

 Model Number 
    PaintJet 

 Comments 
    Contains instructions on cleaning, priming, and testing inside printer's 
    chassis on plastic coated quick-ref sheet 

 Caveats 
    OS/2 driver does a bad job at dithering color images, leaving colors 
    too dark, digital on/off switch does not automatically turn printer on 
    when power is supplied, external power supply required for use 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             paltiel@cnj.digex.net - good 

Bad Printers

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good Removable Media

Type
SCSI-1 interface
Manufacturer
Iomega
Model Number
Zip 100
Comments
Attached to an AMI Enterprise IV motherboard and an Adaptec 2740AT SCSI card. Drivers for OS/2 are not included. Must be purchased separate or downloaded from Hobbes, Compuserve.
Caveats
Requires some type of lockdrv.flt driver.The Syquest drivers work better than the Iomega drivers.
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 3.0               sbowers@primenet.com - good 

Ugly Removable Media

Nothing supplied in this category.

Bad Removable Media

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good Scanners

 Type 
    SCSI-2 / 1200 dpi / 24-bit / Flatbed 

 Manufacturer 
    HP 

 Model Number 
    IIcx 

 Comments 
    Works with Galleria for scanning under OS/2.  All windows apps 
    supported. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 <=3.0             dguthrie@iisys.com - good 

Ugly Scanners

Nothing supplied in this category.

Bad Scanners

 Type 
    hand scanner, 400 DPI by 16.7mil colors 

 Manufacturer 
    Logitech 

 Model Number 
    Scanman Color 

 Comments 
    Not supported by OS/2--uses VxD in scanner software.  Ancillary 
    image editting and OCR software works in WinOS2, but you can't 
    scan anything. Uses it's own interface adapter which requires an IRQ.  
    [jeff] 

    No OS/2 drivers supplied or available.  The Windows drivers do not 
    work under OS/2, because the are VxD drivers, which do not work 
    under OS/2. And there are no DOS drivers supplied or available.  
    [zalmstek] 

 Caveats 
      Logitech support does not know if and when OS/2 drivers wil be 
    available.  The current version of ImpOS2 (v1.2) does not support 
    this scanner.  [zalmstek] 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 3.0               jeff@advance.com - bad 
 2.1-3.0           zalmstek@euronet.nl - bad 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    PCY interface 

 Manufacturer 
    Microtek 

 Model Number 
    600Z 

 Comments 
    No known OS/2 drivers. Not many OS/2 graphics packages. 

 Caveats 
    Using the notbook settings, DOS_Devices I am able to successfully 
    load device driver and scan from Windows software.  Some times 
    after a couple of scans the scanner stops responding to the 
    application (PhotoStyler V1.1, Picture Publisher V4.0).  Just close the 
    windows session and restart Windows, somtimes I must cycle the 
    power on the scanner.Twain drivers have never worked with this 
    scanner even in straight DOS/Windows (cause divide by zero error).. 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 2.0, 2.1, 3.0     102176.16@compuserve.com - ugly 
 
 ---- 

 Type 
    hand 

 Manufacturer 
    Reveal (Mustek) 

 Model Number 
    HS150, 400 DPI Grayscale 

 Comments 
    Not directly supported by OS/2.  Works well in OS2 DOS or Win 
    session. Uses it's own interface adapter which requires an IRQ.  (5-12 
    supported) 
 
 OS/2 Version      Rated by 
 < 3.0             jim.royer@nmebbs.org 

Good SCSI Host Adapters

Manufacturer Model Number Chipset Type Comments OS/2 Version Rated by
Adaptec AHA-1542C AIC ISA Very reliable with OS/2 drivers, but not as fast as most VLB or EISA controllers. < 3.0 rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good
Adaptec AHA-2740/2742/2742T AIC EISA bus-mastering SCSI-2 host adapter PhaseEngine™ coprocessor (support scatter/gather, tagged queueing, etc.) really speeds along IO. The T version has two SCSI buses (up to 14 devices). Uses new 50-pin high-density connector. OS/2 drivers in box work great.

Caveats: No cache.

< 3.0 greck@catt.ncsu.edu - good
Adaptec AHA-2842VL AIC VLB OS/2 drivers included in the card's box. Seems to work fine. [rsmith]

Very stable from day one. Worked great! Just plugged it in and it ran. Great Docs and on OS/2. Drivers enclosed. Built-in BIOS support for a lot of SCSI devices (too many to list), eliminating the need for additional drivers for CDROM, HP scanners, etc. Very configurable too!!! If all cards were this easy you wouldn't GBU! [jaycee]

Caveats: Installing OS/2 from a SCSI-based CD-ROM with this controller may require adding the drivers to the OS/2 boot disk and deleting one or two unneeded drivers. [rsmith]

To the people and designers of this board, stupendous! Can't think of any others. [jaycee]

< 3.0 - good
Adaptec AHA-2840 AIC SCSI-2 interface card for VL-bus Driver included in the Kit. Very good documentation. One external SCSI-interface. Easy configuration as BIOS-settings can be modified during boot-time. Fast enough for the fastest available HD (e.g. Seagate Barracuda). Runs stable for 12 month with several devices (CD-ROM, HD's, tape streamer, SYQUEST 250MB). 3.0 100424.3441@compuserve.com - good
Adaptec AHA-2940 AIC-7870 SCSI-2 Bus Mastering PCI Fast, up to 10Mb/sec synchronous data rate. On board RISC Processor to handle the transfers. Bios support for HD's and other devices, computer can be booted from SCSI device. One external SCSI port. Easy configuration, BIOS settings could be changed at boot up. PCI bus makes simple installation, just plug it in, no dip switches, no jumpers. Drivers for other devices (CD-ROM, MO, Scanners, etc.) included in box, OS/2 Warp comes with drivers too.

Caveats: Requires PCI IRQ A to be free. BIOS does not support that many different types of devices.

3.0 tam@usc.edu - good
Creative Sound Blaster 16 SCSI-2 Adaptec AIC-6360L ISA SCSI-2 with sound capabilities OS/2 recognizes the card as an Adaptec 1510/1520 and installs the appropriate drivers. People have reported a 1 Meg/sec transfer rate using hard drives with this card. The card comes with DOS and Windows drivers and software. See the Good Audio cards section for more info.

Caveats: MSCDEX is not included on the diskettes supplied with the card, so if you want to use a CD-ROM with the card under DOS, you will have to obtain mscdex via anonymous ftp.

2.11 - 3.0 altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca - good
Data Technology Corporation DTC3270VL VL-Bus SCSI-2 interface Standard SCSI Driver included with OS/2 works well. DTC also provides OS/2 driver

Caveats: Modest performance but solid compatibility and good price; very good tech support

2.1, 3.0 scott@wymer.demon.co.uk - good
NexStor NXT-93N NCR 53C825 PCI Fast SCSI-2 controller OS/2 driver as shipped was for wrong card. Correct driver installed with no problems. Excellent performance and much cheaper than comparable Adaptec.

Caveats: Make sure it is in a bus master PCI slot.

< 3.0 Dave@OCCL-cam.demon.co.uk

Type SCSI-2 interface, VLB Manufacturer QLogic Comments

   Comes with OS/2 drivers, new drivers are available from QLogic BBS. 
   Card also comes with Corel SCSI for DOS, Windows, and OS/2, which 
   includes CD-ROM support. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
2.1-3.0           pikus@physics.ucsb.edu - good 

Manufacturer UltraStor Model Number 34F, VLB Chip Set UltraStor

Comments

   Reliable and fast. OS/2 drivers come with card, but may be old; 
   newer drivers available from the usual sources. Does NOT include a 
   floppy port.

Caveats

   Older cards have an outdated EPROM that causes OS/2 to crash 
   sporadically. This ROM has a sticker with a number ending in -005, 
   and should be replaced with a -006 EPROM. UltraStor will ship a 
   new EPROM free of charge if needed.  If installing OS/2 from a 
   SCSI-based CD-ROM, will need to modify the OS/2 installation disks 
   to include the UltraStor driver. 

OS/2 Version Rated by

< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good

Ugly SCSI Controller cards

Manufacturer Model Number Chipset Type Comments OS/2 Version Rated by
Future Domain TMC-1680 (SVP Package) Bios v3.2 Fast SCSI-II, Floppy controller, ISA Bus Driver included with OS/2. Updated drivers available. Jumpered settings for:
  • IRQ's 3,5(d),10,11,12,14,15
  • Memory Address' C800,CA00(d),CE00,DE00
  • I/O Address' 0140(d),0150, 0160,0170
  • Floppy On(d)/Off Has Micro DB50 connector (SCSI-II connector)

Caveats: Will not boot OS/2 v2.1, or Warp Beta I/II, off SCSI drive if set to IRQ 15, yet will happily run and access these drives if booted off of IDE drive. (Will boot DOS/Windows, Win NT, Win 95 Beta at IRQ 15.) IRQ14 and IRQ5 both allow OS/2 to boot off SCSI drive. Others not tested.

< 3.0 davmp@alumni.caltech.edu - ugly

Bad SCSI Controller cards

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good Tape drives

Manufacturer Model Number Type Comments OS/2 Version Rated by
Archive Viper 2150S SCSI-based DC-6xxx drive (250MB max. capacity uncompressed) Works fine with UltraStor 34F using ASPI driver for GTAK 2.12b. Not tested with other software. < 3.0 rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good
Archive (Conner) Viper 2525S SCSI-based DC-6xxx drive (500MB uncompressed) Works fine with GTAK 2.40. Can read & write Viper 2150S tapes. Tested with UltraStor 34F (works fine) and NCR controller on J-Bond PCI motherboard (works fine, except for crashes due to Saturn chipset bug on motherboard) and NCR controller on Asus SP3G motherboard (works fine). < 3.0 rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good
Colorado Memory System Jumbo 250MB QIC-80, floppy interface Works great with Fastback Plus for OS/2 and BackMaster, with optional higher performance dedicated controller cards available.

Caveats: Bundled DOS and Windows software don't work under OS/2, and no OS/2 backup program is included.

< 3.0 fredng@io.org - good
Conner TapeStor 250 QIC-80, floppy interface Previously sold as Archive XL-80. QIC-80 tape format. BackMaster works with it quite well on four tested machines.

Caveats: Does not come with OS/2 backup software.

< 3.0 rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good
HP 35480A SCSI-2 / 4GB DDC Works FastBack, Backmaster and more <=3.0 dguthrie@iisys.com - good
Iomega Tape250 QIC-80, piggy-back on floppy controller cable Comes with DOS/Win software. Supposedly Iomega is working on OS/2 software. Works great with BackMaster 1.1a 3.0 cgraingr@hpb.hwc.ca - good

Ugly Tape drives

Nothing supplied in this category.

Bad Tape drives

Nothing supplied in this category.

Good Video cards

Graphics accelerator
Manufacturer Model Number Chip Set Comments OS/2 Version Rated by
ATI Graphics Ultra, ISA Bus, 1MB VRAM ATI mach8 Although the drivers for mach32 and mach64 are pretty good, the one for mach8 is not worth the hassle to install it. It simply screws up the DOS sessions. [fredng]

I just want to state that I disagree with the 'ugly' rating given the ATI Graphics Ultra by fredng. I have used this card with OS/2 2.0, 2.1, 2.11, and 3.0. Some of the early drivers were less than ideal, but the recent ones work very well.

< 3.0
2.0 - 3.0
fredng@io.org - ugly
philb@noif.ncp.bc.ca - good
Cardinal VGA700, 1991, ISA BUS Tseng ET4000, 1 Meg RAM Completely supported by drivers supplied with OS/2, need to use the supplied DOS support tools to set up refresh rates before running SVGA ON.

Caveats: quite slow

2.0 - 3.0 altstadt@mprgate.mpr.ca - good
Cardex Challenger ET4000/W32p Includes drivers for OS/2 2.x; Warp beta II includes TrueColor support for this board. Comes with 1MB of RAM upgradeable to 2MB < 3.0 rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good
Cirrus Logic VI-720 Cirrus CL-GD5434 OS/2 drivers worked fine. Amazing performance for the price. No OS/2 support for 1280x1024. Minor blitter bug seems to leave black rectangles occasionally. < 3.0 Dave@OCCL-cam.demon.co.uk
Cirrus Logic CL5426 Cirrus Logic 5426 Drivers come with OS/2, but more recent and faster drivers are available by ftp and from BBSes. Caveats: More recent drivers give some people installation problems. Had to re-install old seamless Windows drivers to get them to work on this system. < 3.0 rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good
Diamond Stealth 64 PCI VRAM S3 Vision964, Brooktree Bt485 RAMDAC I have 4 Mb of VRAM. Fast with high resolutions. Max res. at 1600x1200. I don't know how many colors it does at this res. since my monitor can't support it and the manual doesn't say. At 1280x1024 it does 65k colors and it does 24bit color at up to 1152x864. I have my desktop at 1280x1024x65k and it runs at a fine speed. Tested with Intel Premier II motherboard and MAG DX17F monitor. The drivers that come with it works fine for OS/2, but you'll to download the updated installation script and readme file for Warp from Compuserve or the Diamond BBS. VESA bios compatibility without software drivers. Supports DPMS. For people who uses straight DOS too, the DOS performance is good too.

Caveats: I couldn't seem to be able to change my desktop to 1024x768x65k. Everytime I try it, my monitor won't sync to it. Haven't tried changing to other res. yet. Drivers seem to have a glitch when playing videos with MMPM/2. Sometimes the Digital Video Player would just display a blank video window and if you try to play it, the sounds would play, but the window remains blank. Rebooting the system would fix the problem. This card may be getting out dated with the availability of the Stealth 64 Video VRAM which uses the S3 Vision968 chip and accelerates video playback too.

3.0 tam@usc.edu - good
Diamond Viper VLB w/2MB Weitek P9000 Stable from day one. Their driver supports all resolutions I can think of and is available via Internet or their BBS. Zero Wait State is dis/enable/able. Also VGA (IRQ2) is dis/enable/able. Good Docs

Caveats: Only works with 2.1, 2.11, Feringi, or Warp, not anything earlier. Instructions on how to use it with Feringi or Warp is not included with the VLB drivers but can be obtained from the PCI driver. Due its built in drivers some games won't run or require special configurations to run (SimCity 2000, Empire Deluxe)

< 3.0 jaycee@emh.osan.af.mil - good
miro miroCRYSTAL 8S S3 805 (VL-Bus) Don't use the video drivers from S3 (version 2.2) as their WinOS/2 drivers don't work with this card. < 3.0 seidel3@wrcs1.urz.uni-wuppertal.de - good
National Design Inc. Volante Warp10LB 1 or 2 MB DRAM S3 86C805 Fast enough for 640x480x16M 800x600x65536 1024x786x256, S3_16M drivers work superbly with this board, fast in DOS (48 FPS in 3DBENCH)

Caveats: Anything above 1024x768x256 interlaces

2.1 darryl.teichroeb@t8000.cuc.ab.ca - good
Number Nine Computer Corporation #9GXE Level 11 and #9GXE Level 12 S3 928 very fast, up to 76Hz refresh rate at a resolution of 1280x1024, runs with manufacturer drivers and IBM S3 drivers. < 3.0 reinhard@ifki50.informatik.fh-muenchen.de - good
Orchid Fahrenheit 1280/VLB S3-805 (?) Drivers come with some recent OS/2 package; are available from usual sources for other packages.

Caveats: Beta-level S3 drivers from IBM crashed one machine when installing; final S3_16M drivers gave no problems.

< 3.0 rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good
STB Evolution, 1991, ISA BUS Cirrus Logic GD-5428, 1 Meg RAM Requires 3rd party drivers for use under OS/2 2.1. Directly supported under OS/2 2.11.

Caveats: quite slow

< 3.0 jim.royer@nmebbs.org - good
TechWorks ThunderBolt VL2 VESA bus Tseng ET4000w32i 2Mb DRAM This card is the most cross compatible I've seen. It runs with Windows 3.1, NT, Linux & OS/2.

Caveats: Not the fastest but acceptable. Requires a bit of manipulation to use its full capabilities. But this is a limitation of the chipset and not the card.

3.0 sbowers@primenet.com - good

Manufacturer 
   "Color Designer" (generic) 
Model Number 
   ?? VL-bus 
Chip Set 
   Tseng ET4000, 1 Meg RAM 
Comments 
   Completely supported by drivers supplied with OS/2, need to use the 
   supplied DOS support tools to set up refresh rates before running 
   SVGA ON. 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 

---- 
Type 
   VLB accelerated 
Manufacturer 
   generic 
Model Number 
   ???? 
Chip Set 
   Tseng ET4000/W32I 
Comments 
   OS/2 drivers included in the card's box (available on ftp.cdrom.com, 
   too).  Installation went smoothly, but drivers not as feature-laden as 
   S3 drivers.  Fast card (similar to Orchid S3-805 cards in this respect). 

OS/2 Version      Rated by 
< 3.0             rsmith@psych.colorado.edu - good 

Ugly Video cards

Manufacturer Model Number Chip Set Comments OS/2 Version Rated by
Diamond Stealth 32 VLB Tseng ET4000W These boards are prone to conflicts with other devices in your system. In a few installations, I've had no trouble getting them to run; in others, nothing would get them to work. They're really hit-or-miss. OS/2 drivers are included in the box.

In talking to the guy that puts together most of our systems, he said that the Diamond Stealth 32 seems to have the most problems with motherboards using the SiS chipset.

< 3.0 bobdehn@mprcamnl.wr.usgs.gov

Bad Video cards

Manufacturer Model Number Chip Set Comments OS/2 Version Rated by
INFOTEL Ultra DS600 S3 801 This board is a duplicate of the STB Powergraph board, and evidently the architecture of these boards uses an external clock that OS/2 cannot support. 1) no seamless windows, 2) cannot start DOS windows (but can windowize a FS DOS session), and 3) no background processing to FS windows. < 3.0 CGaylord@vt.edu - bad
Prostar (Taiwan) OTI-087 (Oak Technology) Does not work for DOS window or MS window in super VGA - Video sync problems.

Caveats: OK with OS/2 windows. OK in VGA mode.

< 3.0 g-fulford@adfa.edu.au - bad

Publication History

Ver Date Release Notes
1.00 94/04/25 Initial release.
1.01 94/05/10 Removed graphics characters, added notebooks, floptical drives.
1.02 94/07/07
1.03 94/09/18 Added IDE controllers, hard disks, and monitors. Changed rodents to pointers. Removed file sizes from history since it was a pain to maintain.
1.04 94/09/24 Discovered the alphabet.
1.05 94/10/02
1.06 94/11/05 Changed introductory text. Added What's New section, pointers to other sources of help, and OS/2 version numbers.
1.07 95/05/13 Added submission skeleton.
1.08 95/06/17
1.09 95/07/16 Added Multimedia Kits, Removable Media.