Out of the 37 486s we tested, 11 came with an EISA-bus architecture. EISA systems cost an average of $1400 more than a similarly equipped ISA system (however, some EISA prices reflect a configuration of 32 MB versus 16 MB in the ISA category). The high-performance EISA 486s even averaged about $500 more than ISA-based Pentiums. (EISA Pentiums cost $8000, on average.)
Also, out of the 11 EISA-based machines, 10 supported VL-Bus; the exception was AST Research's Premmia 4/66d, Model 343M, the first runner-up in Best Overall, which uses a proprietary local-bus design.
Despite the higher cost of EISA systems, we found little performance advantage in our Windows tests. For example, Cornell Computer Systems sent 486s that outran all others in our ISA and EISA Windows tests. The ISA-based Cornell Power Pak posted a Wind
ows score of 2.04 versus the Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2's leading score of 1.91. The faster speed overall in the ISA systems may be attributed partly to faster video systems in those machines. (The Weitek P9000 powered the Cornell ISA-based system and the Tseng Labs W32i accelerated the Cornell EISA system.)
Rankings for This Category Considered
PERFORMANCE 60%
EASE OF USE 30%
FEATURES 10%
For the best in speed and usability...
BEST OVERALL
Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2
This EISA system earned a Windows performance index of 1.91, the highest among systems ranked in this category and almost twice as fast as our baseline system. Besides scoring high in our performance tests, this system is also easy to use and offers a 16550 UART (universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter) for fast serial communication, as well as flash ROM for easy BIOS updates. The system sells for an economical price under $4500. The AST Premmia's Windows score
of 1.87 nearly matches the Cornell's, and the Premmia also earned the best features rating in the category. This is the EISA machine to buy if you're looking for the best desktop-case system.
CASE WINDOWS EASE
PRICE TYPE SPEED OF USE
BEST Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 $3995 B 1.91 ****
RUNNER-UP AST Premmia 4/66d $6862 A 1.87 ****
RUNNER-UP Micron 466 VLE WinServer $4498 B 1.80 ****
RUNNER-UP CompuAdd C466De $5806 B 1.78 ***
RUNNER-UP MIS Computer Systems M466EV $4451 B 1.76 ***
FEATURES RAM (MB)
SCORE BUS STD./MAX.
BEST Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 6.14 EISA/VL 32/256
RUNNER-UP AST Premmia 4/66d 6.25 EISA/Prop. 32/12
8
RUNNER-UP Micron 466 VLE WinServer 5.29 EISA/VL 32/64
RUNNER-UP CompuAdd C466De 4.88 EISA/VL 16/128
RUNNER-UP MIS Computer Systems M466EV 4.81 EISA/VL 32/64
HARD WARRANTY
DRIVE (MB) (MONTHS) VIDEO
BEST Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 1024/SCSI 36 Tseng W32i
RUNNER-UP AST Premmia 4/66d 1024/SCSI 36 ATI Mach 32
RUNNER-UP Micron 466 VLE WinServer 540/SCSI Lifetime Weitek P9000
RUNNER-UP CompuAdd C466De 1024/SCSI 12 ATI Mach 32
RUNNER-UP MIS Computer Systems M466EV 1024/SCSI 12 Weitek
Key
Ease of Use:
Poor *
Fair **
Good ***
Excellent ****
Case:
Desktop A
Tower B
Mini-tower C
Prop = proprietary.
Need growth potential?
MOST EXPANDABLE
Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2
In addition to its superior perfo
rmance, this huge tower also supplies growing room: It offers two 3 1/2-inch drive bays and four 5 1/4-inch drive bays, along with three available EISA slots and one VL-Bus slot. CompuAdd's C466De Mini Tower posted the second-highest speed scores. Its sturdy tower chassis supports four 3 1/2-inch and three 5 1/4-inch drives. Five 32-bit EISA and one VL-Bus expansion slot were available for additional cards.
CASE WINDOWS EASE
PRICE TYPE SPEED OF USE
BEST Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 $3995 B 1.91 ****
RUNNER-UP CompuAdd C466De $5806 B 1.78 ***
RUNNER-UP Micro Express MicroFlex $4800 B 1.76 ****
RUNNER-UP MIS Computer Systems M466EV $4451 B 1.76 ***
RUNNER-UP DEC DECpc 466 MTE $5715 B 1.67 ****
FEATURES RAM
(MB)
SCORE BUS STD./MAX.
BEST Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 6.14 EISA/VL 32/256
RUNNER-UP CompuAdd C466De 4.88 EISA/VL 16/128
RUNNER-UP Micro Express MicroFlex 3.51 EISA/VL 32/128
RUNNER-UP MIS Computer Systems M466EV 4.81 EISA/VL 32/64
RUNNER-UP DEC DECpc 466 MTE 5.56 EISA/VL 32/128
OPEN BAYS WARRANTY
3 1/2 - 5 1/4 (MONTHS) VIDEO
BEST Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 2 - 4 4 Tseng W32i
RUNNER-UP CompuAdd C466De 2 - 2 6 ATI Mach 32
RUNNER-UP Micro Express MicroFlex 4 - 4 8 Tseng W32i
RUNNER-UP MIS Computer Systems M466EV 2 - 4 4 Weitek
RUNNER-UP DEC DECpc 466 MTE 0 - 2 4 N/A
Key
Ease of Use:
Poor *
Fair **
Good ***
Excellent ****
Case:
Desktop A
Tower B
Mini-tower C
Prop = proprietary.
N/A = not available
When you need speed and economy...
LOW COST
Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2
Fast performance, excellent features, and a price below the average of $4900 enabled this system to sweep our categories for EISA-based 486s. If your budget requires an EISA system that is less expensive than the Cornell and you can settle for slower Windows performance, consider the American Multisystems' Info Gold E-Server, the least expensive system we ranked in this class.
CASE WINDOWS EASE
PRICE TYPE SPEED OF USE
BEST Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 $3995 B 1.91 ****
RUNNER-UP AMS Info Gold E-Server $3499 B 1.66 ***
RUNNER-UP MIS Computer Systems M466EV $4451 B 1.76 ***
RUNNER-UP Micro Express MicroFlex $4800 B 1.
76 ****
FEATURES RAM (MB)
SCORE BUS STD./MAX.
BEST Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 6.14 EISA/VL 32/256
RUNNER-UP AMS Info Gold E-Server 4.30 EISA/VL 32/256
RUNNER-UP MIS Computer Systems M466EV 4.81 EISA/VL 32/64
RUNNER-UP Micro Express MicroFlex 3.51 EISA/VL 32/128
HARD WARRANTY
DRIVE (MB) (MONTHS) VIDEO
BEST Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 1024/SCSI 36 Tseng W32i
RUNNER-UP AMS Info Gold E-Server 1024/SCSI 12 S3 805
RUNNER-UP MIS Computer Systems M466EV 1024/SCSI 12 Weitek
RUNNER-UP Micro Express MicroFlex 1024/SCSI 24 Tseng W32i
Key
Ease of Use:
Poor *
Fair **
Good ***
Excellent ****
Case:
Desktop A
Tower B
Mini-tower C
Prop = propr
ietary.
EISA 486s For Windows
