For Unix-based scientific and engineering applications, the Pentium systems we tested provided the fastest processing (see "Pentiums for Unix" on page 211). For example, IBM's ValuePoint 6387-W90 was the fastest 486 we ranked for Unix; its BYTE Unix benchmark score of 1.64 was almost 15 percent slower than the slowest Best Overall Pentium for Unix.
However, high-end speed comes at a high price: The average of Pentiums ranked for Best Overall was $5855. By contrast, the 486s we rank here for Best Overall offer solid Unix scores and an average price of $4183.
The IBM ValuePoint, a VL-Bus/ISA design, topped our tests, but we also discovered that Cornell's VL-Bus/EISA machine offers comparable Unix speed. Each of these machines come in tower cases. For top Unix speed in a desktop format, we recommend Hewlett-Packard's Vectra 486 66/XM, a $4
757 ISA system.
Dyna Micro's 486 Business System, which sells for $3006, is the highest-priced system among the Low Cost 486s, but it offers the second fastest BYTE Unix score among these contenders. The Quantex Q486 is the lowest-priced system here.
Rankings for This Category Considered
PERFORMANCE 60%
EASE OF USE 30%
FEATURES 10%
Want the best all-around performer?
BEST OVERALL
IBM ValuePoint 6387-W90
The fastest 486 system in the BYTE Unix benchmarks, the ValuePoint 6387-W90 also ranked among the fastest systems for SPEC integer scores. In addition, its S3 805 video and Maxtor hard disk systems were among the fastest tested. This ISA/VL-Bus tower accommodates up to 64 MB of RAM. (This system's keyboard uses the Trackpoint pointing device found in IBM's ThinkPad portables.) In addition, the ValuePoint earned among the highest scores for ease of use. If you require a desktop case, choose the Hewlett-Packard Vect
ra 486 66/XM, an ISA system that uses a proprietary local-bus design and a video system built around the S3 928 accelerator. The Vectra was also the only system we received that came with an integrated Ethernet port.
CASE UNIX EASE
PRICE TYPE SPECINT BYTE OF USE
BEST IBM ValuePoint 6387-W90 $4994 B 33.60 1.64 ****
RUNNER-UP Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 $3995 B 33.15 1.62 ****
RUNNER-UP HP Vectra 486/66XM $4757 A 32.63 1.51 ****
RUNNER-UP Cornell Power Pak $2995 B 34.37 1.59 ****
RUNNER-UP ALR-Flyer VL 4/66d $4174 C 29.14 1.46 ****
FEATURES RAM (MB)
SCORE BUS STD./MAX.
BEST IBM ValuePoint 6387-W90 6.26 ISA/VL 16/64
RUNNER-UP Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 6.14 EISA/VL
32/256
RUNNER-UP HP Vectra 486/66XM 5.78 ISA/Prop. 16/64
RUNNER-UP Cornell Power Pak 5.77 ISA/VL 16/128
RUNNER-UP ALR-Flyer VL 4/66d 5.19 ISA/VL 20/36
HARD WARRANTY
DRIVE (MB) (MONTHS) VIDEO
BEST IBM ValuePoint 6387-W90 527/IDE 12 S3 805
RUNNER-UP Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 1024/SCSI 36 Tseng W32i
RUNNER-UP HP Vectra 486/66XM 450/IDE 36 S3 928
RUNNER-UP Cornell Power Pak 420/IDE 36 Weitek P9000
RUNNER-UP ALR-Flyer VL 4/66d 540/IDE 60 WD90C33
Key
Ease of Use:
Poor *
Fair **
Good ***
Excellent ****
Case:
Desktop A
Tower B
Mini-tower C
Prop = proprietary.
Want fast Unix and room to grow?
MOST EXPANDABLE
Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2
This EISA/VL-Bus tower provides the fastest perfo
rmance in this category in the BYTE Unix tests, along with plenty of room to grow. It can hold up to eight drives, and it offers 16 SIMM sockets for up to 256 MB of RAM. The internal cabling is well placed, so you can access all internal components without a fight. Cornell's ISA-based cousin was the second-fastest most expandable system in BYTE's Unix tests.
CASE UNIX EASE
PRICE TYPE SPECINT BYTE OF USE
BEST Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 $3995 B 33.15 1.62 ****
RUNNER-UP Data Storage DataStor (ISA) $4575 B 30.87 1.40 ****
RUNNER-UP Cornell Power Pak $2995 B 34.37 1.59 ****
RUNNER-UP MicroTech Ultima XV2/66 $3999 B 32.87 1.55 ***
RUNNER-UP Data Storage DataStor (EISA) $5595 B 33.59 1.42 ****
FEATURES RAM (MB)
SCORE BUS STD./MAX.
BEST Cornell EISA-VL SCSI-2 6.14 EISA/VL 32/256
RUNNER-UP Data Storage DataStor (ISA) 4.36 ISA/VL 16/128
RUNNER-UP Cornell Power Pak 5.77 ISA/VL 16/128
RUNNER-UP MicroTech Ultima XV2/66 5.10 ISA/VL 16/64
RUNNER-UP Data Storage DataStor (EISA) 4.34 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 Data Storage DataStor (ISA) 4 - 1 3 S3 P86C928
RUNNER-UP Cornell Power Pak 2 - 4 5 Weitek P9000
RUNNER-UP MicroTech Ultima XV2/66 1 - 1 5 ATI Mach 32
RUNNER-UP Data Storage DataStor (EISA) 2 - 1 3 S3 P86C928
Key
Ease of Use:
Poor *
Fair **
Good ***
Excellent ****
Case:
Desktop A
Tower B
Mini-tower C
Prop = proprietary.
A speed leader for under $3000...
LOW COST
Cornell Power Pak
Only eight of the 37 systems we tested cost less than the Cornell Power Pak, which also posted the fastest (by up to 30 percent) BYTE Unix score among systems ranked for low cost. This solid tower holds up to six storage devices and four SIMM sockets for up to 128 MB of memory. If you need a desktop case, choose the Dyna Micro 486 Business System, which offers the second fastest BYTE Unix speed and a $3000 price. Gateway's 4DX2-66V was the only other desktop design ranked here; it sells for $200 less than the Business System.
CASE UNIX EASE
PRICE TYPE SPECINT BYTE OF USE
BEST Cornell Power Pak $2995 B 34.37 1.59 ****
RUNNER-UP Dyna Micro Business System $3006 A 30.51 1.40 ***
RUNNER-UP Quantex Q486 DX2/66
$2699 B 20.24 1.00 ****
RUNNER-UP Mitsuba MIT486/66V $2900 B 26.90 1.24 ***
RUNNER-UP Gateway 4DX2-66V $2795 A 29.49 0.50 ****
FEATURES RAM (MB)
SCORE BUS STD./MAX.
BEST Cornell Power Pak 5.77 ISA/VL 16/128
RUNNER-UP Dyna Micro Business System 4.61 ISA/VL 16/32
RUNNER-UP Quantex Q486 DX2/66 5.36 ISA/VL 16/N/A
RUNNER-UP Mitsuba MIT486/66V 4.38 ISA/VL 16/32
RUNNER-UP Gateway 4DX2-66V 5.48 ISA/VL 16/64
HARD WARRANTY
DRIVE (MB) (MONTHS) VIDEO
BEST Cornell Power Pak 420/IDE 36 Weitek P9000
RUNNER-UP Dyna Micro Business System 546/IDE 12 S3 805
RUNNER-UP Quantex Q486 DX2/66 425/I
DE 12 Weitek 9000
RUNNER-UP Mitsuba MIT486/66V 544/IDE 24 Cirrus Logic 5428
RUNNER-UP Gateway 4DX2-66V 424/IDE 12 ATI Mach 32
Key
Ease of Use:
Poor *
Fair **
Good ***
Excellent ****
Case:
Desktop A
Tower B
Mini-tower C
Prop = proprietary.
N/A = not avialable
486s For Unix
