Classic Computer Magazine Archive COMPUTE! ISSUE 117 / FEBRUARY 1990 / PAGE 36

Accelerator Cards

Put the pedal to the metal with one of these easy-to-install accelerator cards

Caroline D. Hanlon

An accelerator card replaces the 8088 or 80286 chip in your PC with a faster 286 or 386. With one of these cards, you get many of the benefits of upgrading without the cost of a new system.

An accelerator card is generally easier to install than a motherboard, and doing so usually doesn't affect your computer's warranty.

Company Board Speed(MHx) Populated Cathe Add-ons Installation Requirements Restrictions Warranty Prices
American Micronics ZX386 Upgrade 16, 20, 25, 33 0 0 Up to 8MB of RAM Designed for Zenith 241 and 248 machines 0 1 year $1,350
AOX MASTER 386 16 or 20 0 0 0 Plugs into any 16-bit expansion slot 0 2 years $795 (16 MHz) $995 (20 MHz)
AOX Micro-MASTER 386 20, 25, 33 0 32K 0 Installs in a standard 16-bit PS/2 slot Requires a full slot; designed for the IBM PS/2 models 50, 60, and 50Z 1 year $1,495(20 MHz) $1,795(25 MHz)
Intel Inboard 386/PC 16 1MB Up to 5MB of RAM; socket for 16-MHz 387 math coprocessor Compatible with PCs and XTs; contact Intel for other versions 5 years $895
Konan Ten Time 8–39 512K 512K to 10MB Expands RAM to 10MB Requires a full slot in AT bus Requires 120-ns chips 1 year $1,095 (512K) $1,595 (2MB)
MicroWay 287Turbo 8, 10, or 12 0 0 0 Plugs into the existing 80287 coprocessor socket on the motherboard 0 1 Year $250 (8 MHz) $300 (10 MHz)
MicroWay 287Turbo-PLUS 10 or 12 0 0 0 Plugs into the 80287 socket on the motherboard and doesn't use an expansion slot 0 1 Year $375 (10 MHz) $475 (12 MHz)
MicroWay Super-CACHE-286 12 0 32K Includes a socket for an optional 8- or 12-MHz 80287 math coprocessor Requires a half-slot 1 Year $399
Orchid Technology Tiny Turbo 286 8 0 8K 0 Requires a half slot and a 16-bit bus 0 4 Years $349
Orchid Technology Tiny Turbo XTra 12 0 8K 0 Requires a half-slot and a 16-bit bus 0 4 Years $449
Orchid Technology Tiny Turbo AT 12 or 16 0 32K 0 Requires a full slot and 16-bit bus Requires true IBM AT running at 6 or 8 MHz 4 Years $599
SMT Peripherals XT286 Speed Card 10 or 12 0 8K Not on board, but compatible with most add-ons Requires short (8-bit) slot 0 1 Year $349 (10 MHz) $379 (12 MHz)
Sota Technology SOTA 286i 12.5 0 16K Accepts up to 8MB of RAM on daughter card with AT-style BIOS and realtime clock Requires one-third of a slot for board and a full slot for board with memory Requires 100-ns static RAM chips for 0 wait-state operation; memory requires 100-ns SIMMs for 0.5–0.7 wait-state operation 2 years $445
Sota Technology SOTA 386SI 16 0 16K Accepts up to 8MB of RAM as daughter-board with AT-style BIOS and realtime clock Requires one-third of a slot for the board alone and a full slot for the board with memory Requires 100-ns static RAM for 0 wait-state cache operation; memory requires 100-ns SIMMs for 0.5–0.7 wait-state operation 2 Years $645
Veritek GO FAST! 12 0 8K Accepts 80286 math coprocessor running at 6, 8, or 12 MHz Installs into an XT; GO FAST! is a short card 0 1 Year $399

How to Read the Chart

Speed refers to the maximum processing speed you can expect after installing the accelerator card. Add-ons refers to whether you can add another card to the accelerator card. Size of slots and installation requirements are given to help you determine if the card will work with your machine. Restrictions let you know what the card requires to work properly. Prices are for unpopulated (without memory) cards. Most companies offer technical support, and that's a good place to check if you have any questions about a card before, as well as after, you buy.

For more Information about any product listed in this chart, contact the manufacturer at the address listed below.

American Micronics

18005 Skypark Cir.

Suite A

Irvine, CA 92714

(714)261-0693

AOX

486 Totten Pond Rd.

Waltham, MA 02154

(617)890-4402

Intel

5200 NE Elam Young Pkwy.

Hillsboro, OR 97124

(800)538-3373

Konan

1829 W. Drake Dr.

Tempe, AZ 85283

(602)345-1300

MicroWay

P.O. Box 79

Kingston, MA 02364

(508)746-7341

Orchid Technology

45365 Northport Loop W

Fremont, CA 94538

(415)683-0348

SMT Peripherals

310 Via Vera Crux

Suite 112

San Marcos,CA 92069

(619)591-0268

Sota Technology

551 Weddell Dr.

Sunnyvale, CA 94089

(408)745-1111

Veritek

1205 Linda Vista Dr.

San Marcos, CA 92069

(619)744-2313