386 Series--Compaq Bets Its Future on Fast PC

There is no such thing as a computer that runs too fast. What Compaq Computer Corp. is about to discover is whether there is such a thing as being too fast to build the fastest computer.

In mid-September, Compaq, the leading manufacturer of personal computers compatible with those of IBM, took a bold step in announcing a new machine called the Deskpro 386 that was easily twice as powerful as any IBM personal computer. It uses a brand new microprocessor, the Intel 80386, which IBM has given no indication when or if it will use.

Since computer software is closely tied to the microprocessor on which it runs, Compaq was betting its future on being able to get the jump on IBM and establish a standard design for so-called “386” machines--a standard to which software publishers would tailor their new products. Maybe, just maybe, IBM would even be forced to follow Compaq’s lead and make its future computers compatible with Compaq’s.

We won’t know the outcome for a year or more, certainly not before IBM announces its new generation of PCs in the coming months and the marketplace has had time to react and choose.

What I can tell you right now is that the Compaq Deskpro 386 is one heck of a machine and I’m mighty sad that I had to send it back after a 30-day trial.

It’s so much faster than the PC XT-style computers I usually work with that it made a significant difference in productivity. The Deskpro 386 running at up to 16 megahertz (a measure of processing speed) is more than four times faster than a PC XT running at 4.77 megahertz because the 80386 chip digests data and software instructions in bigger chunks than either the 8088 chip of the PC XT or the 80286 chip of the PC AT running at 6 or 8 megahertz.

For instance, I had a database in a program called Q&A; that contained 1,108 entries, each with 14 items of data. I needed to convert that data into a text file so that I could export it to another program.

That task took 11 minutes, 53 seconds to perform on a PC XT. A PC AT, running at 6 megahertz, took 4 minutes, 18 seconds. The Deskpro 386 did it in 1 minute, 34 seconds. Don’t try to tell me that I don’t need a 386 machine.

Here’s another comparison. PC Magazine has a performance benchmark that uses a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet routine to create a work sheet, fill it full of numbers by executing math formulas, and then insert, move, copy and erase columns of those numbers.

The PC AT took 1 minute, 33 seconds. The PC XT spent most of its time flashing the Lotus “wait” message as it stumbled through the routine in 4 minutes, 5 seconds. The Deskpro 386 did it in 27 seconds--so fast it was almost a blur on the screen.

Other than speed, the Deskpro 386 is hardly distinguishable from a Deskpro 286 or a standard Deskpro. It’s like a Lamborghini Countach disguised as a Chevy sedan.

There are a couple of noticeable niceties, however. You can buy it with a color monitor and an enhanced graphics adapter. The color demonstration program you can see running at your dealer is a real eye-catcher. The keyboard uses the “enhanced” keyboard layout introduced earlier in the year by IBM, with a dozen function keys across the top and separate cursor control and numeric keypad keys. It has the standard Compaq mushiness, however, which some people love and some don’t.

Inside, everything is enclosed by metal plates fastened with special screws. Compaq gives you two special screwdrivers with which to get at the innards. Don’t lose them; you probably won’t find replacements at the neighborhood hardware store.

There is a whopping 192-watt power supply, enough to supply the eight expansion slots (five or six available for accessory cards, depending on configuration) and the 14 megabytes of operating memory (RAM) that can be stuffed into the chassis. It comes with 1 megabyte of RAM as standard.

I tested the lower-priced unit, the Model 40, which comes with a 1.2-megabyte floppy drive and a 40-megabyte hard disk and carries a suggested retail price of $6,499. Added to it was the color monitor and enhanced graphics adapter, 360-megabyte floppy drive, clock-calendar communications board and 40-megabyte mini-tape backup drive, increasing the price by $2,472 for a total of $8,891.

That compares to the previous top-of-the-line Compaq, the Deskpro 286 Model 2 with 640K of memory, a 1.2-megabyte floppy drive and 30-megabyte hard disk carrying a list price of $4,799--not counting monitor, video card, extra floppy drive or tape backup.

The new top of the line is the Deskpro 386 Model 130 with a 130-megabyte hard disk instead of a 40-megabyte unit and a retail price of $8,799. Add the extra goodies I had on the test unit, and you are up to $11,271. Want to add that extra 13 megabytes of RAM? It’ll cost an additional $6,175.

Measured in performance per dollar, the Deskpro 386 is clearly a bargain compared to predecessor computers. But still, it’s expensive.

For the time being, what you get for your money is faster operation of existing software.

There will be cheaper alternatives soon. Intel has announced a 386/AT board to upgrade PC AT model computers to 386 speeds for $2,000 to $2,500, depending on memory configuration. And Quadram announced a similar board for PC XT-style machines priced at about $1,500. PCs Limited, a well-regarded mail-order clone manufacturer, is introducing today a $3,000 PC AT running at the same 16-megahertz speed as the Deskpro 386. And Kaypro is introducing three computer models today utilizing the 80386 chip to compete with Compaq at prices ranging from about $5,000 to $9,000.

The real promise of the 386 machines is what they will be able to accomplish several years hence when there is an operating system capable of taking advantage of the microprocessor’s mega-memory, multiuser, multitasking capabilities and software capable of using such an operating system.

When you realize that it has been more than two years since IBM introduced the PC AT and that it may be another six months or more before there is a version of the MS-DOS operating system available to make full use of those machines’ abilities, you can understand that the 386 computers will not render earlier designs obsolete anytime soon.

Porsche hasn’t made Volkswagen obsolete either, but have you any doubt which one you’d rather have?

Computer File welcomes readers’ comments but regrets that the author cannot respond individually to letters. Write to Richard O’Reilly, Computer File, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, Calif. 90053.