OT? Compaq 5/60M

william degnan billdegnan at gmail.com
Wed Jun 17 14:55:03 CDT 2015


I haven't opened the DECpc to check to see if it was an EISA QVGA card or
not.

On Wed, Jun 17, 2015 at 11:21 AM, Sean Caron <scaron at umich.edu> wrote:

> IIRC, they shipped that QVGA card you show on your Compaq P60 page with the
> DECpc AXP 150, too, no? Man that thing was awful ... I always lusted after
> the "better" card they shipped on that machine (don't recall) that could do
> 24-bit. I miss that box too ... ah, nostalgia.
>
> Best,
>
> Sean
>
>
> On Wed, Jun 17, 2015 at 10:54 AM, Sean Caron <scaron at umich.edu> wrote:
>
> > Ha, I need to just stop using "OT" since it's ambiguous. On topic, on
> > topic! :O
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Sean
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Jun 17, 2015 at 10:54 AM, Sean Caron <scaron at umich.edu> wrote:
> >
> >> I'd consider it OT ... I miss my IBM 9595 ... with the P60 processor
> >> complex ... I thought it was doubly cool since the CPU was one of the
> >> examples of the Pentium that got shipped with the FDIV bug ... great
> >> machine to play with WNT 3.51/4, or OS/2 3.x or 4.x.
> >>
> >> I wouldn't say the P5 killed workstations or midrange ... they had maybe
> >> 10-15 years yet to move and shake when the P5 first hit the market ...
> but
> >> I suppose you are right in that it was probably the first "shot across
> the
> >> bow".
> >>
> >> But time marched on, and now all you see in a full-size computer is
> >> x86_64. Ho hum ... :|
> >>
> >> Best,
> >>
> >> Sean
> >>
> >>
> >> On Wed, Jun 17, 2015 at 2:35 AM, Pontus Pihlgren <pontus at update.uu.se>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Run of the mill PC clones are rather booring. But brand names, oddballs
> >>> and first are always fun. I wouldn't mind to have the first DELL
> machine
> >>> in my collection.
> >>>
> >>> I have a DECpc 433 with matching SCSI expansion box. A desktop machine
> >>> with some interesting solutions.
> >>>
> >>> /P
> >>>
> >>> On Wed, Jun 17, 2015 at 12:43:17AM -0400, william degnan wrote:
> >>> > I know I keep pushing the boundary of vintage lately but I wanted to
> >>> report
> >>> > to those who care that I finally got my hands on a 1993 Compaq 5/60M
> -
> >>> this
> >>> > is "a if not the" first desktop computer with a Pentium processor
> >>> installed
> >>> > stock.  it was the 1993 "dream machine - $9000+   It had an EISA bus
> >>> and
> >>> > was otherwise a 486 system with a Pentium controller card, not on the
> >>> > motherboard.  Pentium computers' contribution to the WWW era vintage
> is
> >>> > extremely significant.
> >>> >
> >>> > Pentium killed the minicomputer, or at a minimum merged into it, if
> >>> you ask
> >>> > me.  The interplay between DEC/Compaq/HP/Intel 1992-1995 culminating
> >>> into
> >>> > the launch of Pentium processor systems is vital to understanding the
> >>> WWW
> >>> > era of computing.  How these companies worked or did not work
> together
> >>> and
> >>> > how the Pentium vs. the Alpha processor came to be...a good tale of
> >>> woe and
> >>> > $$.
> >>> >
> >>> > For those interested:  Compaq 5/60:
> >>> > http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=612
> >>> >
> >>> > I have a bunch of articles to post on my site related to the first
> >>> Pentium
> >>> > desktops which I will do asap.
> >>> >
> >>> > Bill
> >>> >
> >>> > P.S. while we're on this off-sh topic I also posted some photos of a
> >>> > Digital 486 laptop, DEC had a 486 laptop before it was absorbed by
> >>> Compaq.
> >>> > 1994.  Not really noteworthy other than the Digital name
> >>> > http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=613
> >>> >
> >>> > P.S.S. and related to Pentium and DEC ... here is one of DEC's early
> >>> (but
> >>> > not the first) Pentium machine
> >>> > http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=585
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >
>


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