The PL-Pro unit came fully assembled. This saved some time and risk with bending pins. The word on the PL discussion board is that the PL-Pro unit is pretty tight, and it can be difficult to install an outside-source CPU into the PL adapter. Also, the pre-made assembly comes with a 3-year warranty. And PL seems to have a good reputation on its boards for following through on necessary warranty items -- all important factors for me.
In this case, I was willing to trade the increased performance of a Super 7 board for the ease of installation of the PL unit (and the 3-year warranty for purchase of the combo unit).
I've done several motherboard swaps and they are very do-able. But the PL-Pro/MMX Plus! was the easiest upgrade (after adding RAM modules) I've ever done. For me, the ease of installation was worth the performance degradation. Plus, I knew all my peripherals would work (and fit) -- and I've got quite a few installed.
The FIC VA-503+ was the only possible option for me with its 4 SIMM slots and PCI/ISA slot configuration -- and that would have been a very tight fit. It might not have physically held my modem, scanner interface, sound card (these three are ISA), voodoo, and 2-D card (these two are PCI). In my current Tyan Tomcat board (similar to this one), I've got a couple of slots to spare that make sure the add-in boards don't hit each other. By choosing the PL unit, I was assured of no problems...
To take full advantage of a Super 7 board, you must invest in PC-100 RAM and an AGP video card. And if you switch from AT to ATX, you must get a new case and power supply. For me, it just wasn't worth it at this time.
Next, Wintune98 scores
Back to PL installation
Back to CPU Upgrade Table of Contents
Back to Steel Dust Editions' Home Page
Contact us at SteelDust21@mchsi.com.
This page last updated 12/5/98