On Tuesday 14 May 2002 11:19 pm, Sridhar Dhanapalan wrote: > On 14 May 2002 18:52:53 -0400, Lyvim Xaphir <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Tue, 2002-05-14 at 10:29, Carroll Grigsby wrote: > > > LX: > > > Skimming through the article, I noticed that some of these boards have > > > gone to a USB-only configuration -- no serial or parallel ports. Given > > > that these boards are aimed at end-users and not OEM's, this does not > > > sound like a Really Good Idea to me. In my case, it would mean adding > > > the cost of a new > > > > > > printer and a new modem to the overall project cost, and those are not > > > trivial costs. Besides, my present modem and printer work just fine, > > > thank you. > > > -- cmg > > > > Ahhh...Carroll, my friend. :) That is the beauty part. If indeed you do > > contemplate an upgrade, all you need do is get a usb serial/parallel > > adapter for a modest sum, and presto, your printer and modem are back in > > business. In addition, having done that you can do as I did and use > > IRQ's 7, 3, and 4 for things other than being tied to onerous dated and > > obsoleted onboard ports. Obsoleted in the sense that their functions > > are now duplicated on a less resource intensive external bus. > > How is the CPU usage of USB compared to the 'legacy' ports (serial, > parallel, PS/2, etc.)? The legacy ports were designed for older systems, so > they cannot suck up too much juice. I hear that USB, on the other hand, is > a real pig in this regard (no surprise that Intel supports it). If that is > the case, is it really worth using USB peripherals on a PC when legacy > types would suffice? Here, I am referring to simple components that have > little to gain from USB, like keyboards and mice. I don't want my keyboard > and mouse slowing down my system :)
Thanks for the very interesting replies. I didn't realize that there such things as USB to serial/parallel adapters. Most of my experience with I/O cards goes back to the Real Old Days, when everything was done with add-in ISA cards. (IIRC, the original IBM PC required a separate card for each function.) I suppose that there are also PCI cards that could be used, too, but that gets us back to the IRQ mess, doesn't it? Gotta think about this one, but there's a lot of time. First, I'll have to convince my wife that she needs to start delivering newspapers so that I can buy a new rig. Predictions: Lots of postings to this and other mail lists about configuration problems; much more severe on Windows-oriented lists. Pigs sighted flying over Raleigh. -- cmg
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