Subject: REVIEW: SX32 CD32 internal expansion
From: [email-masked] (Mike Hellers)
Date: 19 Oct 1995 19:09:59 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	SX32

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	An internal expansion that gives your CD32 almost all the
specifications of an A1200.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		DCE Computer Service GmbH
	Address:	Kellenbergstr. 19a
			D-46145 OBERHAUSEN
			Germany

	Telephone:	++49-208-633151
	FAX:		++49-208-630496

LIST PRICE

	449.- DM (without hard disk).

	I paid only 333.- DM, since there had been a special offer
	for "beta testers" until September 1.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		Requires a CD-32, of course. :-)

	SOFTWARE

		You will need AmigaDOS.

COPY PROTECTION

	None, since it is only hardware.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	CD32
	20 MB 2.5" IDE hard disk
	A1010 external disk drive
	AmigaDOS 3.1
	CommunicatorIII
	A2000 keyboard and mouse

INSTALLATION

	The installation of the SX32 is very easy, but you will have to open
your CD32!  You must first remove the back plate of the CD32.  In a next
step you have to unscrew the screws on the bottom of it to be able to "open"
the CD32.  After having done this, you can slide the SX32 onto the expansion
bus.

REVIEW

	At first: I wrote this review up very quickly because there seems to
be a big demand of information on the Net concerning this brand new product.

	After having seen the announcements in some German magazines, I
called DCE to get more informations about the SX32.  This was 2 months ago.
Well, they said that it would be available during the first week of
September.  So I ordered one and got it in the mid of September.  It was
packed in a nice and colorful box which contained the SX32 itself, document
about the A1200, some sort of documentation concerning the SX32 (read more
about the docs later in the review), some screws, and the 2.5" hard disk.
The installation of the hard disk was very simple.  The cable was already
connected to the SX32, so I only connected the drive and fixed it in place
with the provided screws.

	The SX32 has five connectors at the back side: parallel, serial,
video, VGA and disk drive port.  On the expansion itself is a socket for a
PS2 (72-pin) memory module, and the connector for the hard disk. You will
also see the two 8520 chips, which are also in sockets.

	Ok, time to insert the SX32 into my CD32 and try it! I switched the
CD32 on, and only a short time later, I did have the Workbench running on
the screen. Workbench 2.0 was already installed on the drive.  Everything
works fine up to today!

FLOPPY PORT

	You can connect up to three drives (DF0-DF2) to this port. It is of
course the normal 23-pin AMIGA port.  It is of course also possible to boot
from the drives connected to this port.

PARALLEL PORT

	Standard 25-pin port. I'm using it at the moment to connect it to my
A2000 using PARNET.

SERIAL PORT

	Standard 25-pin port.

VIDEO PORT

	This is a standard AMIGA RGB port (23-pin).  I have connected
it to my good old A1084. You may of course use it also to connect to a
Genlock.

VGA PORT

	Standard VGA port (15-pin).

DOCUMENTATION

	The documentation consists of 6 DIN A4 pages. Well, this isn't
very much, but it does include all the information you need to
install and use the SX32. They included the pinouts of the external ports
and some information concerning the jumper which has to be changed if
you add memory. It is only in German!

LIKES

	What I most like about the SX32 is that it fits completely into the
CD32. I do have now a very small AMIGA with AGA and CD-ROM!

	I tried a lot of software until today on the SX32 and had no problem
at all. As stated in some German magazines, it seems that the compatibility
is very high.

DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS

	Well, at the moment I don't have any dislikes concerning this
product.  Perhaps, they could have added a external IDE port for another
hard disk. Of course, using the SX32 makes it impossible to use an FMV (Full
Motion Video) card, but who cares, since it is nearly impossible to get such
a card. ;-)

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	The only product it can be compared with is the SX-1.  Since I have
never really seen such a beast (only in photos), I can't really compare the
two products. Of course there is the big difference that the SX32 is
INTERNAL and the SX-1 EXTERNAL and, in my eyes, ugly.

BUGS

	None.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	They do have service hotline for the users of the SX32. I have not
had to call them to date.

WARRANTY

	2 years warranty.

CONCLUSIONS

	The SX32 transforms the CD32 from a "game console" to a "real
computer."  It is a must for every owner of a CD32 who wants to do more with
his computer.

	I would rate it 5 stars of 5.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	Copyright 1995 Mike Hellers.

---

   Accepted and posted by Daniel Barrett, comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator
   Send reviews to:	[email-masked]
   Request information:	[email-masked]
   Moderator mail:	[email-masked]
   Anonymous ftp site:  math.uh.edu, in /pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews