Author: Jude North
Date: 12:35:41 08/16/01
Go up one level in this thread
On August 16, 2001 at 12:41:55, Roy Eassa wrote: >On August 16, 2001 at 04:46:04, John Alfred wrote: > >>On August 15, 2001 at 15:22:31, Roy Eassa wrote: >> >>>On August 15, 2001 at 04:52:01, John Alfred wrote: >>> >>>>On August 14, 2001 at 13:01:13, Roy Eassa wrote: >>>> >>>>>On August 14, 2001 at 07:40:47, John Alfred wrote: >>>>> >>>>>>Do you know of any attempts by anyone at a chess coprocessor daughterboard? >>>>>>(apart from anything to do with Deep Blue) >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>>There was a device called "The Chess Machine" that was sold as an ISA card for >>>>>the PC. You ran a special app and this card "took over", essentially replacing >>>>>your main CPU for the duration of your chess play/study. It had a nice >>>>>mouse-based GUI and loads of features, and played quite well for its time (back >>>>>in the DOS days). Its claim to fame was that it could turn a slow PC (e.g., >>>>>PC-XT) into a strong chess program, and it lived up to that. As PC CPUs got >>>>>faster, the Chess Machine lost its market and got quite cheap. >>>>> >>>>>I'm sure that's not exactly what you asked, but I wonder if somebody could pull >>>>>the same (or similar -- true coprocessor?) trick off today, in a world with 1.5+ >>>>>GHz main CPUs. >>>> >>>>Hi Roy, >>>> >>>>Thats interesting to hear! Any idea what processor it used and what the Elo >>>>rating was? >>>> >>> >>>I honestly don't recall the CPU. I do recall that it was amazingly strong for >>>its time. And the GUI was unequaled. They touted it as about USCF 2450, I >>>think, but all ratings of that time period have since been reduced. They >>>actually had two models -- a later, more expensive one was double the speed, and >>>thus higher rated, but caused heat problems. I had the "normal" one (which I >>>actually still own if you know anybody who's interested in buying it!). >> >>Hi Roy, >> >>Why not put a price on it now? Who knows where it may lead to! >> > >I figure somebody will pop in and tell me what they go for these days. It was >originally $500+, I think, then when it fell to like $200 I bought it. I don't >know whether it has "antique" value like some old computers, or whether I'd be >lucky to get $50. (Below that, it wouldn't be worth the trouble.) Hi I am sorry to tell you that these cards are now completely worthless. However, they were manufactured using some dangerous materials which could cause severe eccological problems if you simply put it in your trash can. You are in luck, if you send it to me I will dispose of it safely at no charge to yourself. :) Jude
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