ehsu@husc7.HARVARD.EDU (Eric Hsu) (12/05/89)
I'm thinking of buying an accelerator, and the favorite of this group seems to be the 10 MHz Rocket Chip. Can one of the lucky owners post a review of some kind, preferably with features and benchmarks (whatever benchmarks are worth). I'd ask Zip Chip owners to post also, but there none of them seem to have received their chips yet. Also: what magazines have reviewed the older Zip and Rocket Chips? Eric Hsu ehsu@husc4.Bitnet
ST802148@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU (Evan) (12/05/89)
Will do. I don't know of any other RC owners, so I will have the review up with in a day or two. (I have the 10Mhz RC). If anyone has questions, feel free to leave mail
reeder@reed.UUCP (Doug Reeder) (12/09/89)
10MHz Rocket Chip Review
I have had my Rocket for several weeks now and it is amazing! It speeds
up everything, including things you didn't realize could use more speed,
like the IIc utilities program. It can't accelerate the disk drive itself,
because of compatibility problems, but it DOES accelerate disk access, for
many programs. Programs like BinSCII and ShrinkIt read some data, process
it, then read some more. With the Rocket, processing goes so fast that the
drive hasn't slowed down by the time the program needs more data, and thus
the drive doesn't require the time to speed up. IIGIF takes about 5 seconds
to decode a picture. Programs that filter a text file, and things like my
BASIC.SYSTEM DIFF external command work about as fast as you could BLOAD
the file. GraFORTH is stunning: 3D shapes rotating at 20 RPM! Text on the
graphics screen scrolling faster than the text screen does normally! Even
my Applesoft Mandelbrot Set generator can generate a Mandelbrot set in under
an hour!
I ran some benchmarks with a hacked up version of Dhrystones, and it ran
ten times faster, within the limits of my stopwatch. I also compiled the
program on a Mac SE, and it was a little bit slower. (Note, however, the SE
is faster under many circumstances.) Most programs will not run ten times
faster, but most will run several times faster.
Compatability: All my programs work fine, including ShrinkIt, BinSCII,
IIGIF, Bolo, Mario Bros, Taxman, & ECP8. Some terminal programs and games
cannot use the extra speed. (If only the authors of Boing! could be induced to
write a version with a larger ball...)
My machine is a IIc (original), so I didn't even need the configuration
program, which is of no great difficulty to use. Setting the chip to run at
slower than 10MHz is a bit bizzare, but the occasion that requires this is
rare. (Standard apple speed is always available through reset-escape.
Returning to 10MHz or whatever the set speed is is as simple as
reset-return) It also recoginzes the Transwarp speed setting protocol, so
programs can change speed on the fly. I have only 5 1/4 inch drives, so I
couldn't time the interaction between other drives and the Rocket.
Installation: Anybody who's not afraid of computers can do it. IIc
people need a screwdriver to open the case (voids your warranty, but if your
machine is more than six months old, it doesn't make a hoot of difference.
Don't be afraid to do it. Take the opportuniy to clean your keyboard.)
Pull your old proccessor, pop in the Rocket.
Use an anti-static mat and chip puller if you can get access to them,
and be careful about static electricity. It's no big deal. There will be a
2 second pause after you turn the power on before your machine boots. Don't
panic.
Summary: probably the best $200 you ever spent on your Apple.
--
Doug Reeder USENET: ...!tektronix!reed!reeder
Box 722 Reed College BITNET: reeder@reed.BITNET
Portland, OR 97202 from ARPA: tektronix!reed!reeder@berkeley.EDU
"A blaster can point two ways." -Salvor Hardin