jlc@atux01.UUCP (J. Collymore) (12/09/89)
Well, it's that time of year, and I was dreaming about having a faster more powerful mac. I have a Mac SE (dual floppy, with 60Mb external hard drive, and 2.5Mb RAM) which I bought in March of 1987. I cuurently use my Mac for HyperCard programming, music processing (composing with Opcode System's VISION, word processing, and games.) I would like to be able to use System 7.0 (whenever THAT becomes available), but I realize that I will need an 020 or 030 processor and math co-processor to take advantage of ALL its features (e.g., outline fonts and virtual memory). Now I don't really want to spend $3K+ on an SE30, nor $5K-$7K on an even more powerful (and faster) IIci. But I would like the greater power and speed to run things faster. So would it be wise to go and spend $1K on a 25MHz accelerator board, a 68882 math co-processor (for another $2-3 hundred), and upgrade to 4Mb, or should I save my pennies, wait 2 or 3 more years and see if there isn't faster (like 33MHz), more powerful and cheaper technology in 1992? Or will upgrades to software become so big and powerful that I will need to upgrade my hardware just to keep pace with the software? Does anyone out there have any opinions on this? Jim Collymore
goldis@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu (Al Goldis,19 LC,335-5487,) (12/14/89)
From article <1681@atux01.UUCP>, by jlc@atux01.UUCP (J. Collymore): [deleted...] > Now I don't really want to spend $3K+ on an SE30, nor $5K-$7K on an even > more powerful (and faster) IIci. But I would like the greater power and > speed to run things faster. > > So would it be wise to go and spend $1K on a 25MHz accelerator board, a > 68882 math co-processor (for another $2-3 hundred), and upgrade to 4Mb, or > should I save my pennies, wait 2 or 3 more years and see if there isn't > faster (like 33MHz), more powerful and cheaper technology in 1992? > > Or will upgrades to software become so big and powerful that I will need to > upgrade my hardware just to keep pace with the software? > > Does anyone out there have any opinions on this? > > > Jim Collymore An accelerator is the least expensive option. Certainly less expensive than a new machine and also less expensive than Apple's SE to SE/30 upgrade (availability??). Remember, No Matter What Machine You Buy, It Will Soon Be Superceeded By A Newer/Faster/Spiffier Machine. Buy a IIci now, and in a few months it will blown away by the IIxi or whatever they call it. And in another 6 months to a year, etc.... The question is simply: how long do you want to wait? Or if an accelerator satisfies your needs, why *wait* for new--and soon to be obsolete--technology (yes, the "satisfies your needs" part is important).