dce@Solbourne.COM (David Elliott) (05/06/89)
After reading an article about the Mac IIcx in this month's MacUser,
I'm considering buying a MacSprint II cache board.
Does anyone out there have one of these? If so, I have some questions:
1. Can you feel an improvement?
2. Does this cache react favorably to the cach control FKEY and/or the
toggle cache cdev?
3. Does this board increase the number of software failures for programs
running on the Mac II?
4. How well does MacSprint II coexist with a PMMU?
--
David Elliott dce@Solbourne.COM
...!{boulder,nbires,sun}!stan!dcebcase@cup.portal.com (Brian bcase Case) (05/09/89)
>Does anyone out there have one of these [MacSpring II]? >If so, I have some questions: >1. Can you feel an improvement? For most things, not really. I do notice the improvement when running my typesetter: about 30%. Since my typesetter runs for minutes, this is good. >2. Does this cache react favorably to the cach control FKEY and/or the > toggle cache cdev? It comes with its own cdev; I haven't tested all the interactions. >3. Does this board increase the number of software failures for programs > running on the Mac II? Well, the MPW C compiler won't run right with it on.... I think that's the only thing I've seen go wrong. >4. How well does MacSprint II coexist with a PMMU? Don't know about this, but I think someone else said it doesn't work.
cswarren@gershwin.berkeley.edu (Warren Gish;269A LSA;x3-9219) (05/10/89)
In article <18111@cup.portal.com> bcase@cup.portal.com (Brian bcase Case) writes: >>Does anyone out there have one of these [MacSpring II]? >>If so, I have some questions: >>1. Can you feel an improvement? >For most things, not really. I do notice the improvement when running my >typesetter: about 30%. Since my typesetter runs for minutes, this is good. I used to notice an improvement, but not any more. One gets used to it. My impression (and a few crude benchmarks) suggest Orchid is being realistic with their advertised 22% average improvement. The ~$225 cost was worth it. >>2. Does this cache react favorably to the cach control FKEY and/or the >> toggle cache cdev? >It comes with its own cdev; I haven't tested all the interactions. me neither >>3. Does this board increase the number of software failures for programs >> running on the Mac II? >Well, the MPW C compiler won't run right with it on.... I think that's >the only thing I've seen go wrong. Which version of MPW C? I've been using Version 3.0 and SADE, no problem. LightSpeed C 3.0 on the other hand fails horribly during/after a Make of an application. A sampling of other programs I've used without problem: Excel 1.5, FullWrite 1.0, Prototyper, TML PascalII 3.0, Mathematica, SoftPC. LightSpeed C was the first program I tested with the MacSprintII and it is the _only_ program I've had a problem with (and known it, anyway ;-). >>4. How well does MacSprint II coexist with a PMMU? >Don't know about this, but I think someone else said it doesn't work. Was it MacWeek or MacWorld that recently published an article about the MacSprintII vs. the PMMU? The author said Orchid had acknowledged a compatibility problem and that Orchid would fix it for *free*. The updated card will not be A/UX compatible, though. Basically, I installed the MacSprintII, tested it, and quickly forgot about it. Sometimes I check the control panel to see that the cache really is "on". Yes, MacSprintII really is that good of a product and, yes, MPW really is that slow. :-( To minimize the risk, find a vendor that will let you try the MacSprintII with a money-back guarantee if you are dissatisfied. Warren Gish U C Berkeley cswarren@violet.berkeley.edu Non-standard Disclaimer: I have a MacII with MacSprintII card that I want to sell, but not because I'm unhappy with the either product.
alexis@ccnysci.UUCP (Alexis Rosen) (05/19/89)
In article <997@marvin.Solbourne.COM> dce@Solbourne.com (David Elliott) writes: >After reading an article about the Mac IIcx in this month's MacUser, >I'm considering buying a MacSprint II cache board. > >Does anyone out there have one of these? If so, I have some questions: Yes, I have several. >1. Can you feel an improvement? In the beginning you could feel it, but it quickly fades into the background. Which is not to say the improvement isn't real. >2. Does this cache react favorably to the cach control FKEY and/or the > toggle cache cdev? Haven't tried either. I've never needed to use either. However, it comes with its own CDEV which can turn it on or off on the fly. >3. Does this board increase the number of software failures for programs > running on the Mac II? I have noted no unusual problems on any of the machines with this board. >4. How well does MacSprint II coexist with a PMMU? Fails miserably with A/UX, but as of earlier this month it works fine. Owners of earlier boards can get a replacement at no cost. BTW, the warrantee on this product is FOUR YEARS. It's one of the relatively few products that does exactly what it claims to do. If I had a Mac II not running A/UX I'd buy one. And in fact, I bought several. --- Alexis Rosen alexis@ccnysci.{uucp,bitnet} alexis@rascal.ics.utexas.edu (last resort)