dumesny@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Alain Dumesny) (11/09/87)
Hi, I need some help from dataframe experts. My local dealer is selling the 30 for about $715 and the XP30 for $915, and he is also selling the upgrade to XP for about $150 ?? Now the questions: How come a XP30 (after upgrade) is cheaper than a XP30 (original) ?? , are the speed going to be the same or what ?? Also, I would like to know how much XP's are really faster, is it worth the difference in price ? What does the XP upgrade do to your mac/hard disk, is it changing the roms ? Thanks for the help.... (Can you please reply to me directly.) ------------ Alain Dumesny AWZY@CRNLVAX5.BITNET Cornell University. dumesny@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu
straka@ihlpf.ATT.COM (Straka) (11/10/87)
In article <2863@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> dumesny@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Alain Dumesny) writes: >My local dealer is selling the 30 for about $715 and the >XP30 for $915, and he is also selling the upgrade to XP for >about $150 ?? >... >Now the questions: How come a XP30 (after upgrade) is >cheaper than a XP30 (original) ?? , are the speed going to >be the same or what ?? I can't speak for what disk drive is used in the 2 machines (I have no reason to believe that they aren't the same, but you can never count on it.), but the basic difference *appears* to be: 1) firmware on the OMTI controller board. and 2) driver software (on the formatting program) Yes, It seems that the cost of the 2 machines is the same, but SuperMac seems to be pricing not on a cost basis, but on a performance basis. >Also, I would like to know how much XP's are really faster, >is it worth the difference in price ? Yes, my XP20 does fly through DiskTimer II, but not at the rate advertised by SuperMac. As I recall: Reads Writes Seeks SuperMac claim (XP20): 52 51 69 My XP20: 111 98 33 My measurement SuperMac claim (DF20): 147 147 64 Typical SCSI drive: 173 175 40 My measurement RamStart 1.3 17 17 NA My measurement >What does the XP upgrade do to your mac/hard disk, is it >changing the roms ? No changes are made to the ROMs in the Mac. (Normal disclaimers, ..., ...) -- Rich Straka ihnp4!ihlpf!straka Advice for the day: "MSDOS - just say no."
kraut@ut-ngp.UUCP (Werner Uhrig) (11/11/87)
A comment up front: First, the XP-upgrade consists of changing the ROM in the DataFrame (a $1 part, but the value is in the software, of course), which allows 1:1 interleaf (and thus significant faster speed) and reformatting the drive with the latest software. Second, most 30Meg drives are the same as the older 20Meg drives with additional storage "discovered" by using RLL-encoding. There were reports last year that some drives did not take to that very well and that they got flaky within 6 months. If I remember right, SuperMac took the 30Megs off the market for some time because of this problem. I have no idea if this problem (if it ever existed) has since been solved, but I'd be very hesitant to buy a 30Meg drive still, period. In article <2739@ihlpf.ATT.COM>, straka@ihlpf.ATT.COM (Straka) writes: > In article <2863@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> dumesny@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Alain Dumesny) writes: > >Now the questions: How come a XP30 (after upgrade) is > >cheaper than a XP30 (original) ?? , are the speed going to > >be the same or what ?? why cheaper? probably because it is an older model and, most likely, used. charging $150 for the upgrade may be ok if purchased by itself (though I would shop around), but in this case, the dealer should be willing to upgrade the older drive to an XP at his cost, just to be able to sell it - I still would not buy it, I don't think. speed the same? I suspect that the hardware is not the same and there might be a minor difference in speed (or none at all) > >Also, I would like to know how much XP's are really faster, > >is it worth the difference in price ? the XP is faster, no doubt, but the value is in the eye of the beholder. though SuperMac has been pretty good getting close to the price that the market would bear - after all they are in the business of making money, and we, the consumers, have to find a way to use competition to bring the prices down ... -- kraut@ngp.utexas.edu
sarrel@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Marc Sarrel) (11/13/87)
In article <6801@ut-ngp.UUCP> kraut@ut-ngp.UUCP (Werner Uhrig) writes: > >Second, most 30Meg drives are the same as the older 20Meg >drives with additional storage "discovered" by using RLL-encoding. > Does this mean that it might be ossible to take a 20XP and "upgrade" it to a 30XP without essentially replacing the drive? What about larger disks (ie: 20XP -> 40XP)? I haven't heard of any company offering such a service, but it sounds like a great idea. I can _always_ use more disk space. :-) I reached the limit of my 20XP a while ago and started offloading stuff that I don't use often. However, no that HyperCard has come out.... -- Marc Sarrel The Ohio State University 611 Harely Dr #1 Department of Computer and Information Science Columbus, OH 43202-1835 sarrel@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu Disclaimer: Hey, what do I know? I'm only a grad student.
dantz@cdp.UUCP (11/17/87)
The DataFrame 30s and 60s do use RLL encoding, and yes, SuperMac did have some problems getting the reliability up to their standards. They are now shipping drives that have passed quite rigorous tests ... although the SuperMac price list contains an "XP upgrade," that is a part for upgrading 20s and 40s to XP. At this point, there is no path to upgrade a DataFrame 30 to and XP30. The DataFrame 30s are new, not used, and a desire to be competitive in the low-end market has dictated the pricing structure more than anything else. There is no way to reliably increase the capacity of existing DataFrames with an RLL controller--SuperMac had enough problems with drive units that were supposedly RLL qualified. Larry Zulch, Dantz Software Development Note: Our publisher is SuperMac and I talk to their technical people on a regular basis.