S3LMGEB%SAE.TOWSON.EDU@OHSTVMA.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDU (Eric Bennett) (05/29/91)
What should I get first to augment my '030 cube?
4/8 MB + Floppy
16 MB
'040 Upgrade
Is the extra $/MB worth getting 16M SIMMS to allow for future expandability?
Would saving up and getting a Station be better than upgrading (as described
in tao #6 (I think))?
Will the increased memory boost perceived performance enough to make an upgrade
unnessessary (or at least something I could wait on)?
Thanx. Once I've secured my gobs-o-cash I'll stop asking these stupid Q's. :-)
- Eric
Eric Bennett s3lmgeb@sae.towson.edu (NeXTMail? Now 1st I xfer []MAIL.MAI;...)
DEC high-ups long ago decided that .signatures were a clear and
appalling sign that Unix users were in dire need of structure.S3LMGEB%SAE.TOWSON.EDU@OHSTVMA.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDU (Eric Bennett) (06/03/91)
I received a number of replies to my post about which to get first, a CPU
upgrade or a memory one. The replies (not unexpectedly) fell into two general
catagories:
The first camp:
From: melling@sunws0.sys.cs.psu.edu (Michael D Mellinger)
The 040 upgrade for $1000 is probably your best choice. For another
$640 the Chip Merchant will sell you 16MB of RAM to give you a 24MB
Cube.
From: coco@ihcoco.att.com (Felix A Lugo)
I'd say:
1. 8 MB + Floppy
2. '040 Upgrade
3. 16 MB
It will increase performance, but not as much as getting an upgrade.
From: daugher@cs.tamu.edu (Walter Daugherity)
Depends on your needs (i.e., do you need a floppy?), but I'd get an
'040 first, with as much memory as you can afford (4MB SIMMs @ 80ns
are a pretty good buy).
From: cerberus@geo.lsa.umich.edu (R. Eric Bennett)
I'm admistrating a lab that has a new NeXTStation and I have access
to a lab that has an old cube. I'm not sure of the memory on each,
but the NeXTStation SCREAMS compared to the cube. Thy both run 2.0
I believe (although the Station may have 2.1). My personal
recommendation would be to go with the 040 upgrade.
The second camp:
From: eps@toaster.SFSU.EDU (Eric P. Scott)
Reply-to: eps@cs.SFSU.EDU
[Since] it's only 8MB you shouldn't be thinking about anything but more
RAM. 4 4MB SIMMs would make a phenomenal difference in performance.
From: isbell@ucscf.UCSC.EDU (Art Isbell)
I think that the perceived performance increase/$ is best for the
memory upgrade, then the OS, and finally, the CPU.
From: Varun Mitroo <mitroo@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
16 megs REALLY makes a difference compared to 8 or 12 megs. I also
bought the '040 upgrade about a month ago, and the computer is really
fast! If you're worried about cost, I would recommend getting 8 more
megs RAM at a good price.
From: garnett@cs.utexas.edu
I'd probably go with 8MB memory upgrade and floppy if I were you. The
040 is nice but the machine is quite usable without it (although
WriteNow definitely doesn't scroll as fast on an 030).
From: songer@ecn.purdue.edu (Christopher M Songer)
So.. The best (if you can offord it) would be 4 more meg of memory
(1 Meg simms are < $45 a piece.) and an 040 board. 12 Meg over 8 Meg
makes a HUGE difference. (For me and the way I use it.)
From: madler@cobalt.cco.caltech.edu (Mark Adler)
There's no question in my mind: memory first. If you can afford four
4M simms, I'd recommend that route. You'll have to order "low-profile"
or "vertical-mount" ones so that they'll fit the 030 board.
In the general consensus:
Either a '040 upgrade or more memory will greatly improve performance. The
more memory the better the performance, though a given increase will do more
for the '040 then than for its sibling. For numerical computation the '040 is
3 times faster, but swapping can bring its speed down almost to that of a '030.
1M Simms can be bought/sold from both the Mac community and from Station
owners who are upgrading - either because 1MB Simms are more cost effective
than 4MB or because they make a great filler until I need to expand (since I
can then sell them to someone else). Prices seem to run $25-$30 per used 1M
Simm, under $45 for new. Make sure to get the low-profile variety, and prices
from companys known to make compatible Simms can be found in the Simm price
list in various archives.
In my next post I should make clear that I have an 8M 1.0a cube with HD
(2.1 on order) and that I was thinking of 16M _of_ Simms and not 16M _Simms_
(which, EPS points out, will probably not work in a NeXT but will drive down
prices of other Simms).
Since what I'm really concerned with is observed performance (i.e. feel)
and not with down-and-dirty computation speed, I'm going to start with getting
more memory (8x1M vs 4x4M undecided) since it is the greater gain for the
smaller buck. (Always seems to come down to that.) How much memory I get will
depend on a) how much (how soon) I need a floppy, and b) how much cash I'll
actually have available.
Thanks for the input,
- Eric
ERIC BENNETT S3LMGEB@SAE.TOWSON.EDU AND IF I DIDN'T MEAN IT IT WOULDN'T BE
ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE SOME SCREAMING TYPIST WHO JUST CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE!!