torrie@cs.stanford.edu (Evan Torrie) (05/02/91)
michael@otago.ac.nz writes: >In which case you have to >wonder if a version of the IIsi with VRAM instead of standard DRAM for the >video is in Apples plans. There is a rumour circulating that Apple will build separate VRAM, and enhance the on-board graphics capabilities for the upcoming IIci '040 machine to support large screen colour monitors. This will apparently tie in with Apple's rumoured announcement of its own 16" and 19" colour monitors. Personally, I think these are both good things. If you're paying for the performance of an 040, you don't want it to be tripped up by things like sharing DRAM access with the video circuitry. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Evan Torrie. Stanford University, Class of 199? torrie@cs.stanford.edu "If it weren't for your gumboots, where would you be? You'd be in the hospital, or in-firm-ary..." F. Dagg
michael@otago.ac.nz (05/02/91)
In article <2649@optima.cs.arizona.edu>, gerhard@cs.arizona.edu (Gerhard Mehldau) writes: > But doesn't the LC need to have such a DAC already, if it can display > 16-bit color for the small screen? With the appropriate amount of VRAM, > it should be able to handle at least 16-bit color for larger screens > at well. No? Evidently the LC has a DAC that can (at least) go into a mode where it gets 5 bits per channel direct from the incoming stream from RAM rather than indirectly from a lookup table. Presumably the only thing preventing it from doing more is bandwidth limitations on the rate it can read from RAM. This leads to another interesting question; why can't the IIsi do 16-bit video? Or to put it another way, could it acquire such an ability in the future? It has a megabyte of RAM to use for video and a 16-bit 640*480 colour display would use 614K. Perhaps the CPU would have too little bandwidth to the video RAM left to provide acceptable update performance. In which case you have to wonder if a version of the IIsi with VRAM instead of standard DRAM for the video is in Apples plans. Michael(tm) Hamel, Computing Services Centre, University of Otago, New Zealand UDINE (adj.) Not susceptible to charm.