howie@triton.tamu.edu (MATT_K_HOWARD) (01/15/91)
I attended the roll-out of Apple's 8.24GC accelerated video card last year. Two examples demonstrating dramatic speed improvements stand out in my memory. In one a color version of the diatom program which draws geometric patterns was run in 8 bit mode while the accelerator was switched on and off. In the second example, a lassoed portion of a 24 bit bitmap was dragged around the screen as smoothly as it occurs on a b/w Mac, ie, no winking phenomena. In both cases the benifit was obvious. The board was installed in the then new Mac IIfx. My wife saw the demo and thinks she might buy 6 of the GC's for an art department she runs. There, they routinely work with line art containing 300-500 objects in MacDraw II. The scroll time is killing them. They have one IIci and some II's and IIx's all running the 13" Apple RGB. I invited her to try a hands-on demonstration on a Mac II with a 8.24GC a co-worker had. We experimented with MacDraw II, Canvas 2.1, MS Word 4.0, and Kaleidagraph V2.1 and in NO case did we notice ANY speed improvement. We verified that we had the required operating system (6.0.5) and that the required system folder additions, 32bit color QD, and the GC Init. We switched the GC in and out via the CDEV. We tried rebooting though the manual says it isn't necessary. There was plenty of memory on the board and in the Mac. Nothing we tried seemed to be any faster. The owner, who didn't see the introduction demonstrations, thought everything was fine because thats the way it had always been. Someone who works near that station "thinks" that the After Dark screens run faster. So here is the question. How much speed improvement should I expect. It should be noticeable right? Do you know of an example that clearly demonstrated improvement on a Mac II host? In the last MacWeek they benched accelerated cards and reported a 5X or greater improvement. We sure didn't see it. Talk it up folks and thanks in advance. Matt Howard Mail me or post here. Internet: howie@triton.tamu.edu Bitnet: howie@tamvxocn.bitnet
housen@ssc-vax (Kevin Housen) (01/23/91)
Regarding the 8*24 GC, I would strongly suggest trying out one of these boards on the machine you intend to use and with the software you intend to use. We bought one and ended up returning it because there was no noticeable speed improvement. That's not to say it doesn't do well for some applications. We found it to be useful for 24 bit paint programs (e.g. PhotoShop). But for programs we normally run in 1 bit mode (e.g. Word, MacDraw), there is no significant acceleration. In fact, WriteNow actually scrolls slower when you turn the GC board on. Apparently, CopyBits calls are slower with the GC if the software doesn't use Apples GWorld routines. This may be why the board slows down WriteNow. Anyway, my intent is not to dump on the 8*24GC but rather to caution you to try one out extensively before buying one. If you tend to run in 24 bit mode a lot, it would probably be useful. If you tend to use 1 bit mode, save your money. Kevin Housen housen@ssc-vax
lemke@radius.com (Steve Lemke) (01/24/91)
housen@ssc-vax (Kevin Housen) writes: }Regarding the 8*24 GC, I would strongly suggest trying out one }of these boards on the machine you intend to use and with the }software you intend to use. We bought one and ended up returning }it because there was no noticeable speed improvement. }...for programs we normally run in 1 bit mode (e.g. Word, MacDraw), }there is no significant acceleration. In fact, WriteNow actually scrolls }scrolls slower when you turn the GC board on. Apparently, CopyBits }calls are slower with the GC if the software doesn't use Apples GWorld }routines. This may be why the board slows down WriteNow. Anyway, }my intent is not to dump on the 8*24GC but rather to caution you }to try one out extensively before buying one. If you tend to run }in 24 bit mode a lot, it would probably be useful. If you tend to }use 1 bit mode, save your money. Speaking about saving money, if the 8*24GC is just too much money for you and/or you don't perceive a worthwhile performance increase in what- ever you're using it for, you owe it to yourself to check out the Radius DirectColor/GX board (hereafter referred to as the "DC/GX"). <<NOTE:>> Please do not flame this as an "advertisement"!! I'm merely responding to what has been a thread of articles from people not happy with the 8*24 GC price/performance ratio!! This posting is for infor- mational purposes, as a service to those still looking for an accelerated video board for their 13" display... Anyway, the DC/GX board drives an Apple 13" display in 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 24-bit modes, includes on-board acceleration, and will also output NTSC timing or PAL timing RGB video signals. Granted, the on-board acceleration of the DC/GX does _not_ accelerate other video boards in your system (as the 8*24 GC does), and in some areas it is slower than the 8*24 GC, but I'm sure you'll love the performance you get for the price you pay. I believe you could probably buy three DC/GX boards for the price of a single 8*24 GC. In addition, if you find an area where the DC/GX is slower with the acceleration on than without it, I'd like to hear about it! As Kevin mentions above, you should try out any board before buying it, to see if you're going to be happy with it. I guess I'll stop here, lest anyone think I'm trying to use the net for "free advertising". If you still feel the need to flame me for this, please do so over email, to "lemke@radius.com". On the other hand, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer them. I'm not a marketing or sales type, just an engineer who worked on the DC/GX project... Steve -- ----- Steve Lemke, (now in) Software Engineering, Radius Inc., San Jose ----- ----- "I'm not a UNIX wizard, but I play the Postmaster at radius.com." ----- ----- Reply to: lemke@radius.com (radius!lemke@apple.com works too!) -----