jjw7384@ultb.isc.rit.edu (Jeff Wasilko) (02/05/90)
I'm looking for comments on TSI/Gemini accelerators, especially compared to Radius boards. I see several advantages in going with the Gemini board rather than a Radius board. I have heard that the Gemini boards come with an additional power supply so as not to tax the already weak MacPlus power supply. It also seems less expensive to add a second monitor to the Gemini board, and the Gemini board includes an accelerated SCSI port. Additionally, Gemini boards are available with an '030, so they can be used with Virtual. I'd appreciate any comments, as I will probably be purchasing one or two by the end of the month. Thanks, Jeff -- | RIT VAX/VMS Systems: | Jeff Wasilko | RIT Ultrix Systems: | |BITNET: jjw7384@ritvax+----------------------+INET:jjw7384@ultb.isc.rit.edu| |UUCP: {psuvax1, mcvax}!ritvax.bitnet!JJW7384 +___UUCP:jjw7384@ultb.UUCP____+ |INTERNET: jjw7384@isc.rit.edu |'claimer: No one cares. |
RBAUER@oregon.uoregon.edu (Robert Bauer) (02/06/90)
In article <2101@ultb.isc.rit.edu>, jjw7384@ultb.isc.rit.edu (Jeff Wasilko) writes: > I'm looking for comments on TSI/Gemini accelerators, especially compared > to Radius boards. > > I see several advantages in going with the Gemini board rather than a > Radius board. I have heard that the Gemini boards come with an > additional power supply so as not to tax the already weak MacPlus power > supply. It also seems less expensive to add a second monitor to the > Gemini board, and the Gemini board includes an accelerated SCSI port. > Additionally, Gemini boards are available with an '030, so they can be > used with Virtual. > > The Radius board has the main advantages of stability and compatibilty. If you want a Radius monitor, it's your only choice. It also will work with less than 4-Meg of memory, since it has a 32-bit cache while the TSI board forces you to have 1 or 4 Meg of 32-bit RAM on the daughterboard and ONLY 1 Meg on the motherboard, since it has no RAM cache. There are still some unusual bugs with the TSI board, and their SCSI accelerator isn't fully compatible with all devices, although the new software driver is getting better. The clip-on connector (from KILLY) is legendary in its ability to pop off at a crucial moment and the solder-on mount is reliable but butchers your motherboard, forcing you to become a non-entity if you ever need servicing from Apple. Service from 3rd-party shops shouldn't be a problem, however. You're very wrong about the video question. The TSI board ONLY works with E-Machines or MegaScreen, not the best choice in a big-screen monitor. There is an adapter that sells for about $100 or so, but all this does is allow you to hook up the accelerator board to the video adapter board, so you're paying for the big screen monitor, video adapter board, AND TSI's interface adapter board too. They've been working on an accelerator with a built-in video adapter, so all you need to do is add a monitor, but there's no delivery date at this time. Finally, there's the question of technical support--if you call and ask to speak with their technician, you'll probably get their main salesman. There is no qualified in-house techie.
ee299bw@sdcc6.ucsd.edu (Help On The Way) (02/06/90)
In article <15822@oregon.uoregon.edu> RBAUER@oregon.uoregon.edu (Robert Bauer) writes: >You're very wrong about the video question. The TSI board ONLY works with >E-Machines or MegaScreen, not the best choice in a big-screen monitor. There >is an adapter that sells for about $100 or so, but all this does is allow >you to hook up the accelerator board to the video adapter board, so you're >paying for the big screen monitor, video adapter board, AND TSI's interface >adapter board too. They've been working on an accelerator with a built-in >video adapter, so all you need to do is add a monitor, but there's no >delivery date at this time. I'm curious - is this the reason you state for the MegaGraphics monitor not being a good choice? It received rave reviews in MacWorld so we bought three of them and are extremely pleased with them, especially in light of their *much* lower cost than Radius. Dave -- Who: Dave Chesavage Where: dchesavage@ucsd.edu Disclaimer: "If you get confused listen to the music play"