rajiv@ee.rochester.edu (Rajiv Arora) (03/21/91)
I'm considering buying a Mac LC and had a few questions I'm throwing at the
net.
1. Expandability: Is memory expansion a simple matter of adding SIMMs, or does
one have to buy a card a la the Classic?
2. Virtual Memory. To utilize System 7.0's virtual memory capability, is there
any way to add a PMMU to the LC?
3. Graphics: Can you run 32-bit QuickDraw on the LC? On the 12" color monitor
only, or also on the 13" Hi-Res monitor? My understanding is that for the
latter you have to purchase some sort of card (512K VRAM SIMMs?).
4. What about programs like Excel that need a FPU?
Any answers would be GREATLY appreciated.
-Rajiv Arora
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Internet: rajiv@ee.rochester.edu bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) (03/21/91)
In article <1991Mar20.224356.8258@ee.rochester.edu> rajiv@ee.rochester.edu (Rajiv Arora) writes: >I'm considering buying a Mac LC and had a few questions I'm throwing at the >net. So am I, and I've thrown lots of questions to the net, too! Anybody else who's interested in getting an LC, please email me with your thoughts and your considerations, and everything. I intend to post a comprehensive summary of everything I've learned after I make a decision whether or not to move up, and the reasons behind my decision. >1. Expandability: Is memory expansion a simple matter of adding SIMMs, or does >one have to buy a card a la the Classic? Just add SIMMs, 120ms or faster (I believe). The motherboard has 2Mb soldered onto it, and there are two open slots for more SIMMs. You can put in two 256k, two 1M,b, or two 4Mb SIMMs for a total of 2.5Mb, 4Mb, or 10Mb of RAM. >2. Virtual Memory. To utilize System 7.0's virtual memory capability, is there >any way to add a PMMU to the LC? Third-party vendors have or will have expansion boards that let you add a PMMU. I don't know any details about this. Remember, though, that virtual memory is _slow_. I don't think this should be a consideration unless you have a *need* for lots and lots of memory. >3. Graphics: Can you run 32-bit QuickDraw on the LC? On the 12" color monitor >only, or also on the 13" Hi-Res monitor? My understanding is that for the >latter you have to purchase some sort of card (512K VRAM SIMMs?). Without the 512k VRAM SIMM, you can get 16 colors/shades of gray on the 13" color and 12" greyscale monitors, and 256 colors on the 12" color monitor. With the 512k VRAM SIMM, you can get 256 colors/shades of gray on the 13" color and 12" greyscale monitors, and 32,000 colors on the 12" color monitor. Neither uses 32-bit Quickdraw. >4. What about programs like Excel that need a FPU? Programs that expect an FPU can be fooled by the PseudoFPU INIT, available for ftp all over the place. There's an update to Excel that works on the LC without PseudoFPU. << Brian >> | Brian S. Kendig \ Macintosh | Engineering, | bskendig | | Computer Engineering |\ Thought | USS Enterprise | @phoenix.Princeton.EDU | Princeton University |_\ Police | -= NCC-1701-D =- | @PUCC.BITNET | "It's not that I don't HAVE the work to *do* -- I don't DO the work I *have*."
abennett@athena.mit.edu (Andrew Bennett) (03/22/91)
At Comdex, I saw a Colby (Dynamac? The one from Colorado.) exhibit of an LCD
screen and battry pack for the LC, making it a portable. Release date was
unannounced.
They also had an '030 accelerator card for the LC, which plugged into the
Processor Direct Slot, overriding the '020. Price was about $400, with promises
of an '040 card for the near future. Overall, a big win.
-Drew
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"In the Morning, Laughing Happy Fish Heads,
In the Evening, Floating in the Soup!"labc-1ic@web-3c.berkeley.edu (Willy S. Liao) (03/22/91)
In article <7370@idunno.Princeton.EDU> bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) writes: >In article <1991Mar20.224356.8258@ee.rochester.edu> rajiv@ee.rochester.edu (Rajiv Arora) writes: >>I'm considering buying a Mac LC and had a few questions I'm throwing at the >>net. [stuff deleted...] >>3. Graphics: Can you run 32-bit QuickDraw on the LC? On the 12" color monitor >>only, or also on the 13" Hi-Res monitor? My understanding is that for the >>latter you have to purchase some sort of card (512K VRAM SIMMs?). > >Without the 512k VRAM SIMM, you can get 16 colors/shades of gray on >the 13" color and 12" greyscale monitors, and 256 colors on the 12" >color monitor. > >With the 512k VRAM SIMM, you can get 256 colors/shades of gray on the >13" color and 12" greyscale monitors, and 32,000 colors on the 12" >color monitor. > >Neither uses 32-bit Quickdraw. I'd just like to point out that 32-bit Quickdraw is built into all the new color-capable Macs since the IIci, including the IIsi & the LC. You are ALWAYS using 32-bit Quickdraw on these machines; it has NOTHING to do with the screen-depth. 32-bit Quickdraw is an enhancment of the original 8-bit Color Quickdraw that fixes a number of bugs, speeds up some functions, and adds features for dealing with color devices which can display more than 256 colors at a time. Using 32-bit Quickdraw on a 4- or 8-bit system won't hurt you any, and it's more bug-free & faster than the original Quickdraw (besides, if you view 24-bit docs, at least you have system-level dithering now). As an aside, 32-bit Quickdraw is built into System 7, so all you people out there will be running it whether you like it or not (yes, even SE/30 owners). This makes life easier for app. writers who want to use the new calls in 32-bit Quickdraw. Willy Liao labc-1ic@web.berkeley.edu
davoli@natinst.com (Russell Davoli) (03/22/91)
In article <1991Mar22.160821.190@otago.ac.nz>, stanger@otago.ac.nz (Nigel Stanger) writes: > In article <1991Mar20.224356.8258@ee.rochester.edu>, rajiv@ee.rochester.edu (Rajiv Arora) writes: > > > 2. Virtual Memory. To utilize System 7.0's virtual memory capability, is there > > any way to add a PMMU to the LC? > > I don't know of any yet. The official word from Apple is NO, but > you can bet some enterprising thrid-party will come up with > something (I hope so!) > I believe that simply having an MMU in a Mac is not enough to allow VM to work. I seem to remember hearing somewhere that Apple hasn't compiled certain necessary bits of software into the ROMs of machines that ship without MMUs. This apparently is the case with the Classic and Plus; does anyone know if this is true with the LC? --Russell
stanger@otago.ac.nz (Nigel Stanger) (03/23/91)
In article <1991Mar20.224356.8258@ee.rochester.edu>, rajiv@ee.rochester.edu (Rajiv Arora) writes: > > I'm considering buying a Mac LC and had a few questions I'm throwing at the > net. > > 1. Expandability: Is memory expansion a simple matter of adding SIMMs, or does > one have to buy a card a la the Classic? No, you can plug it straight in. The really beautiful thing is that it will take 4M SIMMS. I have 10M in mine - brilliant! :-) > 2. Virtual Memory. To utilize System 7.0's virtual memory capability, is there > any way to add a PMMU to the LC? I don't know of any yet. The official word from Apple is NO, but you can bet some enterprising thrid-party will come up with something (I hope so!) > 3. Graphics: Can you run 32-bit QuickDraw on the LC? On the 12" color monitor > only, or also on the 13" Hi-Res monitor? My understanding is that for the > latter you have to purchase some sort of card (512K VRAM SIMMs?). The LC has 32-bit QD in ROM, just like the SE/30, si, ci and fx. However, the on-board video is at best 8-bit (256 colours), and that is *only with the 12" RGB monitor*. If you use the 13" RGB monitor you will only get 4-bit colour (16 colours). If you buy the special video RAM, you can up it to ~32000 (16-bit??) colours on the 12" and 256 colours on the 13". That's as good as it gets for on-board video. Again however, someone will probably come out with a third-party video card at some stage. > 4. What about programs like Excel that need a FPU? The only solution at the moment is to get a copy of PseudoPFU, an INIT which converts FPU calls into SANE calls - i.e. makes the LC think it has a FPU. Again, future third-party products blah blah blah ... ;-) (One thing: I have heard that you can tell Excel you don't have a FPU by holding down the Option key when you launch it. Can anyone confirm that?) > Any answers would be GREATLY appreciated. No probs. :-) One problem with all this of course is that the LC has only one (worse luck) expansion slot, which makes life *reeeaal* difficult if you want a PMMU, 24-bit colour *and* a FPU. The only hope is that someone will develop a multi-function board that does it all. I hope so, the LC is a really neat machine otherwise... -- See ya Nigel. /******************************************************************************\ * "If I had a quote, I'd be wearing it." * Internet: stanger@otago.ac.nz * * -- Dylan Thomas (I think) * SnailMail: Information Science, * * * University of Otago, * * "Say no MORE!!!" * P.O. Box 56, * * -- Eric Idle * Dunedin, NEW ZEALAND. * \******************************************************************************/