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From: toddpw@tybalt.caltech.edu (Todd P. Whitesel)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: GUI Benchmark (long)
Message-ID: <1990Apr14.004334.27778@laguna.ccsf.caltech.edu>
Date: 14 Apr 90 00:43:34 GMT
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[ Advance apologies if this is straying from pure 'arch' a bit ]

rjtatz@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Robert J. Tatz) writes:

>     No easy task?  Ideas, suggestions, volunteers?  Can it be shown
>that a set of 16 bit, 7.14 Mhz custom graphics chips can make a 25 Mhz
>68030 Amiga compete with a 40 Mhz 68030 Mac?  I hope we can generate a
>little light with this project without all the heat.

As long as you are talking GUI performance, this would be a good lesson
to Apple management -- they could have developed a standard graphics
coprocessor for both the Apple IIGS and the Macintoshes long before now.

Rumor has it they were working on a very nice chip to do sprites and cheap
windows (with Apple's interface one hardware-implemented window at a time
is enough), and used VRAMs to get maximal blit bandwidth -- but for some
inane reason the project was axed.

Since most people care more about the GUI response than the actual CPU speed
(I can wait for a recalc but drawing windows at least should be fast),
this is where the coprocessing hardware is a big win. Apple will not be able
to make a feasible 'low cost color Mac' without it, IMHO. Not that a low cost
Mac is going to be a reasonable product, mind you -- so far the rumors indicate
that it would be a lot cheaper for Apple to finally make the IIGS a respectable
machine (far easier than most people realize) and let it be their low cost
color 'Mac'. The GS's O/S was designed much better than the Mac's (hindsight,
plus some real vision for once) and only needs a piddly 7 mhz to be a joy to
use, without any kind of special graphics hardware.

Todd Whitesel
toddpw @ tybalt.caltech.edu