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From: ph@cci632.UUCP (Pete Hoch)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Apple 8-24 GC Card
Message-ID: <35864@cci632.UUCP>
Date: 10 Apr 90 22:06:56 GMT
References: <2864@rodan.acs.syr.edu>
Distribution: na
Organization: Computer Consoles Inc. an STC Company, Rochester, NY
Lines: 21

demarsee@gamera.cns.syr.edu (Darryl E. Marsee) writes:
> Does anyone know if the Apple 8-24 GC card as shipped will do 24-bit 
> color, or does it ship as 8-bit and you need the DRAM Expansion Kit 
> to allow it to do 24-bit?  If it does ship 24-bit capable, what does
> the DRAM Expansion Kit buy you?

It depends on which monitor you are using.  All of the new Apple graphic
boards sence which Apple monitor is being used and set themselvs up
accordingly.  On a 13" Color RBG monitor you will get full 24-bit direct
color.  However on the Apple two page monocrome monitor you will only
get 8-bit (mayby only 4-bit I forget) grey scale.  The DRAM expansion
will be used by the new offscreen support that has been added to 32-bit
Quickdraw.  Thus if you have a fully loaded 8*24 GC (Which I think is
four Meg) not only do you get parallell processing on Quickdraw stuff
but if the program you are using uses the OffscreenGWorld calls the
memory for offscreen PixMaps may be allocated on your graphics board
too, thus freeing application memory.  I expect that a CopyBits call
of a 32-bit offscreen to the graphics device will be very fast in
this setup.

Pete Hoch