Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!ucla-cs!lanai.cs.ucla.edu!lange From: lange@lanai.cs.ucla.edu (Trent Lange) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc Subject: Re: What if ? was:Re: Not another NeXT defector???!!! Message-ID: <1990Nov13.063104.11906@cs.ucla.edu> Date: 13 Nov 90 06:31:04 GMT References: <2909@unccvax.uncc.edu> <396@goya.dit.upm.es> <108420@convex.convex.com> Sender: news@cs.ucla.edu (Mr. News) Organization: UCLA Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Lines: 47 Nntp-Posting-Host: lanai.cs.ucla.edu In article <108420@convex.convex.com> ewright@convex.com (Edward V. Wright) writes: > >In about six months we should see 68040-based accelerator >boards for the Mac II. About six months after that we >should see cheap "brand X" 68040 boards. Adding one of >these to a IIsi will give you a machine that blows away >the IIfx and is at least competitive with the NeXT for >far less money. You have made a whole string of postings that show a lot of ignorance about the new NeXT machines, but this one takes the cake. If you even *possibly* think that a Mac IIsi with a "cheap brand X" 68040 board is going to be competitive with a NeXTStation for "far less money", then you're completely uninformed. The least expensive "cheap brand X" 25MHz 68030 accelerator for the Mac that I've seen is about $1000. The 68040 is more expensive than a 68030. The IIsi (at educational prices) costs about $3000 for a 5MB/80MB system. Do you want a monitor? A keyboard? Add another $770 (or do you want the tiny 12" mono monitor?). Even at the *very* optimistic price on a third-party 68040 board (that you won't be able to get at that price for at least a year), the total cost will be at least $4800. The NeXTStation costs $3400 at educational prices. Oh, that "cheap brand X" upgrade you're rhapsodizing about? It won't have DMA (for either hard disk or monitor) or all of the other neato performance goodies of the NeXTStation, so it will not approach the NeXT's overall performance. It won't be supported by Apple (you know, since Apple decided in its infinite wisdom not to support VM on 3rd party upgrades for System 7.) Hell, it probably won't even *run* on the IIsi given the SI's weak power supply. So, come on. There are certainly good reasons to buy a Mac over a NeXT. But price/performance ratio is definitely *not* one of them. It's ludicrous statements like that that are prolonging this NeXT vs. Mac discussion. - Trent Lange -- ************************************************************************ * UCLA: Perfecting the art of arthroscopic surgery. * ************************************************************************