Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!rpi!mts.rpi.edu!Garance_Drosehn
From: Garance_Drosehn@mts.rpi.edu (Garance Drosehn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: Another Mac II si question
Message-ID: <0P}^2P-@rpi.edu>
Date: 1 Dec 90 01:42:34 GMT
References: <603@ssdc?>
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst.
Lines: 42
Nntp-Posting-Host: gilead.its.rpi.edu

In article <603@ssdc?> jbasara@ssdc (jim basara) writes:
> As I stated in an earlier article, I am currently considering purchasing
> a Mac II si.  I was told today that the si is expandable to only 5MB and
> then must be upgraded to 17Meg.  A $2K upgrade.
> 
Hmm, that doesn't sound quite right.  Picking up a MacWeek indicates that 
the current price for one 4-Meg SIMM is around $200-$250.  You'll need 4 
of those.  That sounds like under $1K to me, am I missing something about 
the IIsi?  And that's the price *right now*.  If you don't need the memory 
right now, the price is very likely to be cheaper by the time you do need 
it.

There's also one company that claims it will soon have 2Meg SIMMs for the 
IIci and the IIsi, which you could use to give you 9 Meg (4 simms at 2Meg, 
plus the megabyte on the board itself).  They don't quote a price, but I 
imagine it'd be less than the 4Meg simms!

> I would like to hear from some Mac II users who have required more than
> 5MB or who forsee the need.
> 
> What type of Mac applications require more than 5Meg (A/UX, 
> XWindows, etc.)?

I have an SE with an accelerator board and 4Meg at home.  I have a Mac 
IIci with 4 Meg at work.  I do occasionally wish I had more memory on both 
machines.  At home it's mainly for database stuff (4th Dimension) and when 
I'm programming.  At work it's because I could use a million connections 
to everywhere (this hypercard stack for the netnews reader, a couple NCSA 
Telnet connections, maybe some TN3270 connections), plus the project I'm 
really using the Mac for (developing something with MacWorkStation).  It 
isn't so much that any one application takes up a lot of memory, as that 
I want to run a lot of different things at the same time.

I don't run A/UX.  If you are considering A/UX, checkout the most recent 
MacUser.  From what I remember from skimming the article, you'd probably 
want more than 5 Meg to run it.  I wasn't paying that much attention to 
the memory requirements though, so get some more info if you want the Mac 
for A/UX.

Garance_Drosehn@mts.rpi.edu
ITS Systems Programmer
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Troy, NY.  USA