Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
From: clouds@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Kathy Strong)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: accelerators for SE
Summary: take a second look at the Gemini
Message-ID: <40695@ut-emx.uucp>
Date: 5 Dec 90 05:13:26 GMT
References: <1990Dec2.022943.5847@Neon.Stanford.EDU> <1990Dec5.011154.21728@Neon.Stanford.EDU>
Sender: news@ut-emx.uucp
Reply-To: clouds@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Kathy Strong)
Lines: 47

In article <1990Dec5.011154.21728@Neon.Stanford.EDU> philip@pescadero.stanford.
edu writes:
>...
>have FPU support. The Total Systems Gemini appears to offer what I want,
>but once I've added options like floating point support, it comes to
>pretty close to the Stanford price for an SE/30 upgrade.
>...
>
>So - one more try. A NewLife accelerator, made in Canada, lists at
>$1199 with FPU but excluding RAM. If I can find a dealer who will
>discount it, this could be a good deal, especially as this is a 25MHz
>accelerator (the rest I looked into are 16MHz). Does anyone have
>experience of NewLife / recommendations of dealers? Or, for that
>matter, any more ideas about good products at lower end prices?

Philip, you may want to take another look at the Gemini product. I recently
got some product information from them which included a "special pricing"
list. Their '030, 16MHz with 20MHz 68882 FPU has an SRP of $895, but this
list offers it at $716 for Qty. 1 and $671 for Qty. 2+. (Whoops, please
note this one is called "Mercury," not "Gemini.")  The Gemini, with
a 20MHz '030 and the same FPU is MUCH more expensive at $1,645 SRP, $1,316
for one, and $1,234 for two or more.

Anyway, I don't remember how much you said you wanted to spend, but
if you're on a budget, you could get the Mercury with FPU and still
have $$ left over for lotsa RAM. I've seen reviews which laud the Total
Systems product line. I also got information from Newbridge (the folks in
Canada)--their prices look good, but I have no idea what their track
record is or even how long they've been around.

As for finding dealers willing to discount--good luck. I suspect that margins
on these cards are quite low, which means that not many dealers will want
to carry them. In fact, looking through the ads in the back of MacWeek, I
could only find two outfits that even MENTION accelerators (other than
the DayStar Fast Cache IIci).

--K

(Whoops.  By the way, SRP = standard retail price. Sorry about the jargon!)


-- 
...........................................................................
:   Kathy Strong               :  "Try our Hubble-Rita: just one shot,     :
:  (Clouds moving slowly)      :   and everything's blurry"                :
:   clouds@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu  :                           --El Arroyo     :
:..........................................................................: