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From: mek4_ltd@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Mark Kern)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Should I buy an si?
Message-ID: <11141@ur-cc.UUCP>
Date: 14 Dec 90 20:57:08 GMT
References: <1990Dec12.201951.16005@cpsc.ucalgary.ca>
Organization: University of Rochester - Rochester, New York
Lines: 29

Hi,
    I work at the Eye Tracking lab at the University of Rochester, and
we use a Mac II with the National Board hooked up to the tracker.    
    if you need to be able to refresh the screen fast, you might not
want an SI. The built-in video card uses main memory, and is only half
as fast as some dedicated nu-bus color cards. And yes, the built in card
is 8-bit color.  Its hard enough to get a fast refresh on the Mac II here
with a nubus video card...the SI might be a real headache.
	Another consideration is that the SI has a conservative power
supply...so conservative that it cannot run many external video cards.
I don't know how much the National consumes, but this might be too much
for the SI's power supply. 
	I've always believed that a research machine must have more than
3 slots.  We are getting another board for another tracker..so thats 2
slots already...and if you want to upgrade video, there goes another one.
	I think your best bet is to go with a Mac cx or get another used
IIx or something along those lines.

Mark E. Kern

P.S.  by "refresh", I don't mean the actual refresh rate of the monitor
or video card...I mean the rate that you need to draw, etc.        


-- 
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   Mark Edward Kern, mek4_ltd@uhura.cc.rochester.edu  A.Online: Markus
      Quagmire Studios U.S.A. "We not only hear you, we feel you !"
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