Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!usc!wuarchive!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!vice!bobb
From: bobb@vice.ICO.TEK.COM (Bob Beauchaine)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.tandy
Subject: Re: Speeding up a Tandy and VGA
Keywords: VGA Tandy 1000TL TL CPU Speed
Message-ID: <6493@vice.ICO.TEK.COM>
Date: 11 Dec 90 20:09:24 GMT
References: <4623@iitmax.IIT.EDU>
Organization: Tektronix Inc., Beaverton, Or.
Lines: 46

In article <4623@iitmax.IIT.EDU> demoydk@iitmax.IIT.EDU (Tommy) writes:
>I might of asked this again but I need to know two things:
>
>1) How can I speed up my Tandy 1000TL another 5-10% on both disk access (HD)
>   and CPU processing?
  
   I have a 1000TX, which should in most respects be close enough to the TL
   for the following discussion to be valid.

   Hard drive disk access:  While you almost always hear that disk caching
   is a Good Thing (TM), I have found exactly the opposite with my TX.  I
   have tried several disk caching programs, including the one supplied 
   by Tandy with my version of DOS (3.3), and have found that without an
   exception my hard drive performed slower with a cache in place.  I tried
   several options of cache size and program, all with the same result.
   (My hard drive is a 30M Seagate hard card from Hard Drives International,
   with a Western Digital controller.)
   As a rule, I have been fairly unhappy with my hard drive performance.
   It seems to be one of the slowest I have ever encountered, but the drive
   specs didn't indicate so at the time I bought it.  

   As for CPU speed, you can't directly speed up the processor (though I
   have toyed with the idea of bumping up my crystal a couple of Mhz, just
   to see what happens).  One little program I have found that works 
   wonders is a utility called Qfresh, which I downloaded from PC Magazine on
   Compuserve.  This program resets the default memory refresh rate to a 
   less frequent interval, giving your CPU more bus cycles between DMA
   refresh.  You can play with the utility parameters to find the optimum
   speed increase without memory parity errors appearing.  I got an
   extra 14% of CPU speed, as measure by the PC Tools.   The results were
   noticeable.

>
>2) I heard that the Tandy computers are brought up by Paradise chip sets.
>   Can I use any other brand of boards?  (i.e. ATI, AST, Orchid, Generic,
>   C&T, or straight Western Digital).
>

  I have a NEC VGB card in my TX (800x600 Super VGA) with a Multi-Scan
  monitor.  No problems to report, though I haven't had the combination
  long.  The internal graphics card knows the VGA card is there, and I
  have seen no conflicts yet, except the board occassionally seems to 
  be autodetected as an EGA by some programs.

  Bob Beauchaine
  bobb@vice.ICO.TEK.COM