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From: housen@ssc-vax (Kevin Housen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Is the 8.24GC improvement dramatic?
Message-ID: <3586@ssc-bee.ssc-vax.UUCP>
Date: 22 Jan 91 20:28:49 GMT
References: <11425@lanl.gov>
Sender: news@ssc-vax.UUCP
Reply-To: housen@ssc-vax.UUCP (Kevin Housen)
Organization: Boeing Aerospace & Electronics
Lines: 18

Regarding the 8*24 GC, I would strongly suggest trying out one
of these boards on the machine you intend to use and with the
software you intend to use.  We bought one and ended up returning
it because there was no noticeable speed improvement.  That's not
to say it doesn't do well for some applications.  We found it to
be useful for 24 bit paint programs (e.g. PhotoShop).  But for 
programs we normally run in 1 bit mode (e.g. Word, MacDraw), there
is no significant acceleration.  In fact, WriteNow actually scrolls
slower when you turn the GC board on.  Apparently, CopyBits calls
are slower with the GC if the software doesn't use Apples GWorld
routines.  This may be why the board slows down WriteNow.  Anyway,
my intent is not to dump on the 8*24GC but rather to caution you
to try one out extensively before buying one.   If you tend to run
in 24 bit mode a lot, it would probably be useful.  If you tend to
use 1 bit mode, save your money.

Kevin Housen
housen@ssc-vax