Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!paperboy!sauron!hankin From: hankin@sauron.osf.org (Scott Hankin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware Subject: Re: Cheap accelerator for a Mac+? Message-ID: Date: 20 Mar 91 22:00:57 GMT References: <3510@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu> Sender: news@OSF.ORG Lines: 69 daniel@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu (big_belly@midsection.jiggles) writes: >A couple of weeks ago someone posted information about an accelerator from >a company called Brainstorm which is supposed to give a Mac+ the >performance of a Mac II for about $249. Our news connection has been >intermittent since then and I may have missed some discussion about this. >Does anyone have this product and if so, how well does it work? Dad always >said that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Well this >sounds pretty good and I'm skeptical. Other accelerators cost much more. >What is this one missing? Also, I've never heard of Brainstorm before. >Anyone know how to get in touch with them? Your assistance is appreciated. I was the original poster. I'd like to say I have more information, but I don't. Yes, it's been a month. I decided to call and find out what's going on. I talked with a friendly rep from Brainstorm. In a word, they've been swamped with requests, and no one has received info yet. They just started shipping last week, and have been unable to handle the requests for info yet. Soon, she said. The MacWeek article and three others created a demand they had not anticipated. I also asked for names of local dealers. She said a list would be included with the info packet. I got the impression that part of the high demand came from dealers who also wanted info. If I had limited numbers of info packages, I'd give preference to folks who wanted to sell large numbers of my products over those who wanted to buy one. Besides, that way I could connect dealers with buyers when the next batch of brochures came in. How well does it work? Beats me - I know of no one who has one yet. I'll be curious to read a review. Too good to be true? Perhaps, but consider: the product only has two chips. one of which is a 16MHz 68000. This is not exactly a high demand, low supply, low yield chip - I don't know what it goes for, but my guess is that it's pretty low. The other chip is a custom ASIC, which also shouldn't cost that much. I actually expect the profit margin is fairly high on this product. What is this one missing? The biggie is that it's still only a 68000. No virtual memory, just a faster version of what you've got. The press release said that there would be upgrades to 68030's but I suspect they may cost more than $249. Is it really that much cheaper? Dove, for example, advertises a 68030 accelerator for $495. It includes the accelerator, an auxilliary power supply, fan and "snap-on" installation kit. I suspect that just the differences in cost between a 68000 and a 68030 would cover a lot of the selling price difference. Of course, people have said the Dove accelerator doesn't significantly speed up your Mac+, probably because they are still dealing with an 8MHz bus. Who is Brainstorm? They've been around in the Mac market for quite a while, but I only knew them to sell memory upgrades for fairly high prices in a competitive market. I never understood who bought from them, but I do know that lots of folks don't shop around much when they buy things. I'm not sure what the rest of their product line is, but the company is several years old, and still around. Many companies in the Mac market cannot make the same claim. Perhaps other companies will attempt to go the same route as Brainstorm in the future - speeding up the bus and SCSI adds a lot to performance. I'm still curious. I hope the delay in info won't be too much longer, but I can wait. I hope this helps some. - Scott --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Hankin (hankin@osf.org) | Cole's Law: Open Software Foundation | Thinly sliced cabbage.