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From: lemke@radius.com (Steve Lemke)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: 32-bit video for the LC?
Keywords: 32-bit video, LC, VRAM
Message-ID: <1448@radius.com>
Date: 1 May 91 16:29:24 GMT
References: <2599@optima.cs.arizona.edu>
Lines: 22

gerhard@cs.arizona.edu (Gerhard Mehldau) writes:

}Now, does anyone know what is preventing Apple (or third
}parties, for that matter) from making 1M or 2M VRAM chips,
}that would allow me to run the 13" monitor in 16- or 32-bit
}mode?  Technology?  Price?  Also, would the LC be able to
}take advantage of such chips, or are there some limitations
}in the design of the machine that would prohibit this?

It takes more than extra RAM - it takes logic to route the proper bits from
the RAM to the Digital to Analog Convertor (DAC).  It also takes a DAC that
can properly generate red, green, and blue signals given three different
eight bit inputs (as opposed to a DAC that simply takes eight bits in and
uses an on-chip color lookup table to map the 8-bit values to the proper
R, G, and B values).

This is why 24-bit video boards cost so much more than 8-bit video boards...

-- 
----- Steve Lemke, KC6QDT - Software Engineering, Radius Inc., San Jose -----
----- Reply to: lemke@radius.com -- U.C. Santa Barbara ECE Class of '89 -----
----- "I'm not a UNIX wizard, but I play the Postmaster at radius.com." -----