Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!ut-sally!ut-ngp!kraut
From: kraut@ut-ngp.UUCP (Werner Uhrig)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Dataframe 30 & XP30 difference ??
Message-ID: <6801@ut-ngp.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 11-Nov-87 06:14:07 EST
Article-I.D.: ut-ngp.6801
Posted: Wed Nov 11 06:14:07 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Nov-87 22:29:16 EST
References: <2863@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> <2739@ihlpf.ATT.COM>
Organization: UTexas Computation Center, Austin, Texas
Lines: 42

A comment up front:

First, the XP-upgrade consists of changing the ROM in the
DataFrame (a $1 part, but the value is in the software, of course),
which allows 1:1 interleaf (and thus significant faster speed)
and reformatting the drive with the latest software.

Second, most 30Meg drives are the same as the older 20Meg
drives with additional storage "discovered" by using RLL-encoding.

There were reports last year that some drives did not take to that very
well and that they got flaky within 6 months.  If I remember right, SuperMac
took the 30Megs off the market for some time because of this problem.
I have no idea if this problem (if it ever existed) has since been solved,
but I'd be very hesitant to buy a 30Meg drive still, period.

In article <2739@ihlpf.ATT.COM>, straka@ihlpf.ATT.COM (Straka) writes:
> In article <2863@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> dumesny@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Alain Dumesny) writes:

> 	>Now the questions: How come a XP30 (after upgrade) is
> 	>cheaper than a XP30  (original) ?? , are the speed going to
> 	>be the same or what ??

why cheaper?  probably because it is an older model and, most likely, used.
charging $150 for the upgrade may be ok if purchased by itself (though I would
shop around), but in this case, the dealer should be willing to upgrade the
older drive to an XP at his cost, just to be able to sell it - I still would
not buy it, I don't think.

speed the same?  I suspect that the hardware is not the same and there
might be a minor difference in speed (or none at all)
 
> 	>Also, I would like to know how much XP's are really faster,
> 	>is it worth the difference in price ?

the XP is faster, no doubt, but the value is in the eye of the beholder.
though SuperMac has been pretty good getting close to the price that the
market would bear - after all they are in the business of making money, and
we, the consumers, have to find a way to use competition to bring the prices
down ...
-- 
kraut@ngp.utexas.edu