Path: utzoo!yunexus!torsqnt!dptcdc!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!bbn!apple!chuq
From: chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Mac 512 KE questions
Message-ID: <26964@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 8 Mar 89 17:24:33 GMT
Article-I.D.: apple.26964
References: <430088@hpcea.CE.HP.COM> <12023@reed.UUCP>
Organization: Life is just a Fantasy novel played for keeps
Lines: 63

>Can someone tell me about 512KE upgrades. I noticed the name Dove.

>Which is better/.cheaper etc.  We need 1 meg and a scsi upgrade.

>I used a 512 to plus "equivalent" once, but Adobe Illustrator wouldn't
>run. I would like to avoid this problem.

I own two upgraded 512Ke's, both with the Dove 2Meg upgrade + SCSI (part
number 548s). 

Generally, I really like them. They install relatively easy -- the
first one took about two hours, the second about an hour. You have to
be careful, because one step might require modification of a board with
an X-acto knife depending on your motherboard, and if you aren't
careful you can damage things. If you aren't comfortable hacking with
boards and sticking your hands into places with voltages, I'd probably
find someone to install it for you.

One of the machines has been completely stable for as long as I've had the
upgrade. Rock solid, no problems or glitches. The second has had some
intermittent glitches -- nothing serious, but every so often if goes
wonkers. When it does, pulling it open and reseating the daughter boards
makes it go away again. I find that going in and reseating it every couple
of months keeps life happy. This board just doesn't seem to sit as strongly
for some reason. 

The upgrades run hot. Hot enough that the top of the Mac is untouchable
unless you run a fan. Both of my mac's have Kesington's on them -- I
consider a fan of some sort required if you want a Dove board.

The Dove board is cheaper -- I bought mine for something like 400-450 from
MacConnection. The Apple MacPlus upgrade is more ($700ish), but you've got
SIMM slots and can eventually take the Plus to 4 meg if you want. Also, the
Dove board runs the SCSI port across the front of the battery port, so
access to the battery is a royal pain. Also, the cable from the SCSI board
to the port is too short -- and makes assembling and dis-assembling a real
hassle.

The *only* compatibility problem I've had is with System 6.0.2 -- neither
the sound manager nor the Map CDEV work properly without the extended pram.
There are INITs to patch both compatibilities, or you can live without them
(neither is what I'd call a major hassle).

What I recommend depends on your budget. If money is really, really tight,
buy the Dove upgrade. It's cheaper, but it is also a dead-end
technologically. You can't go beyond 2 Meg of memory. If it fails or you
have problems, finding service may be a problem (of course, neither of my
boards have failed. Neither have my systems, though, and if the Dove board
is causing something on the motherboard to fail, it could become a very
expensive proposition). 

If money isn't as big a problem, I'd go with the Mac Plus upgrade. It costs
a little more, but there are fewer potential compatibility issues, you don't
need to worry about finger pointing if the system fails (and you can get it
repaired at a single location, which isn't necessariyl true with a Dove
upgrade), it'll run cooler (although I definitely recommend a fan anyway)
and you're less likely to run into future compatibility problems. If I were
to do it today, I'd go the MacPlus upgrade, even though I'm happy with my
Dove boards -- because I really want more than 2 Meg of memory, and there's
no way I can get it. When I bought the Dove boards, I figured that two meg
would keep me for a long time. I was wrong. Buying the MacPlus upgrade would
have saved me having to buy upgrades twice -- once to the Dove and again to
the MacPlus to allow more memory.