CompuServe Thread

#161583

9 messages in this thread
#162365From: Chris BraidApr 24, 1995 8:31 PM
Chuck: >So I was a little concerned if the 601 Turbo Boards would have similar >slowdowns due to the older architecture of our machines. Keep me posted on >your eventual results. The eventual results are: The Radius 24XK arrived, installed w/o any problems, and runs fine in 601 and 68x mode. I downloaded Speedometer 4.0 the other day and have been having fun inerpreting benchmarks etc. Overall it seems the Turbo 601 puts the IIci just about on par with a PPC 7100/66, except in video where it scores about 57% of a 7100's video speed (that's using the built-in video). I've also conpared it to a couple of (ugh) DOS machines, the first being a standard-issue 486/33 PC clone, and a 66 MHz Pentium. REsults as follows: CPU Dhrystones (integer) Whetstones (floating point) IPC 486/33 15172 5683 Pentium/66 68275 21083 PowerMac IIci 63796 32297 ..So the 601 is about where you'd expect it to be. A bit slower on integer and a full third faster on floating point. And it even gets the right answer when it does long division. In real-world terms, the two major applications for which I have native code binaries are Photoshop 3.0, and KPT Bryce. The 601 makes a huge difference in how you use these apps. In photoshop you get instant visual feedback as you set up the contrls for Unsharp Mask. This makes a major difference in usability. Bryce completes the same render in an hour that the IIci worked on for most of a day; I'm sure it's faster by a factor of twenty, though I haven't actually timed it. Here are some Video benchmark results: PPC 7100/66 100% Quadra 630 86% PowerMac IIci 57% Stock IIci 31% I suspect that the bottleneck is the video circuitry, and that a faster processor wouldn't make much difference. If you're interested I'll try to organize my results a bit better and post them here. Regards – Chris
#162390From: Charles H. KlimushynApr 25, 1995 5:43 PM
Hi Chris, Excellent information! I'd be interested in seeing what type of speed improvements in video tasks the Radius boards give, but don't knock yourself out. The figures in the video department were about what I expected. Too bad Daystar can't work miracles with are machine's aging video architecture <g>. Best, -Chuck
#162425From: Chris BraidApr 27, 1995 1:01 AM
Chuck: Here's what I have compiled so far (this time via Ziff-Davis's MacBench 2.0 video tests): Quadra 630 10 7100/66 11.59 IIci/030, no cache, int'l video 8bit: 3.63 IIci/601, int'l video 8 bit 6.45 IIci/601,Radius 24XK 24 bit 5.6 IIci/601, Radius 24XK 8 bit 7.05 IIci/601, Radius 24XK B&W 8.91 The first two results (Quadra & 7100) are from the file that came with the software; the rest I did myself. My monitor is a standard Apple 13" RGB. There are other combinations I intend to test, but they involve swapping cards in and out etc, so it won't happen right away. It looks to me like the Radius card is bumping up against Nubus bandwidth limits. Nothing – even going to black & white – can match the Quadra, let alone the 7100. Sigh. On the other hand, the 24 bit video is plenty fast enough for my purposes, though that may change if I ever spring for a 19" monitor. – Regards Chris
#162480From: Charles H. KlimushynApr 28, 1995 4:43 PM
Hi Chris, Nice accounting on performance numbers, thanks! Here's the last test I'd like to see you try. Boot up Marathon (in native code) with full screen graphics and 8 bit color. Then tell me how it moves <g>. Thanks again!, -Chuck
#162555From: Chris BraidMay 1, 1995 11:02 PM
Hi Chuck Q: What's a Marathon? – Chris
#162587From: Charles H. KlimushynMay 2, 1995 6:38 PM
Hi Chris, Marathon is a kick-butt DOOM-clone for the Mac. Dang fine game that will give a good real world test of the video capabilities of the the T.601. I'll slow-mail you a copy of its playable demo if you want <g>. Best, -Chuck
#162685From: Chris BraidMay 5, 1995 5:30 PM
Chuck: Why sure! Freebies always welcome! Send to: Chris Braid 3323 – 64 St N.E. Calgary, Alberta Canada T1Y 4L4 Merci buckets – Chris
#162748From: Charles H. KlimushynMay 9, 1995 6:44 PM
Hi Chris, Ok, I'll get a copy of Marathon's demo out to you, probably next week. Be warned though, your social life (and maybe your work productivity) is going to suffer <g>. Best, -Chuck
#162805From: Chris BraidMay 11, 1995 9:03 PM
Thank you, comrad. All the best. – Chris