#1230 XA
4 messages in this thread
Redmond,
I have the Microbotics 1230 XA 68030 accelerator on loan for a magazine
article. One thing is immediately apparent: unless there is fast RAM
present the accelerator serves little purpose. AIBB shows it to be three
percent faster than the stock 1200 overall, and for some of the individual
tests it is considerably slower. Shouldn't the accelerator board come with
at least one meg of RAM as standard?
Pete Jones, flying on AutoPilot from Brussels, Belgium
Pete: you will find that to be true of ANY accelerator on the A1200 –i.e., it
is the combination of processor and wide ram that provides the speed. When you
run the benchmark without wide RAM all you are testing is, essentially, the
speed of CHIP ram which can't be changed by any accelerator. MicroBotics sells
almost all its accelerators at 0k to its dealer base for the very good reason
that dealers and endusers can supply ram themselves at better prices (using
industry standard 72 pin SIMMs). We don't force you to buy SIMMs from us
beacause frankly all that does is add our markup to the dealers markup on a
commodity item (the SIMM) that we don't really add any value to. Please don't
make it seem like a *negative* when we try to save our endusers money and give
them the freedom to buy RAM as they see fit at the most aggressive commodity
prices they can find. These standard 72 pin SIMMs are widely available in many
sizes, as I'm sure you know. Moreover, if you choose to buy a 4 meg SIMM, it is
exactly the same sort as used in the Amiga 4000. I hope you'll reconsider your
position on this matter in light of this discussion. Thanks. –Redmond
Redmond,
It was not such much stating a position as making an observation and
inviting your comments. I think you have made a valid point about the
SIMMs. Unfortunately, dealers generally do not seem to mention in their
advertisements that extra RAM is essential. Whether they do so when the
customer goes into the shop is a moot point. Thank you for your comments,
which will be incorporated into my article, in the sense that I shall
point out the necessity of extra RAM and your reasons for not providing
it.
Yes, of course, the need for extra RAM is true for any accelerator, not
just Microbotics. I had intended to mention that in my previous message to
you, but managed to forget. My brain tends to run faster than my fingers,
even though I am a touch typist 🙂
Pete Jones, flying on AutoPilot from Brussels, Belgium
Thanks for your thoughtful response, Pete. It is certainly a consumer issue for
dealers to properly contend with (informing users of the need for RAM in
accelerators).
–Redmond