Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!burl!codas!usfvax2!pdn!alan From: alan@pdn.UUCP (Alan Lovejoy) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: Mac ][ Hardware ? (Help Please) Keywords: Alternatives Message-ID: <1879@pdn.UUCP> Date: 9 Dec 87 15:01:10 GMT References: <10778@duke.cs.duke.edu> Reply-To: alan@pdn.UUCP (0000-Alan Lovejoy) Organization: Paradyne Corporation, Largo, Florida Lines: 42 In article <10778@duke.cs.duke.edu> gleicher@duke.cs.duke.edu (Michael Gleicher) writes: >1) Will a NEC Multisync monitor work with the standard MacII video board? > Are there any reasonably priced larger monitors ($500-$800, 15'' or 17'' > B&W is OK if it is BIG). Yes, with the appropriate cable (available from NEC). There are some reasonably priced B&W monitors; the large color ones will cost you dearly, however. >2) $1200 seems steep for a 40meg disk drive. Are there alternative solutions? Yes. See the December issue of Macworld, which lists the storage capacity, price, price per megabyte, average access time, warranty length, and other useful information on over 250 hard drives for the Mac. See the Jasmine InnerDrive 90 (90 MB, $1600, 16 millisecond avg access time, 1yr warranty) as an example of one of the better deals (not the only one!). Price per MB averages around $30, but there are quite a few drives which cost less than $20/MB. The drive with the best $/MB stores 155MB with 18.5 millisecond avg access time and a $/MB of about $12! >3) Are there alternatives to the standard MacII video board? Yes, but they're all more expensive and offer nothing except higher resolution (requiring more expensive monitors). (Example: SuperMac Technology, 1024x768 pixel resolution, I believe the cost is about $1200 (?)). >4) Can I install my own memory (I'd like to have 2meg at least) Yes. >6) How much software incompatibility am I going to face? I assume you mean MacPlus-Mac II incompatibility? Most programs that do extensive graphics either won't work at all, or only work with the Mac II in monochrome (1 pixel color) mode. Fixed versions of most of these programs are either just recently available, or are expected early next year. 90% of MacPlus programs will run, at least in monochrome mode. Hope this helps. --alan@pdn