Ian & Stuart's Australian Mac 1993 September

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Date: 15 Sep 93 23:35:55 EDT From: bruce grubb <72130.3557@CompuServe.COM> Subject: [*] Mac & IBM compare-Version 1.8.9 Subject: [*] Mac & IBM compare-Version 1.8.9 Archive name: mac-ibm-compare189.txt category: general information, text This is version 1.8.9 of this report & should replace mac-ibm-compare188.txt. Changes: Pentium, GeoPort, av Mac info updated. Due to the rapid changes in computers I am interested in contributions from Digest and other readers to flesh out, correct, or point out confusing parts in the report. Send comments and information to CompuServe: 72130,3557; AOL: BruceG6069; or Internet: bgrubb@freedom.nmsu.edu. This report compares the Mac and IBM machines CPUs, hardware {monitor support and expansion}, operating systems {includes number crunching}, networking & printing; it covers not only present hardware/software statistics and features but also future possibilities. Despite its condensed and generalized format it still provides some thought- provoking reading on the relative merits, problems, and deficiencies of Macs and IBM PCs. It also contains some FAQ answers about both machines. Note: for proper reading off line this document should be in 9 point Monaco. -------------------------blurb ends, report begins--------------------------- Mac & IBM Info-Version 1.8.9 Note: for proper reading off line this document should be in 9 point Monaco. The reason for this general data sheet is to consolidate and condense the information out there, so that people in both camps can be clear and accurate about what they are saying about their machines. Since computer technology is always changing there are always going to be points in which the sheet will be lacking or incorrect on information. So, please just don't say the sheet is incomplete or incorrect but also give me clear and concise information to make the needed corrections. To keep this data sheet accurate please provide, if possible, article citations for the information provided or corrected and keep opinions to a minimum. As this is a general data sheet, keep the info provided short and simple. Finally, keep the information relevant to the section corrected. Thank you. Contents CPUs Hardware PowerPC rumors Monitor support Expansion Operating system Mac IBM PowerPC OS Number Crunching Networking & Printing The CPUs Note: I am only showing Motorola & Intel CPUs used in Mac and most IBM/PC clone machines. For example, since Apple never used the Motorola 68008 and 68010 in the Mac these chips are not listed. Years indicate first to last year of discontiued {or soon to be discontiued} CPUs. Cache is "where data can be stored to avoid having to read the data from a slower device such as a disk" (Dictionary of Computer Terms:61-DTC). Both IBM and Mac use caches external to CPUs which increase the speed of the CPU but are not a part of it. Since there are many different external caches {CPU-Mac and IBM; SCSI, video, disk and static RAM-Mac}, each having a different effect on CPU performance, with some built-in {present Macs}, other optional but installed {IBM}, and are machine, seller or expansion dependent, I have decided to leave them out of the list. Note: ALU is industry's de-facto standard for CPU bit classification. IBM ALU Registers External CPU Features/ CPU data address cache Notes 8088(6) 16 16 8 (16) 20 none {1981-9} {198?-9} 80186 16 16 16 20 none {198?-9?} 8088(6) segmenting 80286 16 16 16 24 none segmenting + Protected Mode* 386sx 32 32 16 24 none 80386* 80386 32 32 32 32 none MMU & 32-bit Protected Mode 486sx 32 32 32 32 one 8K 80486 - FPU 80486 32 32 32 32 one 8K 80386 & FPU 486dx2 32 32 32 32 one 8K doubled internal clock rate** 486dx3 being demoed. 20/60 MHz, 25/75 MHz, and 33/99 MHz planned. Pentium 32 32 64 32 8K code, CRISP chip, 5 8K data, 2 instructions/cycle max [P 5] Branch 2-issue superscalar, 386 target Write-Back, 64-bit FPU, pipelining; 66 MHz-SPECint92: 64.5; SPECfp92: 56.9; 13-16 watts*** 386sl: low power(3.3V) 386sx with built-in power management. Laptop use. 386slc: IBM 5V 386sx with a 16k on-chip cache added (John H. Kim). As far as John H. Kim knows it is only used on IBM models. 486slc: Neither of two chips that have this name have a FPU. Cyrix: basically 486sx in 386sx socket with 1k cache and improved integer math speed. IBM: equivalent to 486sx except it has a 16k on-chip cache. 486slc2: IBM chip equivalent to 486dx2 - FPU and with 16k on-chip cache *16 MB maximum RAM ** ex. for 486dx2/50, chip runs 50 MHz rest of machine runs at 25 MHz. *** (PC Week 04/12/93; PC Mag 4/27/93:138; MacWeek 4/26/93; BYTE Aug 1993:62). CRISP: CISC chip with RISC-like features. Only ~100,000 chips total were expected for 1993 (PC Week 5/24/93). CPU - 60 MHz $878; 66MHz {runs at 160 degrees F} $965 per 1,000 (PC Mag 4/27/93:118; PC Week 5/24/93); 60 MHz systems will range between $3000 - $5000 (PC Week 09/13/93). Present low lost systems are "bare bones" {ex: ALR's ~$2,500 Evolution} (PC Week 07/19/93) or use an application specific hardware; systems that take full advantage of the Pentium chip will not be out until Oct 1993 and will have a 64-bit PCI bus (PC Week 09/13/93). Mac ALU Registers External bus CPU Features/ CPU data address cache Notes 68000 16 32 16 24 none {1984-93} 16 MB limit* 68020 32 32 32 32 256 code {1987-92} parallel processing 68030 32 32 32 32 two 256 {1988-94} 68020 + MMU, 16K burst mode. 68LC040 32 32 32 32 two 4K 68040 - FPU 68040V 32 32 32 32 two 4K 68040 - FPU, PowerBooks-1994 68040 32 32 32 32 two 4K MMU, FPU, pipelining, doubled internal clock rate** 68050 development discontinued in favor of 68060 68060 32 32 32 32 two 8k mid-1994, 68040 + better FPU, Branch superscaler pipelining, cache target line bursts, 3.3 V, self power management, equivalent capabilities & speeds to Pentium*** Note: the now defunct NeXT machine used the 68030 and 68040. *68000 Mac designs created a 4 MB limit. **The 040 has 2 clocks, an internal processor clock [PCLK] that is 2x freq of external bus clock [BCLK] which is the one used to rate the chips (Bradley Lamont; Motorola 68040 data book). The 68040 can compare very favorablly to the 486dx2 running Windows but this is very compiler, program, and OS dependent. Because of this, I have put the 68040 in line with the 486dx then the 486dx2 with notations. ***Motorola claims (PC Week 09/07/92; PC Week 09/14/92; MC-68060.txt). Documentation target date: 3Q 1993 (MC-68060.txt). As the PowerPCs are to be in both IBM and Mac I have listed them separately to eliminate redundancy. They are Motorola/IBM CPU RISC chips. PowerPC ALU Registers External bus CPU Features/ CPU data address cache Notes MPC601 32 int 32 64 32 32K 3 instructions/cycle max, [98601] fp 64 combined 66 MHz-SPECint92: 50-60; I/D SPECfp92: 80. 6.5 {50 MHz}, 9 {66 MHz} watts* MPC603 low power {3.3 volt} MPC601 for End of 1993. [603] desktop & portable systems. MPC604 high performance MPC601 for high 1st Q 1994. [604] end machines. MPC620 64 64 64 64 32K Mid 1994. [620] combined I/D *(PC Mag 4/27/93:138; Byte 8/93:84). Old name MC98601. MPC601/50 MHz-$275; MPC601/66 MHz-$345 (UnixWorld Aug 93). A MPC601/80 MHz was used in a PowerPC Mac prototype (MacWeek 5/10/93). Rumor-there are plans to produce MPC601/80 chips in several months (MacWeek 5/17/93). Systems: see Hardware, PowerPC rumors. CPUs Comparison List As a general rule of thumb Motorola chips are faster than Intel chips at the same frequency {030/25 ~= 386/33; 040/33 ~= 486/50}, but Intel has chips at higher frequencies than Motorola, so this evens out. The Macintosh Bible 4th edition and IBM System User, 1/92 v13 n1 p43(1) support the comparisons made between Intel and Motorola chips below and statements made here. <=80186 ~ 68000 {16-bit vs 16/24/32-bit chip. The 4 MB limit on the 68000 Macs brings the chip in them down to the 80186 and lower chips, otherwise the 68000 would compare to the 80286.} 286 ~ 68020 {hardware segmenting vs. 68020's 32-bit ALU and having no usable built-in MMU unlike their successors [80386, 68030]. The use of the hardware segmenting and the 16-bit nature put the 286 between the 60000 and 68030 in features and the LC's 16-bit data path strenghthens the 286 ~ 68020 comparison.} 386 ~ 68030 {32-bit chips with MMUs, and protected memory. At present application protected memory is limited to A/UX 3.0. System 7.x uses this feature to protect a RAM disk created by the Memory control panel which is supported only on Powerbooks and Quadras. The Color Classic and LCII 16-bit hardware data paths makes the 68030s in them comparative to 386sxs.} 486sx ~ 68LC040 {same as 486 and 68040 without the FPU; used as a low cost solution for people who do not need the FPU. Only in comparison with Windows programs does the 68LC040 have 486SLC2 - chip cache or a '486dx2sx' speeds.} 486 ~ 68040 {32-bit microprocessors with built-in FPU, MMU, 8K internal cache (which is implemented as two 4K caches in the 68040 and one in the 486). Only in comparison with Windows programs does the 68040 have 486dx2 speeds.} Pentium ~ 68060 {Both are planned to be superscalar but both have heat problems. These chips may flounder against the cheaper, earlier released, less leat producing, and partly ported to PowerPC chips.} PowerPC = PowerPC {This CPU line is planned to run programs from DOS, Windows 3.x, OS/2 and Mac OS through PowerOpen OSes [UNIX] (Byte 8/93:58) and later Pink [Taligent OS] using emulators but at 486/Quadra/Sun SparcStation speeds (Byte 8/93:58). Native code will run two - four times those speeds.} Hardware {In an effort to remove the 'reconfiguring the system almost every time you add something' requirement for add-in cards, drivers, video, and operating systems in the IBM world; Intel, Microsoft, and 12 other hardware and software developers are working out 'plug and play' standards (PC Week 03/08/93).} PowerPC Rumors IBM PowerPC: rumored delayed until 1Q 1994 (Digital News & Review 06/07/93 vol 10 n11); ~$3000 {3/22/93} - MicroChannel bus, XGA video, 8 MB RAM, 200 MB hard drive (Computer Reseller News, 3/22/93). Will run native version AIX and Mac apps (PC Week 3/15/93) and support Windows/DOS. Apple PowerPC: March 14, 1994; ~$2,000 - Centris 610-like box {PDM} with MPC601/50 MHz, 8 MB RAM, 160 MB hard drive; ~$3,000 - Centris 650-like box {Carl Sagan} MPC601/66 MHz, 8 MB RAM, 230 MB hard drive, 3 NuBus 90 slots; ~$4,000 - Quadra 800-like box {Cold Fusion} MPC601/66 MHz, 8 MB RAM, 230 MB hard drive, <=512 Kb high speed memory cashe (PC Week 08/30/93; MacWeek 09/06/93). Options: All - CD-ROM; PDM - 230MB hard drive; Carl Sagan - 500 MB Hard Drive; Cold Fusion - 16 MB RAM, 500 MB/1GB Hard Drive (PC Week 08/30/93) The Centris 610/650/660av, IIvx, IIvi, and Quadra 800/840av are all planned to have PowerPC upgrades (PC Week 5/10/93; Apple Computer). MPC603 and MPC604 Macs are planned for late 1994-early 1995 (MacWeek 08/09/93). Other PowerPCs: Canon-NeXT (NB 05/11/93), and Sun {rumored}. Spacifics vague. Color Support/Display Mac 30.24 MHz Pixel Clock base standard. All present Macs support the use of 32-bit color through 32-bit color QuickDraw {ROM} and most have a 32-bit path to video. 32-bit color QuickDraw allows an almost transparent capability to display and edit X-bit images in Y-bit color and retain ALL the colors of X-bit color regardless of monitor resolution {69 dpi [12" color] to 94 dpi [PaletteBook]} or type {including autosynchronous VGA, MCGA and SVGA monitors with ranges including 66.7 hz vertically and 35 kHz horizontally w/ hardware video adaptor (MacUser Aug 1992: 158-176)}. Older machines that supported color {SE/30, II, IIx, and IIcx} had only 8-bit color in ROM and needed a software patch to use 32-bit color (MacUser Special 1993:28-29). B&W QD could support 8 colors. To keep costs down and speed up most Macs have only 8 or 16 bit display capability built-in, but most of those can be expanded to display 24-bit color. QuickDraw QX is expected to remove 72 dpi display optimization. In Macs with NuBus slots QuickDraw allows more then one monitor to be used in any combination, from several monitors showing the same thing to multiple monitors acting as one large large monitor with any degree of overlap of the pictures. VRAM: Video RAM. Standard for present non-PowerBook Mac's handling of built-in video {24-bit color palette}. VRAM provided runs a 8-bit color 640 x 480 display; all VRAM machines expand to 16-bit color or 832 x 624 {8-bit} display. The Quadras {except Q800} expand to 24-bit color {640 x 480 and 832 x 624 only} (TidBITS #173, #185). Centris 650av allows the display of 24-bit color up to 640x400. {640 x 480 and higher is 16-bit}. IBM Even though PCs have ROM BIOS definitions of how the operating system interacts with the video hardware (Nan Zou), the use of drivers bypassing BIOS, video hareware inconsitancies {see Super VGA below} and nonstanderzation of clone BIOS have left resolution of video display hardware/OS/program interaction up to the OS and video hardware in question (Faisal Nameer Jawdat). In addition, IBM and clone makers never bothered to provide a standard hardware mechanism for software to determine what display mode is actually present (Matt Healy) nor a standardized screen-drawing toolbox {like Mac's QD}. As a result detecting some modes and/or use them consistantly is a challange, especially with some third party cards. At present things are so dependent on the interaction of the program, OS, print driver and monitor card that editing 32-bit pictures regardless of color mode, program, and monitor type/card combination as one can do on the Mac is near impossible. DOS has the biggest problem, Windows is better, and NT-OS/2 are the best but this is a OS feature, not hardware and so is inconsitant from OS to OS and even from program to program. Later IBM machines will have integrated graphics accelerators, faster processors, and modular upgradeability and may have built-in sound cards, CD ROM, and Ethernet (PC Week 12/14/92). MDA: Monocrome Display Adapter original character-mapped video mode, no graphics, 80x25 text. CGA: Color Graphics Array 320x200 4 colors or 640x200 b/w, 16 color palette, bad for the eyes. EGA: Enhanced Graphics Array 640x350 16 colors from 64 color palette [and some lower res]; some versions could run at 256 colors, bearable on the eyes. VGA: Video Graphics Array* 320x200 at 256 colors, 640x480 at 16 colors, and some others, these two are the most commonly used. All modes have 256 colors, from a 18-bit {IBM} to 24-bit {IBM/Mac} color palette. 25.175 MHz Pixel Clock (Mel Martinez). Monitors use analog input, incompatible with TTL signals from EGA/CGA etc. MCGA: Multi-Color Graphics Array* subset of VGA that provides all the features of MDA & CGA, but lacks some EGA and VGA modes, like VGA 640x480x16 (DCT). Common on the initial PS/1 implementation from IBM and some PS/2 Models. SVGA: Super VGA* This is not a standard in the way the others were, but instead was a 'catch all' category for a group of video cards. As such, with each manufacturer using their own implementation scheme, SVGA was chaos with people debating as to what is SVGA and what is not. In an effort to make SVGA more of a standard VESA was established and is used in the newer units, but things are still a mess. Video is either 512K [~1990], 1MB [1992], or 2MB [today], resolution of 800x600 and 1024x768 at 256 and 32,768 colors are common with most 24b at 640x480. Speedwise, too much variation, some very slow [Ex. Western Digital Paradise based], some very fast [Ex. S3 928 based], some are so-so [Cirrus Logic GD5426]. Some limiting factors overcome by 40 MHz VL Bus & 386's linear address mapping were: 8.33 MHz ISA bus, AT architecture where CPU looks at the card through a 64K "window", etc. Other non-SVGA standards: 8514/a IBM's own standard, interlacing graphics accelerator with graphics functions like linedraw, polygon fill, etc. in hardware. Max resolution: 1024x768x8b TMS34010/34020: high end graphics co-processors, usually >$1000, some do 24-bit, speeds up vector-oriented graphics like CAD. XGA: eXtended Graphics Array {May be used in IBM PowerPC} newer and faster than 8514/a, only available for MCA bus-based PS/2s, clones are coming out soon. Emulates VGA, EGA, and CGA (DCT). Max resolution: 1024x768x8b, also some 16 bpp modes. XGA-2 Accelerates graphics functions up to 20 times faster than standard VGA in Windows and OS/2, including line draws, bit and pixel-block transfers, area fills, masking and X/Y addressing. Has an intelligent way to detect and co- exist with other XGA-2 cards, so multiple desktops like on the Mac may not be far away. Since this is an architecture, its resolution and color depth isn't fixed {IBM implements only 16-bit [65,536] color, while other companies can have 24-bit color through IBM technical licenses}. Refresh rates up to 75 Hz, ensures flicker free, rock solid images to reduce visual discomfort, and is VGA compatible. Up to 1280x1024 on OS/2. *some monitor types usable by Mac. See Mac section above for specific details. Expansion {Speeds are baced on: throughput = (bus_clock_speed x byte_width) / transaction_overhead (Mel Martinez)} Both Mac & IBM {and maybe PowerPC} SCSI: only external device expansion interface common to both Mac and IBM. Allows the use of any device: hard drive, printer, scanner, Nubus 87 card expansion {Mac Plus only}, some monitors, and CD-ROM. Normal {asynchronous} SCSI is 5 Mhz; fast {synchronous} SCSI is 10 Mhz {software drivers}. SCSI is limited to a total of 8 devices (SCSI-2 spec 03/17/93 draft). Main problem: a lot of external devices are internal terminated which causes problems when two devises are off the SCSI port, due to the fact that the SCSI chain is supposed to be terminated ONLY at the begining and end. SCSI-1: 8-bit asynchronous {~1.5 MB/s ave} and synchronous {5 MB/s max} transfers. Asynchronous 8-bit SCSI-2 is often mistaken for synchronous SCSI-1 {see SCSI-2 for details}. SCSI-2: fully SCSI-1 compliant. Since asynchronous 8-bit SCSI-2 runs at synchronous SCSI-1 speeds using SCSI-1 hardware/software drivers, it is sometimes mistakenly consitered part of SCSI-1. 16-bit and 32-bit SCSI-2 require different ports, electronics, and SCSI software drivers from SCSI-1. Ports are 68-pin {16-bit} and two 68-pin/one 104-pin {32-bit}. Transfer speeds are 4-6 MB/s with 10 MB/s burst {8-bit}, 8-12 MB/s with 20 MB/s burst {16-bit}, and 15-20 MB/s with 40 MB/s burst {32-bit}. Mac SCSI: asynchronous SCSI-1 built-in standard since the Plus. Even though Apple developed some specifications for SCSI controlers, the OS SCSI Manager needs to be rewritten to take full advantage of the features of all SCSI interfaces. As a result, present SCSI-2 Macs use 8-bit SCSI-2 at synchronous SCSI-1 Speeds. Presently, Centris 650/660av and Quadras are only Macs with a SCSI-2 controller chip built-in (Digital Review, Oct 21, 1991 v8 n33 p8(1), MacUser 04/93) though they only support 8-bit. Due to a CPU-NuBus bottleneck on older Macs, 16-bit SCSI-2 cards are very rare. Since SCSI is built-in, overall cost is lower for the Mac than for IBM and PC clone machines. IBM SCSI: SCSI-1 is not too wide spread yet, generally not bundled with systems, except as add-on {EISA and VESA Local Bus adapters avalable}. Like the Mac, 8-bit SCSI-2 is used as a very fast SCSI-1 by most controllers out there. Unlike the Mac, IBM had no exact SCSI controller specifications {until CorelSCSI} which resulted in added incompatibilities for SCSI (Byte 10/92:254). Serial Bus [IEEE P1394] : intended to replace ADB, RS-232, RS-422, parallel and SCSI (BYTE 07/93:90). 100 MB/s with 400 MB/s planned. Out in 1994. PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect Intel's version of Local Bus is designed with a PCI->ISA/EISA/MCA bridge in mind (PCI spec (rev 2.0)) and Apple will use it to replace Mac NuBus [summer 1994 PowerPCs {PCI->NuBus 90 adaptor will be provided} (PC Week 5/31/93; MacWeek 5/31/93)]. 32 bit {64-bit expandable}, 33 MHz bus combining EISA and VLB advantages; supports up to 10 slots {5 cards} (Jay C. Beavers; MacWeek 5/31/93). Burst mode: 132 MB/s {32-bit}; 264MB/s {64-bit}. QuickRing: Apple's 64-bit peer-to-peer local bus - "architecture is identical to that of the VL-Bus, since the high-speed PDS interconnect taps directly into the CPU's signal lines and bypasses the slower NuBus control logic." (Byte 10/92:128) Base through put: 350 MB/s (Byte 10/92:128); supports up to 16 nodes each at 200 MB/s for a total of 3.2 GB/s (InfoWorld, 3/15/93 v15 n11 p1(2)). Is planned to be compatable with present NuBus and PDS systems and might show up in some IBM and PowerPC machines (Byte 10/92:132-133). Will allow 180 MB/s networks(Byte 8/93:27). Releace date: 3rd Quarter, 93; products: Jan 94 (Byte 8/93:27). Mac Memory expansion: with a few exceptions Mac has used non-parity 30-pin 8-bit SIMM memory expansion since the Plus. While 30-pin 9-bit parity SIMMs could be used in these Macs, only special IIcis could make use of the parity feature. The IIfxs used 64-pin SIMMs and had a parity option. Since memory data width must match the CPU data bus (Noah Price) Macs made before Feb 15, 1993 had to have 8-bit SIMMs installed in pairs {16-bit} or in sets of 4 {32-bit}. The LC III, C610/650/660av and Q800/840av all use the industry's standard 72-pin 32-bit SIMM. The Mac does a complete memory check at startup by writing/reading every memory location; if something is seriously wrong with a SIMM the Mac will not boot and give a sound chord indicating what the problem is. With the Centris 650 and Quadra 800 if SIMMs the same size are used then the memory is 'interleaved' across the two SIMMs resulting in a 10-15% performance boost on RAM access (MacWorld Apr 93: 108-109). Sound output: Standard in all Macs since the 128K. Stereo 8-bit 22 kHz sound became standard with the SE/30. 16-bit 44.1/48 kHz stereo became standard with Sound Manager 3.0 and av Macs. Printers, ADBs, and modems: built-in ports standard. Sound input: mono 8-bit 22 kHz since IIsi; stereo 16-bit 48 kHz in C660av and Q840av. Monitor interface: built-in on most present macs. CD-ROM: rumored to be option for all Macs released after August 1993. GeoPort {Centris 660av; Quadra 840av}: built-in V.32 9,600 bps modem via software and adaptor{PhonePod}. 14,400 bps speed can be achieved presently (MacUser 10/93:89), but this speed will not be officially supported until later (MacWeek 08/02/93). Via software the GeoPort-PhonePod provides a 9600 bps FAX, answering machine, phone, and a speakerphone and later adaptors will allow PBX and ISDN use when the Telephone Tool comes out (MacUser 10/93:88-9). Also supports normal serial devices. Composite and S-video ports: standard on av Macs. PDS: Available in SE & all present non-Powerbook Macs except Q840av. 16-bit {SE, Portable, LC, LC II, Classic line} and 32-bit {QuickRing is 64-bit bus}. Operates at CPU's MHz. Maximum through put: data path * CPU's MHz {Q700/900 & C650: 100 MB/s; Q800/Q950: 132 MB/s}. Standardized with LC and 040 bus designs. With an adapter one NuBus card can be used in IIsi, C610 and C660av. In theory, the PowerPC should have the following: 50 MHz - 200 MB/s, 60 MHz - 240 MB/s, 80 MHz - 320 MB/s. Problem: some cards have timing dependency which slows through put down. NuBus 87 {Mac II}: 32-bit, 10 MHz bus clock, 1-to-1 transaction/bus cycle ratio, and contiguous, hand-shake transactions at ~10-20 MB/s; burst mode: 37.5 MB/s (Computer Design, 06/01/89 v28 n11 p97(1); I&CS (Instrumentation & Control Systems), 07/92 v65 n7 p23(2)). First standard bus for the Mac; cards 12". Built-in support on all Modular Macs except the LC series and Performa 400. There was SE/30 adaptor and Mac Plus SCSI->NuBus. Limited to 8 {old Macs} through 24-bit video, accelerators {some with expansion to parallel processing}, CPU-ethernet task sharing, 8 to 16-bit SCSI-2, DSP, DMA cards {block transfers}, real time video input, PC compatable cards, and Ethernet. NuBus 90: NuBus 87 back compatable. avg throughput: ~30 MB/s (I&CS {Instrumentation & Control Systems} 07/92 v65 n7 p23(2)); burst mode: 20 MHz 70 MB/s (Noah Price). I/O bottleneck removed with Centris 660av and Quadra 840av (MacWeek 08/02/93). Present useful NuBus 87 cards - 24-bit video {accelerator built-in}, 16-bit SCSI-2, real time video input {DAV-NuBus hybrid cards will be faster}, PC compatable cards, and accelerators {some with expansion to parallel processing}. 6" card standard is enforced in new machines. DAV {Digital Audio Video} connector {Centris 660av; Quadra 840av}: In line with optional NuBus connector and NuBus slot, provides YUV video and digital audio (Noah Price) as wall as full speed sound/video compression cards such as JPEG, MPEG, DVI and H.261. CPU expansion: handled either through the PDS or the NuBus. Unlike PDS, Nubus CPU cards can allow use of multiple processors at the same time {Like MCA; example-RocketShare} via parallel processing. Each NuBus card needs its own memory but most NuBus cards of this type come with 8 MB RAM of SIMMs on the card standard. IBM Memory expansion: parity SIMMs, non-parity SIMMs {some newer models do a Mac- like SIMM memory check}, or a dozen or so different types of memory boards. HD Interfaces {limited to hard drives by design or lack of development}: MFM: Modified Frequency Modulation, RLL: Run Length Limited Obsolete interfaces only used with old small [<= 60mb] hard drives. IDE: Integrated Device Electronics Asynchronous {~5 MB/s max} and synchronous {8.3 MB/s max} transfer. currently the most common standard, and is mainly used for medium sized drives. Can have more than one hard drive. ESDI: Enhanced Small Device Interface ~1.25MB/s throughput. generally considered better interface than SCSI-1 in many ways but not common enough for practical consideration. Outside of hard drives, device choices are very limited compared to SCSI-1. BUS interfaces {New 'plug and play' ISA and EISA compatable cards may have problems working with old cards (PC Week 03/08/93).} ISA {equivalent to most of the Mac's built-in ports} 8 & 16-bit interfaces common. Has 24-bit data path limit {produces 16 MB limit for which there are software workarounds} (PC Mag 4/27/93:105). 1.5 MB/s (Byte 3/92:132), 5.3 MB/s max. Uses edge-triggered interrupts, can't share them, hence comes the IRQ conflict. Limited busmastering capabilities, some cards aren't bandwidth limited {COM ports, LPT ports, game ports, MIDI card, etc.} while others are {video and disk controllers}. Dominant factor, but it's showing its age. Most ISA motherboard designs are 16-bit (PC World Feb 1993: 144-5). MCA: Micro Channel {NuBus 87 equivalent (Personal Computing, 09/88 v12 n9 p115(1))} IBM's 16 and 32-bit bus; "allows use of more than one CPU in a computer" (DCT) with any two components 'talking' as fast as they can handle it, up to 20 MB/s (Computer Design, 06/01/89 v28 n11 p97(1)). Never took off because it was incompatible with ISA/EISA. Planned to be IBM PowerPC 601's bus interface (Carl Jabido). EISA {compares to most of the Mac's built-in ports and NuBus 87} 32-bit, 8.33 MHz, burst mode: 33 MB/s. Back supports ISA cards. It also has the ability to self-configure cards like MCA and allows multiple bus masters, sharable interrupt and DMA channels and multiple CPU use. EISA-2 {NuBus 90 is closest Mac equivalent} 32-bit, 33 MHz clock, other advantages over EISA unknown. VESA Local Bus: VLB {PDS equivalent} Local Bus standard. Runs at CPU clock rate, up to 40 Mhz (BYTE 07/93:84), Burst modes: ~130 MB/s {32-bit} 250 MB/s {64-bit} (Byte 10/92:128). Limited to three slots but allows bus mastering and will coexist with either ISA or EISA. Consitered ideal for video and disk I/O. DELL has filled a claim that this violates one of their patents (Mel Martinez). OSes {assumes full installation [print drivers, fonts, Multifinder, etc.] and multiple application use.} Mac 512K to 2 MB of OS and hardware commands have been put into ROM. This allows Apple to control its machine by putting key hooks for the Mac OS {QuickDraw, menu commands, print, mouse, SCSI & sound drivers, etc} in ROM, requiring clone makers to use the ROM chip or read ROM on to disks {Which requires access to the proper Mac due to improvements and changes in ROM chips; Plus vs Classic for example.} With key hooks for the OS interface in ROM, programers do not have to worry as much whether the disk OS has the necessary hardware commands or that those commands are consitant and therefore can write smaller programs. This also allows Apple greater control over hardware-software standards, allows the disk OS to be smaller and, with some of the tookbox command code in ROM, lower RAM requirements then a totally disk based OS. Macs use 'Masked ROM' which is as fast as DRAM (Jon Wtte). 6.0.7: Single program usage base requirements: 1 MB and DD floppy, cooperatively-multitasking base requirements: 2 MB and HD floppy. Features a GUI, cooperative-multitasker [MultiFinder], standard program interface, & standard stereo sound support [snd]. Network receiving part of AppleShare software is bundled with the OS. This 24-bit OS has a 8 MB RAM barrier. Some third party products allow 14 MB of Virtual Memory as long as real RAM is below 8 MB. 6.0.8: 6.0.7 with 7.0.0 print drivers. 6.0.8L: System 6 for some Macs that require System 7.0.X. Rarely used. 7.0.X: Base requirements: 2 MB, 40 MB hard drive, and 68000; De-facto standard to run all features well: 4 MB, 80 MB hard drive, and 68030 {lowest present non-portable Mac configuration}. Using up to 10.08 MB of hard disk space {EVERYTHING on system disks} this 24 and 32-bit OS has 6.0.7 features plus program linking within and between computers [IAC], built-in server capabilities {Filesharing can be used by older OSes using AppleShare Client software and can be accessed by 10 macs max; 4-5 is more speed practical, IAC requires 7.X}, Virtual Memory in machines with MMU{1.6 times real RAM for least noticeable IIsi speed degradation}, drag and drop, QuickTime, wildcard search/selection & built-in TrueType support. Supports sound input [AIFF and snd formats] for most present machines. Can access up to 1 GB of true RAM and 4 GB of virtual memory. To use real RAM beyond 8 MB it must be in 32-bit mode; older machines require 'Mode 32' extension. Apple's last 'free' OS. 7.1.0: 7.0.1 with WorldScript support, speedier {10% faster on Quadra (sys71_vs_70_speed.txt)}, and less RAM usage than 7.0.X (MacWeek 9/14/92; PC Week 9/7/92). To run in 32-bit mode on older machines this requires the 'Mode 32' or '32-Bit Enabler' extension. Thread Manager extension allows preemtive multitasking for programs written for it. Marks the start of Apple selling its Mac OS: Bundled with new machines, $49 for 7.0.X upgrades, $99 otherwise. [The installer has a bug that when upgrading it may keep some old system fonts from the previous system inside the system file. This can eat up any RAM benefits and cause other problems. Apple itself recommends removing all fonts from system file or doing a clean install.] A/UX 3.0 [UNIX]: Needs 8 MB RAM {12-20 MB suggested}, 160 MB hard drive, and a 68030/40 equivalent to run. This 32-bit preemptive multitasking OS is large due to being UNIX and needing translators between it and the Mac ROMs. Price: $709. Note: sound output was supported in OSes 3.2 to 6.0.5 by many formats including the following: snd, WAVE, ASND, FSSD, QSSN, SMSD, SOUN, dc2d, and DCFL. In 6.0.7 the sound manager was optimized for the sound standards 'snd' and AIFF which causes some playback problems for the other formats, though most still play correctly. IBM Due to their modualar nature these machines have little GUI code, data, and hooks present in hardware for programmers to work with, so most of the coding must be provided in the OS. Since hard disks were slow the disk OS code is read into ROM along with what little ROM code there is {Shadow ROM}. This results in faster implementation since RAM is faster then PROMS or EPROMS. Disk based OS code has the advantage of being able able to optimize code for a certain piece or collection of hardware instead of using a 'ROM patch' The modular nature of code reduces patch size for major revision of hardware support. Side note: The government has turned down Microsoft's trademark of "Windows" which would allow it to charge a fee for developers using the name (PC Week 03/08/93). In addition, the Justice Department has taken over the FTC investigation of allegations that MicroSoft formed an OS trust by charging PC manufacturers per-processor royalties for its OSes (PC Week 08/02/93), did not providing all feature documentation for its OSes to developers outside MS (PC Week 08/02/93; Undocumented Windows), undercharged for OSes (USA Today 8/23/93:B1) and designed its DOS/Windows apps to fail under OS/2 (Undocumented Windows) {"There is deliberate code in [Windows] NT Beta which causes the install to abort if OS/2 Boot Manager is present" (Gregory Hicks, Info-IBMPC Digest V92 #201)}. MicroSoft OSes DOS 5.0: Conventional Memory mode is limited to either 640 K {DOS's own memory manager} or 1 MB {third party memory managers}. XMS allows up to 16 MB but is usable only by certain programs. Protected Mode Interface (DPMI) compliant programs running in 32-bit Protected Mode [386dx] also allow 16 MB. Contains DOS 4.0 GUI shell. DOS 6.0: DOS 5.0 with the added features of a disk defragmenter, debugger for the CONFIG.SYS file and built-in file compresion. It needs a $80 module for networking. Cost: $50 through 5/93, after that $129.99 (Byte April 1993:44-46). DOS 7.0: 32-bit DOS. In development (PC Week 04/05/93). Windows 3.0: Runs on top of DOS. Breaks 640K/1 M barrier but still uses DOS file structure. Base requirements: 1 MB, floppy and 286; to run well 2 MB, hard drive, 386sx and fast display adapter {> 8-bit}. Has Mac's QD equivalent called Windows GDI [Graphics Device Interface]. Does not have consistent application interfaces {Like early (1984-1985) Mac programs} nor a very large program base {compared to DOS}, still tends to slow the machine down (Info-IBMPC Digest V92 #186) with speed more dependent on the display adapter then on the CPU (Bill Coleman) and "A user pumping up a Windows machine past 64 MB (or even 16 MB in some cases) can encounter some nasty conflicts." (Computer Shopper, 07/93 v13 n7 p180(7)). Some programs need the 'hacking' of config.sys, autoexec.bat, or system.ini to run/display correctly. Window programs tend to be disk and memory hogs compared to their DOS counterparts (Byte April 1993:98-108). Windows 3.1: A faster version of Windows 3.0 with better memory managment. Base requirements 2 MB, hard drive and 286; to run well 4 MB, hard drive, 386sx. Apple plans to release its print drivers for this (PC Week 12/28/92). Windows 4.0 [Chigago]; 32-bit OS combining 3.x and NT features that does not run on top of DOS. Windows for Workgroups: To run well: 4 MB RAM and 386dx (PC World Feb/93:160). Intermediary between Win 3.1 and Windows NT. It is basically Windows 3.1 with built-in peer to peer networking support. Windows NT: Beta requirements: ~50 MB of disk space [including swap file], and 12 MB RAM {Betas are notorious for RAM usage especially when interacting with program compliers, hence 24 MB reports}. Released version: 16 MB recommended (PC Week 07/19/93). This 32-bit OS has protected mode multitasking, multithreading, symmetric multiprocessing, recoverable file system, and 32-bit data GDI. Has built-in OSF DCE compliant networking and can handle up to 4 GB RAM. Windows programs run up to 10% slower on the beta (PC Week 03/15/93). Retailers and OEMs will not get 32-bit OS until August (PC Week 07/19/93). Windows upgrades: $99 for three months (PC Week 07/19/93) $295 thereafter, $495 otherwise (PC Week 03/15/93). Other OSes PC-DOS 6.0: IBM's version of DOS 6.0. It runs Windows much faster then DOS 6.0 due to faster file I/O and video handling (InfoWorld 2/01/93). DR DOS 6.0: same as DOS 5.0 with some extras {like built-in data compression} and memory management enhancements. Still has 640K/1MB barrier. A later version {Novell DOS} of this may use a version of the Mac finder and Apple file management system (PC Week 12/14/92; PC Week 05/03/93). OS/2 2.1: Base requirements- 4 MB RAM, 40 MB hard drive, 386sx; to run well- 8-16 MB RAM, 60 MB hard drive {uses 17-33 MB}, and 386dx CPU. This 32-bit multithreaded, multitasking OS with UNIX-like features can address up to 4 GB RAM but on ISA systems using DMA {Direct Memory Access} ALL memory above 16 MB RAM is used a fast swap file. Windows programs run faster on this than DOS and Multimedia support built-in (BYTE June 1993: 193) IBM plans to use Taligent's OOPS in future versions of this. AIX: IBM's UNIX system, planned to be a subset of PowerOpen and Taligent OS. 3.2.5 is a precursor to PowerOpen-compliant 4.0 (PC Week 09/13/93). AIXlite: 4 MB RAM, 80 MB disk space. May be used in place of PowerOpen for PowerPC (PC Week 06/28/93). NeXTStep 3.1: Base requirements-8 MB {2-bit grayscale}/12 MB {8-bit grayscale}/16 MB {16-bit color}, 120 MB {330 MB with Developer tools} hard drive, 486sx. Suggested-12 MB {2-bit grayscale}/16 MB {8-bit grayscale}/24 MB {16-bit color}, 200 MB {400 MB with Developer tools} hard drive , 486sx (NeXTStep CD-ROM). Object-oriented Mach(UNIX)-based microkernal GUI OS with built-in multi-architecture binary support, preemptive multitasking, multithreading, virtual memory, multimedia e-mail, on-line help, Display PostScript Level 2, networking support {NFS 4.0, Novell, Ethernet, Token Ring}, Pixar's Interactive- and Photorealistic- 3D RenderMan, Pantone color support, and Object Links. Can read, write, and initialize Mac and IBM disks. (1993 NeXT, Inc. literature provided by Dayne Miller) Solaris OS for x86: a SunSoft port. A 32-bit OS with symmetric multiprocessing and multithreading, built-in networking capabilities with tools to allow remote configuring and adminstration features, and a communication package. WABI {windows emulator} runs Windows programs 60% faster than Windows 3.1 does on a 486. Client: $795, 50 users server: $1,995, 1000s users server: $5,995. Developer kits-software: $495, hardware: $195. Mac 7.1 [Star Trek]: Apple had System 7.0 running off Intel chips and is looking at making a 7.1 version available for IBM machines (MacWeek 03/22/93; PC Week 05/03/93). Will have QuickDraw emulator with QuickDraw GX and AppleTalk-NetWare support (MacWeek 04/26/93). Presently planned to run on 386, 486, and Pentium; Mac programs will have to be ported (MacWeek 04/26/93). The complexity of PC hardware set ups is one reason for slow progress. PowerPC OSes PowerOpen [A/UX 4.0]: Planned base requirements: 68030, 8 MB RAM, 80 MB hard drive (MacWeek 4/19/93). This 32-bit preemptive multitasking charater based UNIX OS is planned to run on PowerPCs and 68030/40 Macs (MacWeek 7/13/92; Byte 8/93:58). The Mac toolbox is planned to be a part of this OS architecture (PC Week 03/08/93; Byte 8/93:58). Intel compatibility will be derived from work on Mac 7.1 (MacWeek 06/21/93) and AIX (Byte 8/93:66). Rumor-this or prototype to be IBM PowerPC 601's OS. Pink [Taligent OS]: Expecting delivery in 1994 (Wall Street Journal 1/12/93). May have some parts shipping inside OS/2 and AIX in 1993; PowerOpen and later Mac OS will also contain parts of this OS (MacWeek 01/25/93). Solaris OS: Sun Microsystems Inc UNIX OS version for Power PCs in 1994 (MacWeek 04/05/93). See IBM OS section for details. System 7.x; suppossed to be the first OS for the PowerPC Mac. NeXTStep: possible port see IBM OS section for details. UNIX [all]: a Mac Finder emulator will allow UNIX to run Mac programs unmodified (MacWeek 06/21/93). Windows NT: Possible port (MacWeek 04/05/93). See IBM OS section for details. WorkPlace OS: OS/2 for the PowerPC with Pink features. Beta due out in June/July 1993 (PC Week 05/31/93). OS Number Crunching (Mel Park) Mac Arithmetic is done in a consistent numerical environment {SANE or Standard Apple Numerics Environment}. Floating point numbers are 96 bits long when an FPU is present and 80 bits otherwise. Exceptions, such as dividing by zero or taking the square root of a negative number, do not cause an abort but are handled in a logically consistent manner. 1/0 produces the internal representation for infinity (INF). 1/(1/0) produces zero. The above treatment of 1/(1/0) occurs in an FPU-equipped machine even when SANE is bypassed and the FPU programmed directly. IBM Floating point numbers are 80-bits with a hardware FPU, 64-bits when emulated. The way they are handled is dependent on the coding of whatever compiler or assembler was used for a program. On older DOS complilers exceptions could cause program aborts; 1/0 and 1/(1/0) would abort to the DOS prompt at the point where they occured. Most present compilers handle this better. Result: there is little consistent handling of numbers between DOS, Windows and OS/2 programs nor between programs for just one OS. Networking [Includes printing] WYSIWYG printing can be a problem with either Mac of IBM machines especially if one sends TrueType fonts to a older style PostScript printer. Mac Hardware: Built-in printer port and a built-in modem port. LocalTalk has moderate speeds (230.4 Kb/s), requires special connectors for each machine ($15 and up), and is run through the printer port. Some third party networking pragrams use the modem port. Built-in Ethernet is becoming common with transceivers available {Quadra family and some Centris models} but many older Macs require a PDS or Nubus card at about $150-$300 for each machine. These cards provide three connectors and transceivers {thick, thin, and 10BaseT} for Ethernet. TokenRing has been a network option since 1989. Over five years a Mac network is the cheapest overall (The Gartner Group provided by Terje Rydland). Software: AppleTalk {the suite of protocols} standard with Mac OS, which can use variety of media types. AppleShare client software included with the OS and can connect to file servers such as Novell Netware, 3Com 3+Open, Banyan Vines, DEC Pathworks, Apple's AppleShare servers, System 7 File Sharing machines, and AFP servers running on variety of UNIX hosts. MacTCP allows typical TCP/IP communications (telnet, ftp, NFS, rlogin). A later version will have Unix X/Open Transport Interface (XTI) built-in by the end of 1993 (MacWeek 04/12/93). Third-party software to connect to NFS servers. DEC Pathworks provides DECnet support. Peer-to-peer file sharing software built into System 7.1 (See OS section). Full server software is extra. Printing requires connection of the printer and the printer being selected in the chooser. Changing printers is by selecting a different name in the chooser. The same is true of connecting to servers. Printing bugs: Monaco TrueType font is different then the screen bitmap font. {QuickDraw QX is suppossed to fix this and similar problems.} IBM Hardware: LocalTalk [not widely used], Ethernet, ArcNet, and TokenRing. Software: Novell Netware, Banyan Vines, DECNet, Windows/Work Groups, AppleTalk protocols, and AppleShare {subset of AppleTalk}. Each of the MS-DOS networking schemes are, in general, totally incompatible with the others. Once you have chosen one, you are pretty much locked-in to that product line from then on. Windows/Work Groups is a little more forgiving and removes some of this problem. Novell Netware is the biggest, {~80 percent of the corporate market.} and in general is more powerful and offers better control/management/security than AppleShare, but it's also more complex to set up and manage. This will change due to the use of the Mac finder and file management system by Novell (PC Week 12/28/92; MacWeek 3/22/93). Printing {Very OS dependent} DOS: If it's a single user, then you plug the printer into the parallel port, and don't worry about it {Tweeking may be needed with poorly written software}. Network Printing is not controlled by the system, but is mostly implemented by the actual program, therefore performance varies from one software program to the next. Windows 3.x: supports standard drivers and can do a good job of showing "jobs" in the print queue, but it can list printers as "active"... even if they are not. This becomes a problem if there are several incompatible printers on the same net, because there's no way for software to reliably determine which printer is active right now. Windows for Workgroups is more Mac-like and intelligent about this. OS/2: Mac-like; the os deals with printers, with apps making calls to the OS. Printing bugs: due to poor programing some programs for all the above OSes do not have WYSIWYG printing. This is the fault of the programs in question and not that of the OS involved. Price issue: This is very dynamic with Mac providing more build-in features than IBM and IBM being more 'get only what you need' then Mac, and price wars going on in both worlds. In general, when one adds all the standard Mac hardware features to an IBM {built-in input/output sound support, SCSI, PDS, built-in monitor support, built-in networking, standard interface, and NuBus equivalent in higher machines} the Mac tends to be cheaper then an equivalent equipted IBM machine {Especially since some IBM monitors can be used with Macs which cuts some more of the Mac's cost (MacUser Aug 1992:158-176)}. These are the facts as they were known to me on 09/06/93 and may be changed by new developments, announcements, or corrections. Corrections to the information are welcome. Please email corrections to CompuServe ID: 72130,3557 AOL: BruceG6069 Internet: bgrubb@freedom.nmsu.edu Bibliography notes 'Info-IBMPC Digest' back issues are available from wsmr-simtel20.army.mil in directory PD2:<ARCHIVES.IBMPC> until Oct 1993. 'Dictionary of Computer Terms 3rd ed.' (ISBM 0-8120-4824-5) jay@seaspray.uacn.alaska.edu (Jay C. Beavers) bericksn@ac.dal.ca (Sean) bcoleman@hayes.com (Bill Coleman) matt@wardsgi.med.yale.edu (Matt Healy) cj00+@andrew.cmu.edu (Carl B Jabido) fj05+@andrew.cmu.edu (Faisal Nameer Jawdat) jokim@jarthur.claremont.edu (John H. Kim) lamont@catfish16.rtsg.mot.com (Bradley Lamont) mem@jhufos.pha.jhu.edu/mem@pha.jhu.edu (Mel Martinez) dayne@u.washington.edu (Dayne Miller) mpark@utmem1.utmem.edu (Mel Park) noah@apple.com (Noah Price) terjer@ifi.unit.no (Terje Rydland) especkma@reed.edu (Erik. A Speckman) d88-jwa@nada.kth.se (Jon Wtte) nan@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Nan Zou)