Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!sunee!gpsteffl
From: gpsteffl@sunee.waterloo.edu (Glenn Steffler)
Subject: Re: Faster display under Windows ?
Message-ID: <1991Apr5.203610.29510@sunee.waterloo.edu>
Organization: Gold Disk Inc.
References: <1991Apr4.170207.5822@cc.helsinki.fi>
Date: Fri, 5 Apr 1991 20:36:10 GMT
Lines: 54

In article <1991Apr4.170207.5822@cc.helsinki.fi> blom@cc.helsinki.fi writes:
>Does graphics co-processor speed up Windows applications?

Quick answer: NO

Long drawn out solution:

Wait until a fast EISA or MCA adapter implements many of the Windows 
calls on board.  The current crop of 34010 co-proc'd boards suck 
largely.  They don't implement lines, stretchblits, brushes or any
of the other Windows primatives on board.  They only implement
stuff like simple blits.

The drivers for these boards are slower than the V7vram board we
have at work...(and the ATI Wonder is almost as fast).

I have yet to see the XGA adapter (as we have no MCA machines), but
from what I have heard it is plenty fast on bitblts.  I doubt they
buffer line calls or implement internal stretchblits.  Still don't
have an idea how much faster in 256 colour mode it is than a standard
640x480 VGA adapter.

>I am trying to find out ways to improve the screen drawing speed
>of CorelDraw. Tests with 386 and 486 systems have shown that a
>more efficient processor or increased amount of RAM have only a
>marginal effect.

Try a large cache (256->512k) with fast < 20ns access time.  Since most
of the operations would be in cached memory you get big time speed
improvements.  I have two 386/25's : one has 256k of nasty 20ns cache,
the other has 64k of 35ns cache.  The former machine rates the same
approximately on Norton SI 4.5, but is more than twice as fast on
graphics calls and the like. (same video/etc)

>Now I am considering video boards with a graphics co-processor 
>like the NEC Graphics Engine. Tests (e.g. PC Magazine 4/91) 
>indicate that they would have a significant effect on drawing 
>speed with MS-Windows. This doesn't necessarily apply to application 
>programs like CorelDraw. Therefore I would be grateful to hear 
>experiences about high-end graphics boards and Windows application 
>programs.

I have seen this board, and was seriously unimpressed by the Windows
video driver.  The DOS demo was ungodly fast (almost as good as a
silicon graphics work station demo I saw last year).

>Tom Blom
>Univ. of Helsinki, Finland

-- 
Windows Sumo Wrestler                "Bo doesn't know software" - George Brett
  --(Windows 3.0, a combination of modern moodring technology and voodoo)--
"I guess she had a way, of making every night seem bright as day"
`I Don't Believe In Love`   -Queensryche (Oper. Mindcrime)     Glenn Steffler
