🚀 go-pugleaf

Since there has been so much interest lately in the barrage of accelerator
choices that have suddenly come to the ST market, we thought that a
comparison of them all, side by side, was in order.

Here are the results!


SOFTWARE:
   The software that was used is QuickIndex 1.4.  The Mandelbrot test of
   the FPU was one distributed on Atari's FPU004 development disk.


HARDWARE:
   Atari-8:  Atari ST Mega2, unmodified, hi-res monochrome, no blitter
   JATO-16:  Atari ST 1040, JATO-16, med-res color, no blitter
   FAST-T16: Atari ST Mega4, FAST-T16, hi-res monochrome, no blitter
   CMI:      Atari ST 520, CMI Processor Accelerator: blitter;
			   16 MHz Math FPU; FastROM, hi-res monochrome

RESULTS:
   The table below contains the tests of the different accelerators.  The
   tests of the JATO and FAST boards were as submitted to GEnie by two
   different posters.  All values are represented as percentages.  The
   tables between the results -------------|	are the difference between
   the CMI Accelerator and the system	   |	results listed in the
   column to the left.	The tests are	   |	listed in the approximate
   order they would be used in a normal    |	application.  The number in
   parentheses next to the test name is    |	an importance value that is
   used to obtain the weighted average	   |	of each test.
					   |
		 CMI Proc Accel   Atari-8  V  JATO-16	 FAST-T16
Price($U.S.)	  $299	 $339			$99	 $399/299?
		       (Blitter)

CPU memory  (3)    101	  101	    100 	100	    130
GEM draw    (3)    220	  279	    158 	151	    187
BIOS text   (3)    201	  210	    143 	162	    177
GEMDOS I/O  (2)    112	  112	    112 	112	     75
DMA read    (2)    161	  161	    161 	161	    161
CPU divide  (1)    183	  183	    100 	183	    202
CPU shifts  (1)    180	  180	    100 	179	    205
Mandelbrot (FPU,1) 153	  976	    100 	111	     **
		   ---	  ---	    --- 	---	    ---
Weighted Average:  164	  228	    128 	141	    157

* The numbers for the stock ST are not all 100% because of the difference
in speed between 1.1 and 1.2 of the operating system.

** Speed for the FAST board was not available, but it's speed is probably
about the same as our board without the FPU or less, and wouldn't
appreciably affect it's weighted average.


COMPARISON:
				(CMI vs Atari)	(CMI vs JATO)  (CMI vs FAST)
   Weighted Avg:		     28%	     14%	     4%
   Weighted Average (blitter):	     38%	     26%	    13%
   Weighted Avg (FPU & blitter):     78%	     62%	    45%
				       ^
				       |___ CMI is this much faster than
					    the competition.

FEATURES:
		  CMI Proc Accel   Atari    JATO-16	FAST-T16
Blitter support      !! YES !!	 Mega only     NO	   NO
Math FPU support     !! YES !!	    NO	       NO	   NO
FastROM mode	     !! YES !!	    NO	       NO	   NO
Toggle 8/16	     !! YES !!	    NO	       YES	   YES
Total Compatibility  !! YES !!	    YES        NO	   ??? (Cache On/Off)
Expansion connector  !! YES !!	 Mega only     NO	   NO
Cache RAM		NO	    NO	       NO	   YES


Since we were not able to test all products at the same time with the same
equipment these results will have to be labeled "unofficial".  Some people
may argue with the manner or purpose of the weighted average.  We feel very
strongly that this was chosen in a fair manner.  If the results are not
weighted, a person will not be able to get a realistic picture of OVERALL
system performance.  Some people may question the "obvious bias" that this
test has, leaning towards the CMI Processor Accelerator.  Quite frankly, we
don't give a damn.  We think that without question the CMI Processor
Accelerator is by far the most superior product that you can purchase to
enhance your ST.

Richard N. Rodgers, President
Creative Microsystems Inc.
11952 SW 90th Court
Tualatin, OR  97062
(503) 691-2552

If you don't like my test, give me a call and tell me why.  Or better yet,
do your own test and post the results.

If you want to place an order, or get product information:
	Lilliane Carter, (Customer Service & Support /
			  ST Dealer & End User sales)