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The recommendations for possible upgrades to accommodate BANNER use assume the user currently has a Power Macintosh. If your Macintosh hardware is not at least a Power Macintosh, then we consider it best to simply replace the computer rather than to upgrade it. It is unlikely that any Macintosh that is not a Power Macintosh model would be sufficiently fast enough to run the BANNER GUI access software at any reasonable rate.

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

Connectix Corporation makes a software program called "Speed Doubler" which can greatly enhance the usability of any Power Macintosh for about $50. The software can increase the speed of many operations by double. The speed increase is accomplished by using RAM for disk caching, multitasking for file operations, and a better Motorola chip emulator. (http://www.connectix.com). Speed Doubler has been found to improve Banner GUI Forms' load times by 20-30%.

You can see some BANNER Forms test results of similiar machines, where one uses Speed Doubler and the other does not, on our BANNER Forms Test page at http://micro.uoregon.edu/mactowin/banner_test.html.

HARDWARE SOLUTIONS

Power Macintosh models 61xx, 71xx, and 81xx can be upgraded to a G3 running at 200Mhz for about $600.

Power Macintosh models 7300 through 9600 can be upgraded via processor upgrade cards that run from $200 to $1300, depending on the desired processor and speed.

All of these processor upgrades can be had from Newer Technology (http://www.newertech.com).

DayStar (http://www.daystar.com) makes a 200 Mhz, 604e processor plug-in card. We noted that performance can vary greatly, depending on the Mac model. You can see an example of this on our BANNER Forms Test page (link this to same address as above).

For a more in-depth list of Macintosh and Windows-based PC models and possible upgrade solutions see our Macintosh & Windows Upgrade Grid at the end of this document.

WINDOWS COMPATIBILITY

It is possible that no Macintosh solution for BANNER access will exist when the University moves to BANNER 4.0. Therefore, those who require BANNER access may need to acquire a Windows compatible computer or use Windows emulation software on their Macintosh. If you're already using a Macintosh and choose Windows emulation, be aware that memory requirements are likely to be 48-64MB of memory, as the emulation software requires 20MB of memory.

There are two known software options:

• Insignia's SoftWindows 95, Release 5.0 recommended, at $199. (http://www.insignia.com)
• Connectix Virtual PC, Release 2.0 recommended, at $149. (http://www.connectix.com)

These options on a G3 processor Macintosh with 64 MB of RAM appear to give you a solution in terms of performance somewhere between our Group 1 and Group 2 recommended configurations.

There are no known cost-effective Pentium hardware card solutions for BANNER users. Apple's hardware cards do not allow TCP/IP access from both the PC and Macintosh sides simultaneously (which is a BANNER user's requirement), and we do not consider third-party solutions (Orange Micro etc.) to be cost-effective.

MACINTOSH & WINDOWS UPGRADE MATRIX

IF YOU HAVE THE FOLLOWING:

YOUR RECOMMENDED UPGRADE OPTIONS ARE:

YOUR MINIMUM UPGRADE OPTIONS ARE:

A Non-Power Macintosh (such as a Mac IIci, Quadra, Centris, or Performa 600 series Macintosh)	Purchase a new computer. Recommended minimum configuration for a new computer is a Pentium II running Windows 95.	Purchase a new computer. Recommended minimum configuration for a new computer is a Pentium II running Windows 95.
A Performa 52xx, 54xx, or 62xx series computer	Purchase a new computer-there are currently no known processor upgrades for this model. Recommended minimum configuration for a new computer is a Pentium II running Windows 95.	Purchase a new computer. While these models are equipped with 603 or 603e processors running from 75Mhz to 120Mhz, these machines are at the low end for meeting minimum requirements. Recommended minimum configuration for a new computer is a Pentium II running Windows 95.
A Power Macintosh 7200	Purchase a new computer-there are currently no known processor upgrades for this model. Recommended minimum configuration for a new computer is a Pentium II running Windows 95.	The fastest model in this class is the 7200/120. With a 601-level processor running at 120Mhz it will just meet the minimum for a minimally recommended computer. Any 7200 model slower than this will require the purchase of a new computer.
A Power Macintosh 61xx/71xx/81xx (including the Performa 61xx series)	Upgrade the computer's processor. Processor upgrades for these models can be upgraded to the G3 200Mhz level for approximately $600.	Upgrade the computer's processor. The fastest model in this class was an 8100/110, with a 601-level processor running at 110Mhz-the minimum for a minimally recommended computer.
A Power Macintosh 4400, 5400, or 6400 series computer	Purchase a new computer-there are currently no known processor upgrades for this model. The maximum processor in these machines is a 603e/200, which is below recommended machine minimums for heaby use. Recommended minimum configuration for a new computer is a Pentium II running Windows 95.	All of these models meet the minimum recommended machine configurations.
A Power Macintosh 7300, 7500, 7600, 8500, 8600, 9500, or 9600	Upgrade the computer's processor. Processor upgrades for these models range from $200 for a 604e/200Mhz upgrade to $1300 for a G3 equivalent upgrade.	Most of these models meet the minimum recommended machine configuration. Lower-end PCI Macintosh computers like the 7500/100, with a 601-level processor running at 100Mhz, would benefit from a processor upgrade, but currently meet minimum machine recommendations.
A Power Macintosh 6500 computer	These computers are adequate for heavy users of the BANNER GUI software.	These computers are more than adequate as a minimum machine.
A G3 series Power Macintosh	These computers are adequate for heavy users of the BANNER GUI software.	These computers are more than adequate as a minimum machine.
A 486-class Windows 95 system	Buy a new computer. Recommended minimum configuration for a new computer is a Pentium II running Windows 95.	While a 486-class Windows system running at 66Mhz is a minimum recommendation for minimal use of the BANNER GUI software, all 486-class users (especially users with slower 486 systems) would benefit from a Pentium or Pentium II level computer.
A Pentium/Pentium II-class Windows 95 system	These computers are adequate for heavy users of the BANNER GUI software.	These computers are more than adequate as a minimum machine.

Updated 4/9/98

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