Mac Plus Memory Cache Setting

Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 19:51:34 -0800
To: Classic Posts <classic-post@hitznet.com> From: neong@gte.net (Paul G)
Subject: Re: MacPlus Memory Cache Setting 

>>I have the Memory Cache Setting at 64 k. Is this the proper setting, should it be higher? According to my MacPlus this is the default setting. 

>I'd suggest going a bit larger, perhaps 128k or 256k, now that you have extra RAM.

After extensive testing with Speedometer 3.0.6 I can say that system 6.0.7 works as fast as it can with a setting of 64k. Using 96k is *no* faster (only you loose 32k of RAM) and 128k was less than 1% faster (and you loose 64k of RAM). Now 32k was most certainly slower, I did not figure out how much, it was just to obvious in the numbers to consider using. 

With system 7.1 I found that 96k is again no faster than 64k. However, 128k is a little bit faster. Not alot but I use 128k, and I have a fast SCSI hard disk driver (SilverLining 5.6.4, set to SL fast handshake as I refuse the "Blind" drive settings even though they are faster). 

The Disk cache is a part of RAM set aside to help HD performance. It keeps recently used items from the drive available in RAM. The Plus has a slow HD so this should be ideal, but older systems could not make really good use of the cache. Now if you have a really slow (old and small) hard drive then you may want more cache. I'm refering here to a drive with no internal cache and an interleve set, or should be set, on it (should really be 3 to 1 if it has no cache). Extra cache would most likely also benifit anyone using the "HD 20", the Apple floppy port hard drive for the Mac 128, 512 series, and MacPlus.

I have two of these ("HD 20"s) myself, one works ande the other failed. I turned it into a SCSI hard drive I use to this day on my Plus. This just looks so right under my Plus, it matches in color and size and even the case seems.

Neon - long live the MacPlus