[geeks] Re: XIO V10 card size question

[Joshua D Boyd]

On Thu, Jan 16, 2003 at 12:52:00AM -0500, Kevin wrote:
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> Perhaps it was XBow 1.3, it's all getting blurry now:) What is
> the difference between SI and SSE?  Texture RAM?

My understanding is that pre Vpro, there were basically 4 Octane video
cards.

Initialy there was the SI and SSI.  The SI is a single XIO slot and maxs
out at 1280x1024, while the SSI is a double XIO card and maxes out at
something much higher and it somewhat faster.  The SI will take an
optional TRAM upgrade, and the SSI takes two TRAMS (it is all or
nothing).  With TRAMS, an SSI is bascially an MXI.

OK, so then a few years later, the ESI appears (which came to be more
commonly known as the SE) and the ESSI (more commonly know as the SSE).
These cards have the same resolutions as the non E cards before
them. They are basically just a speed improvement.  They both take TRAM
upgrades in the same way as before.  And my understanding is that a TRAM
upgraded SSE is the same thing as a MXE.  A standard SSE has no TRAM.

So, in short, the difference between a SI and SSE is speed and maximum
resolution.  I believe that there are no actual new capabilities, but
for some tasks the speed would surely be nice.  And for most things the
extra resolution would certainly be nice, but you give up cheaply having
dual head.

-- 
Joshua D. Boyd