QuickBits Palm Accelerator

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Chris James

October 19, 2000

Program Requirements:
Device:
Palm III, IIIc, IIIx, IIIe, IIIxe, V, Vx, VII, VIIx, m100, IBM WorkPad, Handspring Visor, Sony CLIÉ and other PalmOS 3.0 or greater compatible handhelds.

When I first obtained 2bit Software’s ‘QuickBits Palm Accelerator’, I immediately wanted to tweak my Palm Vx to its MAX to see just how far it would go, and was able to achieve a QuickBits Index score of 682, and a PocketMark score of 308 (with the aid of Tornado V and AfterBurner). If you'd like to try topping these scores – take your best shot…if you're successful, please feel free to drop me an e-mail with a screen dump. Please note that this review is intended for advanced users whose primary interest is in performance specs.

In this review, I will focus on tweaking the Palm Vx to its MAX without using the overclocking features of  AfterBurner - the results are quite interesting. Here are the programs that you will need in order to perform these tests for yourself: 1) QuickBits 2) Tornado V 3) AfterBurner 4) PocketMark (requires ‘Mathlib’) 5) HackMaster

 

SYSTEM SETUP:

Palm Vx (original build, no DRAM prob.)
Modified OS 3.3 ROM image with the aid of 'EditROM'
FlashPro installed - ROM space maxed out with 824K of data
7,450K RAM used, 614K RAM free, all hacks and TSRs disabled


Unless specified otherwise, QuickBits is fully installed; AfterBurner has the following items checked: 0-ws Core, Fast Mpx, Fast Page, Adjust Ticks, Grey=off, Accel=Always, Slow=Never, LClk/2=Never, LCD/n disabled, no overclocking; Tornado V is set globally to ‘x2’

THE TESTS:

1) QuickBits, AfterBurner & Tornado V fully DISABLED: QuickBits Index = 124; PalmMark = 115

2) QuickBits ENABLED, AfterBurner & Tornado V DISABLED: QuickBits Index = 384; PalmMark = 176

3) QuickBits & Tornado V ENABLED, AfterBurner DISABLED: QuickBits Index = 417; PalmMark = 192

4) QuickBits & AfterBurner ENABLED, Tornado V DISABLED: QuickBits Index = 403; PalmMark = 185

5) QuickBits & AfterBurner (*** with LCD/n=3 ***) ENABLED, Tornado V DISABLED: QuickBits Index = 420; PalmMark = 189

6) QuickBits & AfterBurner (*** with LCD/n=7 ***) ENABLED, Tornado V DISABLED: QuickBits Index = 424; PalmMark = 192 (NOTE: THIS IS AN UNUSABLE SETTING AS SCREEN IS ALMOST BLACK)

7) QuickBits, AfterBurner & Tornado V ENABLED: QuickBits Index = 403; PalmMark = 185

8) QuickBits, AfterBurner (*** with LCD/n=3 ***) & Tornado V ENABLED: QuickBits Index = 419; PalmMark = 189 (NOTE: TORNADO V ENABLED/DISABLED SETTING HAS NO AFFECT ON RESULT)

9) QuickBits, AfterBurner (*** with LCD/n=7 ***) & Tornado V ENABLED: QuickBits Index = 424, PalmMark = 191 (NOTE: THIS IS AN UNUSABLE SETTING AS SCREEN IS ALMOST BLACK); (NOTE 2: TORNADO V ENABLED/DISABLED SETTING HAS NO AFFECT ON RESULT)

10) AfterBurner ENABLED, QuickBits & Tornado V DISABLED: QuickBits Index = 131; PalmMark = 155

11) Tornado V ENABLED, QuickBits & AfterBurner DISABLED: QuickBits Index = 153; PalmMark = 161

12) AfterBurner ENABLED (*** with LCD/n=3 ***), QuickBits & Tornado V DISABLED: QuickBits Index = 153; PalmMark = 159

13) AfterBurner ENABLED (*** with LCD/n=7 ***), QuickBits & Tornado V DISABLED: QuickBits Index = 154; PalmMark = 160 (NOTE: THIS IS AN UNUSABLE SETTING UNLESS AS SCREEN IS ALMOST BLACK)

Here’s a fast look at some of the other screens you will see in QuickBits:

Now, this next part gets really interesting. I wanted to figure out why QuickBits had such an edge over Tornado V and AfterBurner, so I ran a few more tests. Take a look at the five separate PocketMark scores for all three programs when activated alone (note: ignore the ‘PalmMark’ score, which simply represents the weighted average of the top three scores):

It looks like Tornado V has cleaned up in all the benchmarks but one – ‘MemMarks’. It should also be noted that AfterBurner beat out QuickBits in every benchmark as well, with the exception of MemMarks. MemMarks however, is where QuickBits made the competition look like it was playing in the sandbox. Its score was 120% greater than the best offering, which ultimately resulted in an overall PalmMark of 176. Let’s now take a look at QuickBits’ version of the MemMark benchmark – ‘MemSet’:

Hmm…it turns out that that QuickBits’ MemSet score is EXACTLY 120% greater than the best offering again. We now have collaborative evidence that the ‘Mem’ tests are where QuickBits really excels.

I then tried disabling everything but ‘MemSet speedup’ in the QuickBits configuration screen and re-ran the test. QuickBit’s MemSet score dropped to 3.69 – this seems to indicate that the ‘Mem’ function is co-dependent (as I would imagine would be the case with Tornado V and AfterBurner in their own rights).

Another thing worth noting is that Tornado V and AfterBurner consistently score higher in the ‘WinSaveBits’ benchmark than QuickBits:

Perhaps this is one reason why we notice complimentary benefits when running TornadoV and/or AfterBurner in conjunction with QuickBits.

 

CONCLUSIONS:

- Test #2 vs. test #s 10-13 clearly shows that QuickBits DOMINATES when running by itself (vs. Tornado V or AfterBurner running by themselves). The QuickBits Index for test #2 is 193% larger than test #10, and 151% larger than test #11. The PalmMark for test #2 is 13.5% larger than test #10, and 9.3% larger than test #11.

- Test #s 3-9 demonstrate that Tornado V & AfterBurner, both individually and dualistically, compliment QuickBits when installed.

- Test #3 vs. test #7 indicates that, under our default testing conditions, AfterBurner actually NULLIFIES Tornado Vs performance improvements when installed. We know that Tornado V is not the problem because the results for test #7 are identical to test #4. Even when ALL of AfterBurner’s settings were disabled/set to Palm defaults, it still caused slowdowns when enabled in HackMaster.

- With QuickBits fully installed, you will immediately notice major performance improvements when performing simple tasks that involve screen ‘re-draws’ - such as scrolling through lists or ‘flipping pages’ – I would venture to say that on average, the performance is roughly 4x what it normally would be. If Tornado V is installed by itself, you will see a 2x performance improvement; if you enable QuickBits as well, your performance jumps to 4x+; and, if you overclock with AfterBurner, well, you’re off the charts. If you have a lot hacks on your device like me (28), scroll through the list – this is a good place to perform tests, as you will here the audible ‘tick’ variations as well.

- The true horsepower of these speed-up utilities really becomes evident the moment you start loading your unit down with heavy-duty applications and such as: ‘PalmTheme’, ‘Backdrop’, QuickSheet, intensive Hacks, etc.

- If you’re wondering why Neal Bridges’ ‘Benchmark’ utility was not used during these tests, it is because it is not engineered to measure the type of performance modifications/improvements that QuickBits delivers. I used PocketMark instead to collaborate QuickBits’ benchmarks, and to keep it honest.

- If you’re wondering why I use OS 3.3, it’s not because I don’t have access to OS 3.5, I just prefer it because it is 1) faster, 2) requires less ROM (freeing up more for FlashPro), 3) beam restrictions can be overridden, and 4) it is compatible with more third-party software (especially those old ‘gems’). As for my ROM image, I modified it to eliminate programs that I do not need, thus freeing up even more ROM for FlashPro.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

One thing is for sure – QuickBits is not a ‘2-bit’ piece of software. The performance boost it delivers is nothing short of impressive, and the robust benchmarking tables it incorporates makes it fun to use. It can do things AfterBurner and Tornado V cannot, and will dramatically improve the speed of your device without any overclocking. If you want maximum performance, and don’t mind overclocking your unit, get AfterBurner as well. If you want top-notch performance and do not need to seriously overclock your unit, get Tornado V to compliment QuickBits. This program is 30-day trial-ware, after which it can be purchased for $14.95. One final note: these tests were performed on a Palm Vx – your results may vary depending on the device that you use, and the software you have installed.

Price: $14.95

Pros:
Fastest (non-overclocking) speed-up utility available
Robust benchmark tabulation schemes
Works in conjunction with other speed-up/overclocking utilities

Cons:
Price

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Review Summary

Manufacturer: 2bit Software Price: $14.95 More reviews like this one: Initiate Pro - Palm OS Utility Review Hobbyist Software Power Hero - Palm OS Utility Review Ilium Software's eWallet - Palm OS Utility Review ShoZu Mobile Photo and Video Sharing Application Review GMail Mobile

Pros: Fastest (non-overclocking) speed-up utility available Robust benchmark tabulation schemes Works in conjunction with other speed-up/overclocking utilities Cons: Price Categories: Palm OS related Software (Palm - utility)

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