Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!brl-adm!rutgers!cbmvax!daveh From: daveh@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (Dave Haynie) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: Cost of Designing a New Computer Message-ID: <1208@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> Date: Mon, 5-Jan-87 14:29:49 EST Article-I.D.: cbmvax.1208 Posted: Mon Jan 5 14:29:49 1987 Date-Received: Mon, 5-Jan-87 22:19:17 EST References: <950@husc6.UUCP> Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA Lines: 53 > > I'm trying to get some order of magnitude estimates for what resources > are required to design a state-of-the-art "new" computer system. I'm > currently using the following figures, and I was wondering what people > thought of them. The Commodore 128 Computer was built with the following resources: Hardware: It took 3 HW Engineers about 9 months of work for the system level work. Software: The internal BASIC and Kernal BIOS in the C128 took 2 SW Engineers about 9 months as well. This involved upgrading and enhancing a system written entirely in machine language. Another SW Engineer took around the same 9 months to port CP/M to the system. ICs: A total of 4 new ICs were required by the system. One of these had been in development for over a year before the C128 project started. One IC designer continued on this chip for another 9 or so months (this was a new design, the 80 column display chip). One IC designer worked about 3 months on a new device selection chip. One final IC designer worked for about 9 months on the 2 other chips, one of which (the memory management chip) was a completely new design, the other (the 40 column/graphics chip) was an upgraded version of a previous design. The work of these three Engineers could have been avoided if such chips were available and cost effective as off the shelf parts. Other: PCB designers for system boards and IC emulators, case designers, manufacturing engineers, etc. This system took more man/years than I'd expect for a new design using off the shelf parts, since there'd be many fewer chip related problems. However, for a mass produced machine (about 1 million last year), such parts would be too expensive. > > Thanks > Ehud Reiter > reiter@harvard (ARPA,UUCP) -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dave Haynie {caip,ihnp4,allegra,seismo}!cbmvax!daveh "You can keep my things, they've come to take me home" -Peter Gabriel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~