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From: chuck@amdahl.amdahl.com (Charles Simmons)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: What with these Vector's anyways?
Message-ID: <10883@amdahl.amdahl.com>
Date: Sun, 26-Jul-87 20:39:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: amdahl.10883
Posted: Sun Jul 26 20:39:51 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 27-Jul-87 00:43:39 EDT
References: <218@astra.necisa.oz> <142700010@tiger.UUCP>
Reply-To: chuck@amdahl.UUCP (Charles Simmons)
Organization: Amdahl Corp, Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 18
Keywords: vector Cray Cyber CDC Cpu Supercomputers

In article <2408@ames.arpa> lamaster@ames.UUCP (Hugh LaMaster) writes:
>A vector machine is NOT the same thing as a SUPERCOMPUTER.  A supercomputer is
>a loose term generally applied to this year's two or three fastest (usually
>vector) or most expensive (:-) machines.
>
>  Hugh LaMaster, m/s 233-9,  UUCP {seismo,topaz,lll-crg,ucbvax}!

While I'm not as exposed to supercomputers as Hugh, in my experience
the term supercomputer is only applied to extremely fast scalar processors
with attached vector processors.  For example, people around here tell
me that an Amdahl 5890 is at least as fast as a Cray (which one?) for
scalar processing.  However, a 5890 is "only" a mainframe and not a
supercomputer.  I think if you attach a vector processor to a 5890, however,
you do end up with a supercomputer.

Hopefully Hugh or Eugene will correct any of my misconceptions...
 
-- Chuck