Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!ut-sally!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers.rutgers.edu!sri-spam!ames!amdahl!chongo From: chongo@amdahl.amdahl.com (Landon Curt Noll) Newsgroups: comp.sys.nsc.32k Subject: Re: NS32000 Processor Message-ID: <10427@amdahl.amdahl.com> Date: Sun, 19-Jul-87 22:55:09 EDT Article-I.D.: amdahl.10427 Posted: Sun Jul 19 22:55:09 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 21-Jul-87 00:36:09 EDT References: <334@forbrk.UUCP> <1026@killer.UUCP> <10192@amdahl.amdahl.com> <4497@nsc.nsc.com> Reply-To: chongo@amdahl.UUCP (Landon Curt Noll) Organization: Amdahl Coup, UTS Products Hen house Lines: 37 In article <4497@nsc.nsc.com> grenley@nsc.UUCP (George Grenley) writes: >Landon, Iguess we all know by now that you're not too fond of NSC. So be it. >Nevertheless you should know that CPU architecture elegance is NOT the primary >reason to pick a CPU. Look at the number of people who buy Amdahls - surely >it doesn't represent the optimum 32 bit architecture.... I wish to add to your comment on a few points: * I AM FOND OF THE 32000. The machine in my home is a 32000 based Symmetric 375 which was bought after I left NSC. * I wouldn't simply dismiss my comments as a just flames from an x-NSC employee. I was involved in both the architecture and Genix (Unix on the NS32000) for a number of years. I still maintain contact with NSC people and the state of the chip set. My objectives are to bring items up for discussion, regardless if such items make marketing people happy. I don't simply fault NSC for ``chip-maker'' problems. I turned down job offers from Mot, Intel and TI because they were on the whole, worse than NSC in this regard. * Regarding Amdahls: (allow me to substitute mainframes to avoid discussions of ``my mainframe is better then your mainframe'') Mainframes often trail the high end state of the art by a number of years. Their target is NOT people who want ``Superconducting Nitrogen Cooled Optical connected thingy-ma-gigs''. Factors such as MTBF, Price/performance, Compat-ness with other equipment, environmental factors, etc. are important. Mainframes won't spout the state-of-the-art in hardware parts. Even so, mainframes do represent the state-of-the-art in performance, MTBF, and price/performance for a number of situations. chongo/\oo/\ -- [views above shouldn't be viewed as Amdahl views, or as views from Amdahl, or as Amdahl views views, or as views by Mr. Amdahl, or as views from his house]