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Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.arch
Subject: Cray vs ICs
Message-ID: <3013@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 10-Jun-83 17:25:58 EDT
Article-I.D.:    utzoo.3013
Posted: Fri Jun 10 17:25:58 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 10-Jun-83 17:25:58 EDT
References: <562@ucbcad.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 8

I seem to recall reading that there were more subtle reasons than
sheer suspicion of non-custom ICs for the relative lack of MSI and
LSI in the Cray-1 and its relatives.  There is some sort of problem
with getting proper line terminations on connections within ICs,
and line terminations were something that needed enormous amounts of
attention in the design of the Cray-1.  Hence (with the exception
of the RAMs) the chips in the Cray machines have, so to speak, no
internal connections at all -- they are simple NAND gates.