Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP 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.