Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!rice!sun-spots-request
From: grunwald@flute.cs.uiuc.edu (Dirk Grunwald)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun
Subject: Re: SUN SPARCstation 1 vs. DEC 3100
Keywords: Hardware
Message-ID: <3514@kalliope.rice.edu>
Date: 24 May 89 15:09:04 GMT
Sender: usenet@rice.edu
Organization: Sun-Spots
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Approved: Sun-Spots@rice.edu
X-Sun-Spots-Digest: Volume 8, Issue 5, message 3 of 17

Your price comparison is somewhat valid, but skewed by the high price of
DEC disks and tapes. If you substitute a CDC Wren-V disk for the 2x104 Mb
drives, you get 638Mb formatted for $2500. If you buy the TK50 or TK70
tape drive, you have only yourself to blame. You can pick up a 2.3Gb drive
for the same money. However, you do need at least one TK drive to install
your software (just like you need at least one streamer for the Sun).

You also have to factor in the faster MIPS processor & the hefty discounts
DEC is handing out (50% is university consortium price). 

-- Dirk Grunwald
Univ. of Illinois grunwald@flute.cs.uiuc.edu