Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ginosko!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!xanth!ames!ames.arc.nasa.gov!lamaster
From: lamaster@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Hugh LaMaster)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: ATTACK OF KILLER MICROS
Message-ID: <33857@ames.arc.nasa.gov>
Date: 17 Oct 89 16:07:17 GMT
References: <35825@lll-winken.LLNL.GOV> <127@csinc.UUCP> <33802@ames.arc.nasa.gov> <35986@lll-winken.LLNL.GOV>
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In article <35986@lll-winken.LLNL.GOV> brooks@maddog.llnl.gov (Eugene Brooks) writes:

>A "PC" with a MIPS R3000 or an Intel i860 in it is about 70 times more cost

A quick clarification:  The "PC's" I was talking about are IBM PC's and clones
based on Intel 80x86 chips, *not* SGI or DEC machines based on R3000/R3010s.
"PC" may also be extended to Apple Mac and Mac II machines by some people.
Most of the "PC" boosters that I am thinking of, and from which we have heard
in this newsgroup recently, are also "offended" by the
"excessive" power and cost of MIPSCo based machines.  Not me, obviously, but
most of these people do not consider an SGI 4D/25 a "PC".

>effective for scalar codes, and we run a lot of those on our supercomputers
>at LLNL, and about 3 to 7 times more cost effective for highly vectorized
> codes.

Well, I admit, I hadn't done a calculation for some months.  Last time I did it,
I was somewhat disappointed by the inflated claims surrounding micro based 
systems.  I have been hearing "wolf!" for 15 years, so it is easy to be blase'
about it.  But, this USENET discussion stimulated me
to look at it again.  Another quick calculation shows a *big change*. It appears
to me, on the face of it, that cost/delivered FLOP is now about even.  I don't
see the 3 -7 X advantage to the micros yet, but maybe you are looking at the
faster 60-100MHz systems that will fast be arriving.  I used SGI 4D/280's
as the basis of comparison, since that appears to be the most cost effective
of such systems that I have good pricing information on.  Anyway, how long has
it taken Cray to shave a few ns off the clock?  In less than a year we should
see systems based on the new micro chips.  Yikes.  It looks like the
ATTACK OF THE KILLER MICROS.

  Hugh LaMaster, m/s 233-9,  UUCP ames!lamaster
  NASA Ames Research Center  ARPA lamaster@ames.arc.nasa.gov
  Moffett Field, CA 94035     
  Phone:  (415)694-6117