Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mips:235 comp.sys.mac.hardware:43
Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!decwrl!pyramid!prls!mips!earl@wright.mips.com
From: earl@wright.mips.com (Earl Killian)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mips,comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Workstation speed comparisons
Keywords: price, performance, MIPS
Message-ID: <29746@wright.mips.COM>
Date: 19 Oct 89 20:01:48 GMT
References: <12850@boulder.Colorado.EDU> <1989Oct19.153249.25491@cs.rochester.edu>
Sender: earl@mips.COM
Reply-To: earl@wright.mips.com (Earl Killian)
Followup-To: comp.sys.mips
Distribution: na
Organization: MIPS Computer Systems Inc.
Lines: 25
In-reply-to: bukys@cs.rochester.edu (Liudvikas Bukys)

In article <1989Oct19.153249.25491@cs.rochester.edu>, bukys@cs (Liudvikas Bukys) writes:
>Or, try this on for size:  (list prices as of last June)
>
>list	$/MIP	configuration
>price		(specified 16MB memory, 19" mono monitor, 100MB local disk)
>-----	-----
>15996	1333	SUN 4/60 "12 MIPS", 16M, 19" mono, 104MB scsi disk
>19291 	1135	DG AV300 "17 MIPS", 16M, 20" mono, 179MB scsi disk
>21684	1549	DEC DS3100 "14 MIPS", 16M, 19" mono+swivel, 104MB scsi disk
>23000 	1642	MIPS RS2030 "14 MIPS", 16M, 17" mono, 172MB scsi disk
>
>(The above prices may or may not be true.)

I won't argue with the prices, but I will argue with the MIPS ratings,
just as in another recent posting.  Those ratings are close to what
the individual vendors claim, but the scales that the vendors use are
not identical.  In fact, the scales different vendors use differ by as
much as 2x.  Such differences make tables such as the above extremely
misleading.

For example, if you call the DG AV300 "17 MIPS", then you should call
the DEC DS3100 22+ MIPS.
--
UUCP: {ames,decwrl,prls,pyramid}!mips!earl
USPS: MIPS Computer Systems, 930 Arques Ave, Sunnyvale CA, 94086