Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!samsung!usc!apple!portal!cup.portal.com!mmm
From: mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Architectural Requirements for Unix (was: upgrades)
Message-ID: <30418@cup.portal.com>
Date: 1 Jun 90 19:16:32 GMT
References: <29972@cup.portal.com> <1990May14.141148.9884@xavax.com>
  <7754@crdgw1.crd.ge.com> <30016@cup.portal.com>
  <1990May19.230618.16090@utzoo.uucp> <383@garth.UUCP>
  <2286@crdos1.crd.ge.COM>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 22

In some previous postings, I gave incorrect prices for chips which are
candidates for "world's cheapest virtual memory demand paged Unix engine".

Correct prices are (in 1000-unit quantity):

Intel 376 (not really a candidate)    $43 @ 16 MHz
Intel 386SX                           $66.50 @ 16 MHz
                                      $125 @ 25 MHz

Someone suggested the Acorn RISC machine would be a possibility.

VLSI Tech. VL86C010                   $31.25 @ 12 MHz
           VL86C020                   $92.80 @ 25 MHz

Note that an external MMU is required (I don't have pricing for that).

Motorola is about to release the 68020 in a new package with much reduced
pricing.  I don't know if the information has been formally announced yet,
so I can't tell you what it is, but I would say that this chip will be
certainly be the winner as far as low-end Unix machines are concerned.
If you don't care to run MS-DOS, it's price-performance product will be
significantly better than the 386SX.