Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!helios!cs.tamu.edu From: daugher@cs.tamu.edu (Walter C. Daugherity) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: 68040 problems force HP/Apollo upgrade delay Keywords: 68040, NeXT, HP/Apollo Message-ID: <9558@helios.TAMU.EDU> Date: 26 Oct 90 17:32:00 GMT Sender: usenet@helios.TAMU.EDU Organization: Texas A&M University Lines: 41 From the November 1990 issue of "Workstation" (an independent news magazine for HP/Apollo workstation & server users): ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "68040 problems force HP/Apollo upgrade delay Temperature and compatibility problems with Motorola's latest revision of the 68040 microprocessor have forced Hewlett-Packard to push back the delivery date for 68040 upgrades. With the 68040 now at least eight months behind schedule, HP officials say the company hopes to begin shipping limited quantities of 68040 upgrades for the HP 9000 Model 345 and 375 in December.... Apollo DN 3500 and 4500...in late January or February.... HP-UX 9000 Series 400 models based on the 68040...several months into the new year.... ...two major problems prevented HP from shipping...the reliability of systems using the chips at greater than room temperature was 'not within our specs' and that they did not maintain object-code compatibility with older 68000 and 68020 systems.... ...some units could begin shipping in December in no other major problems are discovered.... '...it's not whether a single instruction works, it's a certain combination of instructions in a certain time period that can cause some error states on the chip,' he said. 'The last chips we got were a big step forward, but they're not there yet.'" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Obviously 68000 and 68020 compatibility problems don't concern NeXT, but marginal tolerance for heat is a serious reliability concern. Let's hope it gets solved soon--I've had a NeXT 68040 upgrade on order since May (so I'm first in line, right? :-)). Walter Daugherity ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walter C. Daugherity Internet, NeXTmail: daugher@cs.tamu.edu Knowledge Systems Research Center uucp: uunet!cs.tamu.edu!daugher Texas A & M University BITNET: DAUGHER@TAMVENUS College Station, TX 77843-3112 CSNET: daugher%cs.tamu.edu@RELAY.CS.NET ---Not an official document of Texas A&M---