Path: utzoo!utgpu!cunews!bnrgate!brtph3!brchh104!brchs1!bnr.ca!rice.edu!sun-spots-request From: hucaby@mri.uky.edu (David Hucaby) Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun Subject: Summary of VX/MVX Visualization Stuff Keywords: Hardware Message-ID: <1740@brchh104.bnr.ca> Date: 22 Feb 91 18:31:00 GMT Sender: news@brchh104.bnr.ca Organization: Sun-Spots Lines: 106 Approved: Sun-Spots@rice.edu X-Original-Date: Tue, 19 Feb 91 12:37:53 EST X-Sun-Spots-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 45, message 11 X-Note: Submissions: sun-spots@rice.edu, Admin: sun-spots-request@rice.edu Here's a bit of a scoop on the VX/MVX package soon to be released from Sun for those of you who asked: (This first part is more or less quoted from a glossy brochure that's available from your local Sun person) The VX: o i860 processor running at 40 MHz (80 peak single-prec MFLOPS, 60 peak double-prec MFLOPS), 40 MIPS, 160 MB/sec pixel display rate. o Dual frame buffer: 16 MB 32-bit VX frame buffer & 2 MB 8-bit GX frame buffer with digital combination of the two; Five 256x24 color LUT's (one dedicated to GX frame buffer); 4 MB program/data memory o Multiple VX windows integrate into OpenWindows o VX frame buffer is reconfigurable: 24-bit true color w/ 8-bit alpha, 4 independent 8-bit channels, 8-bit GX frame buffer overlay o Comes as either 1280x1024 @ 76 Hz (using 21" color monitor) or 1152x900 @ 66 Hz (using existing 19" monitor) o Single VME slot required The MVX: o Four (yes, 4) i860 processors at 40 MHz; this gives 160 MIPS, 320 peak single-prec MFLOPS, 240 double-prec MFLOPS, and 160 MB/sec pixel display rate. o Four (yes, 4) MBytes of memory per processor (16 MB total) o MVX is an add-on accelerator - you must have VX board already. o Single VME slot required; must be adjacent to VX slot. VX/MVX Buses: o VXD block transfer bus: data transfer between VX & MVX at 320 MB/sec on a 128-bit bus o VXC random access bus: eliminates VME overhead with a dedicated 40 MB/sec 32-bit control bus VX & MVX Software: o Accelerates Sun platform software libraries: SunIPLib (SunVision), SunARTLib (SunVision), and XGL. o Accelerates SunVision visualization tools: SunVoxel, SunIP, SunART, SunGV (geometry viewing), and SunMovie. o Compatible with SunVision SunVIP visualization user interface. o Includes complete set of C developer's tools [I'll get to that in a minute.] o This all requires at least SunOS 4.1 and OpenWindows 2.0. === Just from the glossy, it looks like you can get the VX (and MVX) for the following systems: + SPARCstation 330VX w/ 21" monitor + SPARCstation 470VX w/ 21" monitor + VX board add-on for SPARCstation 330, 370, and 470 + VX board, 21" monitor, keyboard for SPARCserver 390 & 490. + MVX board add-on for VX configured systems Now for the finer details: I talked with Sun in North Carolina (where the VX/MVX was designed, and found out the following: o The VX/MVX is not shipping until around May 1991. However, a Sun white paper is coming out real-soon-now (as of 02/19/91, it's still not ready) describing the VX/MVX. o SunVision 1.1 comes shipped with the VX. SunVision 1.0 DOES NOT support the VX (it only works with the GX), so the 1.1 version is needed. o As for the C developer's tools: the VX Visualization Pack comes with an i860 C compiler, linker, loader, debugger, and the standard Unix style C tools and standard libraries. However, the pack also includes a tasking and communications library for multiprocessor development on the MVX. As I understand, this is not a dynamic load-balancing kind of tasking library, but it does allow you to develop software that can use the processors on the VX/MVX independently and still communicate with each other. The communications library deals with downloading code to the VX/MVX, etc. o Lastly, today's phone call to Sun revealed that the VX has been designed for stereo. However, when the first boards ship, stereo will not be supported due to insufficient testing. As I understand it, the first boards will be equipped to do stereo, but we won't be able to use it until around the end of 1991 or start 1992... == There it is - the VX/MVX summary as I see it. Don't take me too literally on the details, as I've gotten some things by phone, and I probably don't understand enough to be understood. Also, I have no connection with Sun, so I'm sorry if I revealed anything that shouldn't have been. This looks like a neat package, and I'm anxious to get one!! _________ David Hucaby / \ _ ____ University of Kentucky MRI Center / / /_\ \ / /___ 800 Rose Street, HM103 _____/_____/ / \ \/ /___ Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0084 Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com