Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ncar!midway!quads.uchicago.edu!rtp1
From: rtp1@quads.uchicago.edu (raymond thomas pierrehumbert)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: HP 9000 s 700 questions ????
Message-ID: <1991Apr9.164439.9440@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: 9 Apr 91 16:44:39 GMT
References: <1991Mar13.121715.25269@qut.edu.au> <1670015@hpcc01.HP.COM> <1991Apr9.052542.2080@marlin.jcu.edu.au>
Sender: rtp1@midway.uchicago.edu (raymond thomas pierrehumbert)
Organization: University of Chicago
Lines: 35

Rowan Hughes concludes:
> better value. The HP750 hasn't quite toppled the IBM550.

Agreed.  Further, the price of the IBM can be brought down by
using third party memory and disks (we have confirmation this
is possible). Is the same true for HP?  Finally, any cost 
comparison must include the cost of software, and the cost
of maintainence, since over a 5 year machine life, this
is a big part of the total cost.  I don't know about prices
for the HP750 maint, but I'm being taken to the CLEANERS
on the maint price for my HP/Apollo DN10k (also taken to
the CLEANERS on memory and disk prices).

Also, there is the competence of the sales and support staff.
I have dealt extensively with both HP and IBM here in Chicagoland,
and found the IBM staff MUCH more competent technically, and
much more helpful in integrating third party and even leading
edge third party hardware (8mm jukeboxes, big WORM drives, and
the like).

Also, there is the upgrade path.  IBM has so far delivered on
the promise to practically double performance each year with
a processor board swap, and they make the board swap very
affordable.  Does PA-RISC offer a similar future?  Finally,
the 22Mflop linpak comparison isn't so clear; is this with
unrolled loops or not?  The IBM does 25Mflops on straight 
compiled 100x100linpak, though with the IBM coded library,
I've seen it reach 80Mflops (and this is sustainable even
for 300x300, which is out of cache).  A comparison based
on 100x100Linapak isn't very informative on its own.

It's not very clear is it?  The only thing that's clear is
that, barring a major revision of Sparc, Sun is in trouble.
Got too big for their britches, I say.
.