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From: hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer)
Newsgroups: net.arch
Subject: Intel iPSC-VX  Supercomputer?
Message-ID: <1502@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 30-Apr-86 13:43:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.1502
Posted: Wed Apr 30 13:43:30 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 3-May-86 02:06:30 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: NC State Univ.
Lines: 16

<>I have read about the new Vector Extension of the Intel Personal
Supercomputer.  This adds a vector processor to each of the processing
nodes.  (The iPSC is a commercial implementation of the "hypercube"
idea.)  (In Mgmt. Info. Syst. Week, Apr 21, p 8).
  If you add the VX to a /d6 (six dimensional hypercube = 64 nodes)
it costs $850,000 instead of $280,000.  It then has an (aggregate)
performance level of ~200 Mflops.  (For /d5 or /d7 use a factor of 2
to get approx. values for all the preceding numbers.)  Upgrades are
available for non-VX machines.
  The VX series is supposed to offer speeds of a Cray X-MP.  (Serlin
of Itom Int'l said, "Think of it this way.  You cannot lash four
Volkswagens together and suggest that they will equal the performance
of a Porsche.")
  Does anyone know anything more about the vector processing 
architecture of this series?
--henry schaffer   ...!mcnc!ecsvax!hes