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From: guy@sun.uucp (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: net.arch,net.micro.att
Subject: Re: AT&T MIPS claim
Message-ID: <3847@sun.uucp>
Date: Sat, 31-May-86 19:14:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: sun.3847
Posted: Sat May 31 19:14:43 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 3-Jun-86 22:36:51 EDT
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>  I just read some trade rag that had an ad in it from Ma Bell about
> the UNIX PC.  They made this interesting claim that the UNIX PC gives
> you "75% of the power of a VAX 11/780" for "only 7% of the cost".

What's even funnier about that ad is that it shows a bunch of superminis in
the background, which the UNIX PC can presumably replace.  Several of the
cabinets in the background clearly read "3B20"....

> Is this the MIP rating for the 68010 as compared to the VAX?

That's a number I've heard for the 010.  (I also know of a certain company
which claims their 12.5MhZ 68010 machine is 1.2 x an 11/780.  I think they
claim this based on some real benchmarks, but I find it hard to believe.  I
suspect they got this figure by figuring:

	The 11/780 is a 5MhZ 32-bit machine.  A 12.5 Mhz 16-bit (sort of)
	machine like the 68010 must therefore be (12.5/5)*(16/32) == 1.25
	11/780s.

> I've seen many a 780 run with more than 20 users.  I'd like to see you
> put that many on a UNIX PC that I found can barely support one.

Not fair.  The UNIX PC is not a 68010, it's a 68010 surrounded with other
chips and peripherals.  The MIPS rating of a chip is even more meaningless
when you put it into a system.
-- 
	Guy Harris
	{ihnp4, decvax, seismo, decwrl, ...}!sun!guy
	guy@sun.arpa