Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!labrea!decwrl!pyramid!prls!mips!mash From: mash@mips.UUCP (John Mashey) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: brash micros versus the Big Iron: not yet Message-ID: <645@winchester.UUCP> Date: Mon, 31-Aug-87 18:09:04 EDT Article-I.D.: winchest.645 Posted: Mon Aug 31 18:09:04 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 5-Sep-87 00:46:02 EDT References: <622@winchester.UUCP> <12953@amdahl.amdahl.com> <630@winchester.UUCP> <1202@pdn.UUCP> <640@winchester.UUCP> <2628@ames.arpa> Reply-To: mash@winchester.UUCP (John Mashey) Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Sunnyvale, CA Lines: 28 In article <2628@ames.arpa> eugene@pioneer.UUCP (Eugene Miya N.) writes: > >While I am fully aware that VAXen are "popular" machines, the 780 is over >ten years old. It makes me wonder: why not use the measure of ENIACs >instead? [Don't try to answer that, better to strive for better forms >of measurement] It's was one of Perlis' epigrams to have 100 ENIACS on a chip. This is a fair complaint from Gene. We use vax-mips (or VUPS) because: 1) DEC's machines are calibrated this way, so that you can also compare with 8700s, etc, if you're very careful. 2) They do communicate information to many people, who at least have a feel for the speed of an 11/780. Not that many people have a feel for ENIACs. 3) We at least have some! As Gene knows well, we usually try to get as many numbers from as many machines as possible for our Performance Briefs. We're starting to do more comparisons relative to Crays and Amdahls; it's just a lot harder to get numbers, and I asked for a Cray for benchmarking, but my boss wouldn't buy it for me :-) As Steve Wallach (of Convex) said at last UNIX Expo (loosely paraphrased): there's VAX-relative benchmarking, and there's serious macho benchmarking (fractions of CRAYs). -- -john mashey DISCLAIMER: UUCP: {decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!mips!mash OR mash@mips.com DDD: 408-991-0253 or 408-720-1700, x253 USPS: MIPS Computer Systems, 930 E. Arques, Sunnyvale, CA 94086