beaucham@uiucuxc.UUCP (09/13/84)
#N:uiucuxc:25800011:000:6902
uiucuxc!beaucham Sep 6 23:25:00 1984
Several people have asked me to post my comparisons of several computers
including the LMC, a 32016 (16032?) machine. We decided on the LMC basically
because it is relatively cheap ($20k*), has a floating point chip, runs Unix
multiuser with 16 Mbyte virtual memory (large programs can at least run on it),
has a very decent package based on a 15 slot Multibus, and has a 25% educationaldiscount. The benchmarks for anything but floating-point intensive jobs don't
look so good, but the hardware is quite advanced, and if the upgrades and
software can catch up, the LMC should be quite competitive. For our purposes,
floating-point on a low budget (we're in a music school and want to generate
music waveform samples using software) within a multiuser environment was the
overriding concern. *no discount
Below are my comparisons (the prices are with educational discounts) and
benchmarks on several programs. If you would like copies of the programs, I
can try to send them to you upon request.
Jim Beauchamp uiucdcs!uiucuxc!beaucham
(217) 344-3307
Table 1. *****COMPARISON OF SUPERMICROS*****
MODEL CPU FPU BUS RAM HARD FLOP TAPE SER. OP. C F77 WAR CHI K$
(tot MB DISK DISK PRTS SYS bench- REP
sl.) (mx)(typ) marks
LMC 16k on Mult 0.5 42M 1M 9T 8 Unix 49/ 64/ 1 yes 14.9
bd. (15) (16)(506)(5") NI 7/4.1 52 107 yr.
Dual 68k SKY S100 0.5 80M 1M 9T 8 Unix 20/ 24/ 1 yes 16.5
83/80 NI (20) (3) (SMD)(8") NI (DMA) 7/4.1 625 200 yr.
I.S. 680 SKY Q .75 65M NI 75M 10 Unix 8/ ?/ 90 yes 15.4
5/10 10 NI (8) (506) strm (buf) 4.2 376 ? day
Cyb 68k SKY Mult 0.5 54M 1M 9T 10 Unix ?/ ?/ ? no 16.2
WM3 NI (15) (16)(506)(5") NI V ? ?
Cdmus 680 16k Q 1.0 65M NI 32M 8 Unix ?/ ?/ ? yes 20.2
9730 10 NI (?) (?) strm V ? ?
ACS 11/ on Q .25 10M .8M ? ? RSX NA ?/ 30 no 15.9
11/MS 23 bd. (?) (?) (?) x2 strm 11M+ ? day
PDP11 11/ off Uni .5 460M NI NI 8 Unix 59/ NI no NWU 24.0
used 34 bd. (+6) (SMD) 2 // 7 47
Models: LMC = The Logical MicroComputer Co.
Dual = Dual Systems Corp.
I.S. = Integrated Solutions Inc.
Cyb = Cyb Systems Inc.
Cadmus = Cadmus Computer Systems Inc.
ACS = Advanced Computer Sustems Inc.
PDP11 = Digital Equipment Corp. (used computer from NWU)
abbreviations:
CPU = microprocessor chip used
most common is Motorola 68000 or 68010 (virtual memory)
which is mostly a 32 bit chip. LMC uses National 16032
chip, internally a complete 32 bit chip. ACS uses
the 16-bit LSI 11/23 chip which is compatible
with Digital Equipment Corp's line of PDP 11 computers.
FPU = type of floating point unit
most common is the SKY Computers Fast Floating Point
board which takes up at least one slot (depending on
the bus). LMC uses the 16081 FPU chip on its CPU
board. Cadmus uses the 16081 on a separate board.
ACS supplies an FPU chip for the LSI/23 as an option
for $170. NI means not including in the system price.
BUS = type of system bus used for system boards
and interface boards
all buses listed are 16-bit buses.
tot. sl. = total no. of bus slots in system package.
RAM = actual random access memory in megabytes
first no. is for initial system; no. in () is the
max. MB to which the system can expand.
HARD DISK = Winchester hard disk, usually not removable.
Megabytes of storage are given.
typ = type of hard disk control.
506 is ST506 type which has 30 ms. ave. access
0.6 MB/sec transfer
SMD has 25 ms. ave. access
1.2 MB/sec transfer
FLOP DISK = floppy disk unit which is used for hard disk
back up and dissemination of software.
Megabytes of storage and disk size are given.
TAPE = streaming (open reel(1/2") or cartridge(1/4")) are
available on most systems for faster backup of
hard disks. if standard, MB of storage are given.
NI means not included in system price.
SER. PRTS = no. of RS-232 serial ports included in system
are given. this limits the no. of terminals,
printers, plotters, and modems that can be
connected to the time-sharing system.
OP. SYS = Operating system used (usually a version of AT&T's
Unix). 7/4.1 means AT&T version 7 port with Berkeley
4.1 enhancements. V means AT&T System V. 4.2
is the "pure" 4.2 Berkeley version of Unix.
RSX-11M+ is a non-Unix multiuser/multitasking "real
time" system supplied by Digital Equipment Corp.
C F77
benchmarks = the no. of seconds it takes to compile/run
one of two benchmark programs. fmsample.c is
used for the language C and miller.f is used for
the language F77 (Fortran 77).
WAR = length of warranty on system package
CHI REP = Is there a Chicago representative for the system?
K$ = price of system in thousands of dollars.
Table 2. *****BENCHMARK COMPARISONS*****
COMPUTER LMC DUAL 83/30 I.S. 5/10 IBMCS9000 PDP11/34 VAX 11/780
fpu? yes no no no yes no
PROGRAM comp\exec comp\exec comp\exec comp\exec comp\exec comp\exec
hello.c 28.2\ - 8.7\ - 3.8\ - 3.4\.064 25.2\ - 2.2\ -
fmsample.c 48.5\51.6 19.8\625. 7.9\376. 8.6\180. 59.2\46.9 5.2\13.6
whetstone.c 80.2\ 3.0 35.1\24.8 - \ - 14.2\10.0 48.9\ 2.2 8.5\ 1.3
miller.f 64.4\107. 24.4\200. - \ - - \ - - \ - 6.0\37.4
tesfft.f 109.\ 7.4 27.4\ 2.4 - \ - - \ - - \ - 14.8\0.6
sieve.f 68.1\ 4.2 19.5\ 1.0 - \ - - \ - - \ - 7.1\0.5
tesoct.f 72.6\ 9.2 26.7\ 4.3 - \ - - \ - - \ - 11.4\1.1
figures given in seconds