eric@milo.UUCP (08/30/84)
We are looking into the possiblity of getting a Pyramid. We would be interested in hearing what other customers have to say about them. Do they really have the performance the claim? How solid is the hardware and the software? What about support, both off- and on-site. Does the ethernet interface work, and how well. In general, do you like the machine? The price/performance ratio looks pretty astounding, and in fact, the whole thing looks a little too good to be true, so is this really the bargain of the century, or are there some rough edges that can cause us some problems? If there is enough interest, I'll summarize to the net. -- eric ...!seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!eric
mike@BRL-TGR.ARPA (09/06/84)
From: Mike Muuss <mike@BRL-TGR.ARPA> Pyramids are nifty machines, and well worth considering. However, you should also consider the Gould PowerNode machines (PN 60xx, PN 90xx -- formerly the Concept32/67 and 32/97). Both Pyramid and Gould offer comparable price/performance, and both offer 4.2 BSD, TCP/IP over ethernet, etc. Depending on your configuraiton and applications, one may be a better choice for you than the other. Price advantage will flip-flop back and forth depending on configuration. Either machine is worth owning. One of the most attractive features of the Gould machines is factory supported Dual-CPU upgrades (George Goble [Purdue] style). It's really nice being able to double the compute power for a modest extra cost. Also appealing is the broad spectrum of equipment offered by Gould; it's really nice to be able to replace your 3 MIP machine with a 10 MIP machine and keep all the peripherals, memory, disk controllers, etc! In a subsequent letter, I'll post our benchmark results between the VAX and the Gould. Best, -Mike Muuss (301)-278-6678 AV 283-6678 FTS 939-6678 ArpaNet: Mike @ BRL UUCP: ...!{decvax,cbosgd}!brl-bmd!mike Postal: Mike Muuss Leader, Advanced Computer Systems Team Computer Techniques and Analysis Branch Systems Engineering and Concepts Analysis Division U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory Attn: AMXBR-SECAD (Muuss) APG, MD 21005