[Info-vax] Why it is a good idea that OpenVMS isn't on x86-64 just yet

[Kerry Main]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Info-vax [mailto:info-vax-bounces at info-vax.com] On Behalf Of
> Johnny Billquist via Info-vax
> Sent: 18-Jan-16 5:58 AM
> To: info-vax at info-vax.com
> Cc: Johnny Billquist <bqt at softjar.se>
> Subject: Re: [New Info-vax] Why it is a good idea that OpenVMS isn't on
> x86-64 just yet
> 
> On 2016-01-18 09:59, Hans Vlems wrote:
> > The 11/750 was a nice cost effective alternative to the 11/780 at the
> time it was launched. The 11/780 had a serious price tag. Just the box
> itself with memory, no peripherals, would be around $750.000 (iirc :). For
> that money you had quite a nice 11/750 configuration at 60% of the
> performance and less than half the power bill. I cannot remember the
> cost of VMS and layered products, the 11/750 would save a lot of money
> there too I'd expect.
> > The 11/780 was just meeting its design specifications while rumor had it
> that the 11/750 was slowed down because without that it nearly ran as
> fast as the 11/780.
> 
> I sortof doubt they intentionally slowed down the 11/750. But in its
> time, it was a nice system. As you say, the only alternative was the
> 11/780, which was *way* larger.
> 
> The 11/730, on the other hand, went too far, I think. Smaller than the
> 11/750, but not by that much, since the 11/750 was already pretty small.
> But the performance of the 11/730... Ugh.
> 
> 11/750 was pretty successful, as far as I can remember. You could see
> them almost everywhere. Still plenty of them running 10 years later.
> 
> 	Johnny
> 
> --

Most system vendors systems are driven by marketing and positioning
to target markets. 

One possible example is things like removing NOOP's in ucode, adding a 
few tweaks & selling the new ucode as an enhancement to an existing 
system. Yes, they might throw in a new label to attach to the system, add 
new p/n's etc so it has the appearances and justification for the $'s spent.

They might also do things like purposely slowing down benchmarks on
one system so that a more favored system from the marketing groups
is easier to position as "better".

Pure speculation of course ..

:-)

Regards,

Kerry Main
Kerry dot main at starkgaming dot com