[Info-vax] VAX 6000 on Young Sheldon

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 2/12/2023 6:08 PM, Dave Froble wrote:
> On 2/12/2023 3:14 PM, Steven Schweda wrote:
>>> The difference in floating point performance between a straight 11/780
>>> and a Sparcstation I was absolutely staggering. [...]
>>
>>    Well, duh.  "absolutely staggering" is how I might describe the _age_
>> of a VAX-11/780 when the SPARCstation 1 was released (1989).  A decade
>> later, the SPARCstation 1 might have been less impressive, too.  (As I
>> recall, it was.)
> 
> Perhaps cost is an issue?  The cost of a VAX 11/780 back then, even 
> after 11 years, might still be on one's mind, and the reason it still 
> might be in use.

I think you are on to something.

What did a SPARCstation 1 cost in 1989?

What did a VAX 780 (let us say maxed out with memory)
cost in 1979?

The cost of the VAX 780 may have give expectations of the
system running for 10-20 years and not the 5 years
that has become custom for the "cheap" stuff.

Arne