Control Data Corp promised a line of machines based on the MIPS Computer Systems Inc RISC products back at Unix Expo last October, and last week came out with the new 4000 Series, which comprises four models (CI No 1,346). The top-end 4680 is based on the MIPS R6280 data server, which uses a bipolar, VLSI reduced instruction set R6000 chip, giving a claimed 55 MIPS, 10 MFLOPS performance rating. Like its MIPS counterpart, the 4680 has an advanced input-output subsystem that includes multiple independent VME buses for a cumulative 200Mbytes-per-second bandwidth, capable of supporting 400 to 500 simultaneous users. CDC positions the machine against DEC’s VAX 9000 systems, but at a fraction of the price. At the mid-range and low-end, CDC offers the 4380, 4360 and 4340 models rated at 18 to 20 VAX MIPS. The company promises that later this year its mainframe users will be able to couple the new systems tightly to NOS/VE Cyber systems using a high speed point-to-point link. Available in May, the 4680 costs $152,000 for a 32Mb system expandable to 256Mb, with 655Mb disk, expandable to 18Gb, system with Ethernet and SCSI controllers and quarter inch tape drive. The low-end systems begin at $30,000.
