Prime Computer Inc yesterday accompanied the expected Prime Information Plus Pick implementation for Unix with a a new series of EXL systems using RISC-based hardware bought OEM from MIPS Computer Systems Inc. The EXL 7000 Series includes the 7330, 7340 and 7360 models using the MIPS R3000 CMOS chip, and the 7680 using the ECL R6000. Prime Information Plus is binary compatible with the original version, wriiten for the company’s 50 Series minis, giving Prime around 100 available applications, with 4,000 or so Pick applications easily transferable from the Pick world. Prime Information Plus is $1,400 for four users, rising to $120,000 for 500 and more users, and is available now on the EXL 7000s. Oracle has also been implemented for the new machines, and further database announcements are to come. The company will sell the new MIPS line through its value-added resellers, as well as direct. Prime has taken out a corporate architecture licence with MIPS, which gives it the option of further development work in the future. Prime also sells MIPS-based workstations from Silicon Graphics Inc for CAD/CAM applications. Meanwhile the company said it has agreed with Sequent Computer Systems to end its OEM agreement for multi-processor EXL systems. The company said that some $550m worth of its $1,000m hardware sales last year were Unix-based. The EXL 7000 Series includes four systems – 7330, 7340, 7360 and 7680 – with performance ranging from 25 MIPS to 68 MIPS. EXL 7000 System prices go from $18,000 for a 7330 to $150,000 for the 7680.
