Computer Economics Inc, the Carlsbad, California-based financial analysts, say that the street prices for the newest generation of CMOS mainframes may fall below $5,000 per MIPS – a figure is based on actual negotiated selling prices rather than the initial offering prices from vendors. IBM G5 mainframes will sell at an average of $4,945 per MIPS once they ship in the fourth quarter, says the firm. This compares with $4,203 per MIPS for Amdahl Corp’s Millennium 800 machines, due onto the market in the following quarter. But these prices, says Ed Pasahow of Computer Economics, will be available to aggressive buyers only. Meanwhile, total cost of ownership for IBM mainframes will run at about 11% above those of Amdahl. Software is also cheaper for Amdahl users who take advantage of Amdahl’s Multiple Server Feature credits. But IBM hardware needs less highly skilled and expensive staff to keep it running because of the many end-user packages offered. Facilities and maintenance costs are likely to be similar.
