Tektronix Inc is claiming leadership in the X-terminal performance stakes with the launch of a new range of high-end X-terminals. The XP350 Series are the first to use the LSI Logic Corp 33020 (33MHz) version of the MIPS R3000 RISC processor. Tektronix says it helped LSI integrate the graphics co-processor into the chip. Previously, the company used a separate Texas Instruments Inc graphics chip, still used in lower-end models. The result is an X-terminal rated at 120,000 XStones, compared with the 90,300 XStones of its nearest rival, the Hewlett-Packard Co HP 700/RX. There are three models: the XP354 19 greyscale, and the XP35 17 and XP358 19 256 colour models, with UK prices starting at UKP2,150 and rising to UKP4,550 for the XP358. The terminals run X11.5 and XPressWare V6.2, Tektronix’s bundle of local client emulation, windowing, printing and adminstration software. The company says that most of its performance gains come from optimising the software: its XP11 model, introduced in September 1991, has increased in performance from 30,000 to 80,000 XStones without changes to the hardware, claimed Martin Jowett of Tektronix UK. Tektronix, which shipped 18,000 X-terminals in 1992, and hopes to shift around 36,000 this year, still counts computer graphics and printers as one of its core businesses: the division contributed 21% of revenues to the company last year (test and measurement took 57%, and television systems 22%).
