DEC is reconsidering its strategy for the forthcoming top-end VAX processor, code-named Aridus because it is an air-cooled dry – version of a water-cooled ECL CPU that has been abandoned – and may come out with one version for business and a differently cheaper version for scientific and technical users, where DEC fears erosion of its base, but use a 30 MIPS version of the processor in both. According to Electronic News, the plan had been to make the cheaper version a 21 MIPS version of the processor – achieved by using a slower clock speed. VAX MIPS are generally reckoned to be about two thirds of IBM MIPS, so the uniprocessor performance should approach that of the full 3090 uniprocessor. The business version is expected to be offered with up to four processors and in that configuration to deliver at least 100 VAX MIPS – 66 IBM MIPS or close to a 3090-300. The technical version is expected to be limited to two processors, although the quad version is not likely to appear until six months after the single and dual processor models. The machines are expected to arrive later this year, but before then, a 7 MIPS processor for the VAX 6000 line is expected. DEC has also considered offering VAXclusters of four of the quad processor Aridus machines to create a complex delivering 400 MIPS.
