MasPar Computer Corp, Jeff Kalb’s Sunnyvale, California-based single instruction-multiple data massively parallel supercomputer company from which Digital Equipment Corp gets one of its supercomputer offerings, is expected to launch the MP-2, its second generation mid-range machine before the year’s out. Electronic News hears that the new MasPar machine will offer three times the performance of the company’s two-year-old MP-1 system, but at the same price. That would give a peak throughput of 3.6 GFLOPS on a maximum 16,384-CPU configuration costing $1.2m. The new system will again be based on a custom CMOS microprocessor, 32 of which will be integrated onto one chip. The new processor is expected to operate in 8-bit mode rather than the 4-bit approach used in the MP-1 (processors sourced from Sierra Semiconductor Corp); theoretically, the MasPar architecture could be expanded to 64 bits. In the meantime, the trade weekly reports, Kalb is attempting to get DEC to clarify its supercomputer strategy in the wake of its announcement that it will also sell Intel Corp’s iPSC machines. DEC accounts for half MasPar’s sales (Kalb would prefer it if that fell to 33%), and the firm is concerned that if DEC fails to position the ostensibly competiting parallel lines clearly, potential customers will be confused.
