Unisys Corp has introduced a new family of Pentium-based symmetric multiprocessors: the U6000/500 series. An extension of the U6000/300, and sitting below the Symmetry-based U6000 Model 75 and 85, the new boxes feature high speed bus technology, and are claimed to be the first systems on the market to be Intel Corp P6-ready. The series includes a dual processor Pentium 500 Model 20, and a one- to five-processor Model 50. A two- to eight-processor Model 80, with dual power supply and cooling technology, is set to be launched by year-end. The 500s feature a 533Mbps Synchronous Coherent Multiprocessor bus that can support three generations of Intel chips: 60MHz Pentiums now, 90MHz Pentiums by year-end, and P6 chips some time towards the end of 1995. The Synchronous Coherent Multiprocessor bus is classified as passive backplane architecture, meaning that the intelligence is built into the boards attached to the backplane, enabling different types of memory and processors to be attached. There is also a 200Mbps Split Transaction input-output bus using the Peripheral Component Interconnect chip set to boost transaction processing performance and support quad SCSI and quad Ethernet devices. An additional EISA bus supports personal computer peripherals. UK prices start from UKP10,000 for the Model 20. Unisys has also lowered the price of its five-processor U6000/65, now using the 80486DX4, and launched a new low-end to its Sequent Computer Systems Inc-sourced line, the 600/72P. The systems have been upgraded to Pentium chips, and Unisys says it will continue to work with Sequent at the high end of its range: in the UK the two announced a new joint marketing initiative.
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