Improving Information for Social Policy Decisions -- The Uses of Microsimulation Modeling: Volume II, Technical Papers (1991)
Chapter: Advances in Computer Processors
introductions priced on the technical cost curve compared with introductions initially priced at or below cost to obtain market penetration.28
Advances in Computer Processors
The trend in the performance-price ratio of processors is of interest in anticipating the computing power that will be available in 1995 to support the implementation and use of microanalytic simulation models. Processing power is often measured in MIPS, millions of instructions per second.29 With respect to processing units, the following recent information provides some notion of current and near future developments:
An IEEE Micro article30 reported that “the 32-bit i486 (80486) microprocessor provides 20 VAX-equivalent MIPS at clock speeds up to 33 MHz.” The current price for the i486 is $950 in lots of 1,000.
A Computer Systems News article31 reported that “Intel’s 80486 matches the performance of Motorola’s recently introduced 68040…. The 486 equals the 68040’s 1.2 million transistors and offers an equivalent level of integration, comprising a floating-point unit, integer unit, memory management unit and caches. With the debut of the 486, both companies now offer 32-bit complex microprocessors in the 12- to 15-MIPS range along with high-powered RISC-based chips.”
The New York Times32 reported that “Bipolar Integrated Technology has introduced a version of Sun’s SPARC microprocessor based on ECL technology that runs at up to 65 MIPS.”
Coprocessor boards announced by Du Pont and Tektronix that are to run with the Macintosh II achieve speeds of 14–17 MIPS.33
