I was the person from API that showed you guys the Mandelbrot demo. It was the open-sourced Xaos package, recompiled with the Compaq C compilers for the most optimised images.
We also showed Rasmol, Seti at home and POVray+PVM distributed across 2 processors in an SMP UP2000 system. If I had more systems (and I wanted more, but just couldn't get them in time), POVray would have screamed.
The show was great. Lots of awesome attendees. LOTS of interest in the new UP1100.
How about open-sourcing the CompileFarm setup and environment so us Alpha guys can put up a couple of systems for folks to compile away? This way the systems look the same from a users standpoint.
Samsung is the primary supplier of Alpha chips to Compaq. Intel also fabs Alphas at the Hudson, Ma. fab. That fab used to be owned by DEC. StrongARM was also fabbed there.
API, a.k.a. Alpha Processor Inc., is a Samsung company. API/Samsung have an architectural license to Alpha. Intel does not.
Almost any card that is supported in XFree will work. The major exception is the Nvidia cards. They make BIOS calls that are not supported by the x86 BIOS emulator.
The API UP1000 is the only Alpha currently availabe with AGP.
That MSM3300 chip has got to be one of the most impressive chips I've read about in a long time. It has just about everything built in. Bluetooth, GPS, memory card controller, ARM7, etc..
Phones in 2 years are going to be SO different. I can't wait. My StarTac digital (pre-WAP enabled. Damn!) is feeling long in the tooth already.
mike
Re:COmpetition? There is no competition!
on
1.4-1.6 GHz Alphas
·
· Score: 1
If you want a fair comparison, compare the 275MHz Alpha against a Pentium 75. That's about the era those came out.
There's a big difference between a 600MHz EV5 and a 600MHz EV6. (about 2x!)
POVray on my EV6 runs REALLY fast.
mike
Re:COmpetition? There is no competition!
on
1.4-1.6 GHz Alphas
·
· Score: 2
You can get an EV67-based 600MHz 2MB cache UP1000 SYSTEM for $3000. That includes software. Ads are running here on Slashdot and Freshmeat.
Yea, it's not $1500, but if you need what Alpha has, it's a good price.
Actually, if they are running Exchange Server, the email and its attachments are only stored once. So, if you do send the 4.7 meg "Chimp picks nose while skydiving naked.mpg" to everyone in the company, the contents are stored once and referenced to each persons mailbox.
mike (who visited Microsoft a couple of times during the Exchange beta and saw the "deer caught in the headlights incredulous look" when I asked them about single user mailbox restorations. "We decided that wasn't needed for the first release" was the answer. "Ok, so I have to restore the whole message store, ie: SYSTEM, to retrieve a single important email?" "Er...yea...But you'll never need to do that!" me: "Er..yea..right..uh-huh")
If you want more performance for your Alpha running Linux, then download the Compaq compilers. C and Fortran. No charge for personal use. Cheap for commercial use.
http://www.compaq.com/linux/software
gcc is fine for most things, but if you have an Alpha and you are doing lots of floating point, it behooves you to try the Compaq compilers. There's 8-10 years of optimization in them!
Slashdot Mirror
To pick a minor nit:
It's not Ultrix running on DEC Alphas. It's Tru64, formerly known as Digital Unix.
Ultrix ran on MIPS-based boxes in the very early 90's.
I was the person from API that showed you guys the Mandelbrot demo. It was the open-sourced Xaos package, recompiled with the Compaq C compilers for the most optimised images.
We also showed Rasmol, Seti at home and POVray+PVM distributed across 2 processors in an SMP UP2000 system. If I had more systems (and I wanted more, but just couldn't get them in time), POVray would have screamed.
The show was great. Lots of awesome attendees. LOTS of interest in the new UP1100.
How about open-sourcing the CompileFarm setup and environment so us Alpha guys can put up a couple of systems for folks to compile away? This way the systems look the same from a users standpoint.
:)
Oh, and you can run benchmarks on ours.
FYI:I work at API
That's not a Compaq Alpha, it's an API Alpha motherboard. http://www.alpha-processor.com I work at API.
Yes you can get a new Alpha for under $3500US.
Go to http://www.alpha-processor.com and sign up for the developer program. You can get a new 21264-based system with AGP graphics for $2999.
mike (I work for API)
Why not just download the compilers and math libs that have been ported from Tru64 to Linux?
http://www.compaq.com/linux
Is it any more eerie than guys pretty much in love with Linux?
Don't get me wrong, Linux is cool, but nothing beats VMS.
FWIW, in my past life, I was a system admin in the VMS Development group at DEC. Now I push Linux. I miss VMS.
EV7 systems aren't out yet. Maybe you meant EV67?
(EV6=.35 EV67=.25 EV68=.18micron)
mike
Samsung is the primary supplier of Alpha chips to Compaq. Intel also fabs Alphas at the Hudson, Ma. fab. That fab used to be owned by DEC. StrongARM was also fabbed there.
API, a.k.a. Alpha Processor Inc., is a Samsung company. API/Samsung have an architectural license to Alpha. Intel does not.
mike (I work at API)
Almost any card that is supported in XFree will work. The major exception is the Nvidia cards. They make BIOS calls that are not supported by the x86 BIOS emulator.
The API UP1000 is the only Alpha currently availabe with AGP.
I work for API
You can get a $2999 Alpha by visiting http://www.alpha-processor.com and signing up for the development platform.
This is a 600MHz/2MB cache Alpha with AGP. We've been running banner ads on Slashdot and Freshmeat for a few weeks now.
disclosure: I work for API
Nautilus is the code name for the Alpha Processor Inc. (API) UP1000 motherboard, not the Gnome stuff.
The Alpha directory is for the Alpha processor, not alpha as in beta.
I work for API.
We nuke it from orbit.. It's the only way to be sure.
That MSM3300 chip has got to be one of the most impressive chips I've read about in a long time. It has just about everything built in. Bluetooth, GPS, memory card controller, ARM7, etc..
Phones in 2 years are going to be SO different. I can't wait. My StarTac digital (pre-WAP enabled. Damn!) is feeling long in the tooth already.
mike
If you want a fair comparison, compare the 275MHz Alpha against a Pentium 75. That's about the era those came out.
There's a big difference between a 600MHz EV5 and a 600MHz EV6. (about 2x!)
POVray on my EV6 runs REALLY fast.
mike
You can get an EV67-based 600MHz 2MB cache UP1000 SYSTEM for $3000. That includes software. Ads are running here on Slashdot and Freshmeat.
Yea, it's not $1500, but if you need what Alpha has, it's a good price.
Speaking of price, what IS a good price?
mike (I work at API)
Where do you think AMD got their fast bus? It's
the Alpha EV6 bus.
mike (I work at API)
Or ditch NT and run VMS on Alpha's. Now you're talking REAL clusters.
Maybe we can combine the two?
"The Apes of Hazzard"
Just two good ol' apes..
Never meanin' no harm
Beats all the humans down, smacks'em to the ground
since the day they was born
Actually, if they are running Exchange Server, the email and its attachments are only stored once. So, if you do send the 4.7 meg "Chimp picks nose while skydiving naked.mpg" to everyone in the company, the contents are stored once and referenced to each persons mailbox.
mike (who visited Microsoft a couple of times during the Exchange beta and saw the "deer caught in the headlights incredulous look" when I asked them about single user mailbox restorations. "We decided that wasn't needed for the first release" was the answer. "Ok, so I have to restore the whole message store, ie: SYSTEM, to retrieve a single important email?" "Er...yea...But you'll never need to do that!" me: "Er..yea..right..uh-huh")
http://lethal.xs4all.nl/lockpick/lock1/mit-guide.h tml is where I found the MIT Lockpicking Guide. Use it at your own risk :) :) mike
The poster, #14, mentioned that gcc wasn't optimized for Alpha Linux. The Compaq compilers are.
If you want more performance for your Alpha running Linux, then download the Compaq compilers.
C and Fortran. No charge for personal use. Cheap for commercial use.
http://www.compaq.com/linux/software
gcc is fine for most things, but if you have an Alpha and you are doing lots of floating point, it behooves you to try the Compaq compilers. There's 8-10 years of optimization in them!
mike
Yea, they are working on their Win64 stuff for IA-64 by doing the development on Alpha!
Too bad none of us will ever see it.
http://www.compaq.com/partners/netscape/downloads/ register_nav4_Linux.html