🚀 go-pugleaf

In comp.sys.transputer <94900@rphroy.ph.gmr.com>
Walt Stuart <wjs@re3sc139h.gmr.com> writes:

> Are there any OEMs listening out there who have received or begun
> development of board products using T9000 ?  It's been a while
> since I've heard a reliable status of the chip.  Does it have
> the virtual channel capability yet ? What about the packet routing
> chip availability ? 

I'm not sure that I would consider myself an OEM; but I have just finished
talking to representatives from Inmos, Parsytec, and Transatec about the
T9000 (and other things) and I can perhaps summarize the impressions I got:

  (1) A fully functional T9000 including the virtual channel capability
      will be ready around March 1993. This will not be a 50-Mhz part, but
      will run somewhere around 25-40 MHz. The link speed should still be
      100 Mbits/sec (this part doesn't make too much sense to me but that's
      what I was told!). The price should be around $600.

  (2) The 50 MHz T9000 should be out around September 1993. The price should
      be around $900.

  (3) The C104 (32x32 multiplexer -- the T9000 equivalent of the C004) won't be
      out until June 1993. In the meantime there is an 8x8 implementation as an
      ASIC (C103) -- this is either available now or soon; I did not pay too
      much attention since I doubt that I will use it.

  (4) The C100 (T9000 link adapter) should also be available early in 1993.

  (5) The software to develop T9000 code will be first available for SUN
      platforms. The IBM-PC/DOS version (the one I'm interested in) should
      be out three weeks after the introduction of the T9000 -- i.e. around 
      April 1993. Unlike the older D705 and D7205 this will (also?) run on the
      host processor (486 for example). Of course you will still need a link 
      adapter card on your PC bus to download the code to the target 
      transputers. A 50 MHz 486 should compile and link OCCAM code a bit 
      faster than a T800.

  (6) Parsytec expects to have deliverable T9000 products by June 1993 --
      the specific item I asked about was a T9000 on a VME bus. Judging
      by the delivery dates above it doesn't look like anyone will have
      any products before this date and even then it will be with the slow
      T9000.

This information is somewhat discouraging and I would be more than glad to
find out that things are not so gloomy. Along with the other Transputer
faithfuls I will probably end up waiting for the T9000 until *whenever* it
comes out; but for now I am forced to use another processor for a contract
that must be completed by August 1993. I will be getting a number of
Transatec's i860-T800 modules ($7500 a pop for an 860 with 16 MByte DRAM,
and a T800 with 4 MByte DRAM). This is definitely not my first choice but
it's the only product that can do the job *now*.

Jacob Hirbawi
JcbHrb@CERF.net