RE: IA64

[John Leuner <jewel@pixie.co.za>]

> >> My Favorite IA64 Opcode-guess ( see arch/ia64/lib/memset.S )
> >> "br.ret.spnt.few" - got back from getting beer, did not spend a lot.
>    
> >As a non-Alpha user (but an aspirant one), I'm curious to know how 
> >the 'community' sees IA64? Is it perceived as a threat? Would alpha 
> >users be persuaded to switch over easily?
>    
> As an Alpha user for many years (VMS mostly; just starting on Linux/Alpha), 
> when my main commerical application stopped supporting VMS and now works 
> only on NT, I requested an NT/Alpha machine (SPECfp be damned; both the 
> commerical application and my own applications run 3 times as fast on an 
> Alpha as a PIII at the same clock speed, and this is a 21164, not a 21264).

I think higher-end architectures always look like less-bang-for-the-buck
because you fail to take into account the whole package, eg the bus
speeds, SMP implementation etc. 

But in the case of the Alpha the processor is definitely not inferior
to the IA32 alternatives. 

> However, I was told by my IS department that MS no longer supports 
> NT/Alpha.  If this is true, IA64 is of course a big threat, but not due to 
> any technical superiority of the chip (sorry about your next question, but 
> I'm not knowledgeable about the IA64 architectural merits), only due to 
> marketing.  As the number of Alpha chips and machines decreases (due to the 
> absence of the NT market), the prices will rise, causing the number to 
> again decrease...

Do you know roughly how many of the Alpha boxes sold were running /
destined for NT?

John Leuner