sunflash-Distributed to mailing list sun/NC/north-carolina sunflash-Send requests, problems to owner-sunflash@suntri.east.sun.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash Sun Introduces Two New Desktop Families SunFLASH Vol 63 #101 March 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 63.101 Sun Introduces Two New Desktop Families SPARCstation 5 and SPARCstation 20 The new mid-range SPARCstation 5 and high-end SPARCstation 20 computers, sharing a new pizza box chassis design, deliver unprecedented expandability and upgradability. These machines bring Sun desktops to new performance levels and demonstrate the company's long-term commitment to turning high-end options into standard features. (240 lines) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUN REDEFINES DESKTOP PRICE/FUNCTIONALITY WITH TWO NEW DESKTOP FAMILIES Fully Equipped, Low-Cost Systems Aimed at Networked Enterprises MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- March 29, 1994 -- Two powerful SPARCstation(TM) desktop families introduced today by Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation (SMCC) shatter the workstation price model. These networked desktops include a mid-range workstation costing just $3,995 and a high-end workstation starting at only $12,195. In addition, SMCC is cutting the price of its entry-level SPARCclassic(TM) to $2,995, making it the lowest-cost, fully configured color workstation at any price. In addition to this aggressive pricing, SMCC has designed new levels of functionality into these workstations. The new mid-range SPARCstation 5 and high-end SPARCstation 20 computers, sharing a new pizza box chassis design, deliver unprecedented expandability and upgradability. These machines bring Sun(R) desktops to new performance levels and demonstrate the company's long-term commitment to turning high-end options into standard features. SPARCstation 5: Best Value For Enterprise Desktops The new SPARCstation 5 system is the industry's best value among networked enterprise desktops. The workstation delivers powerful CPU performance, unmatched expandability, robust multimedia capabilities (video, audio, graphics and imaging), and can run a broad range of user applications -- including those available on the Solaris(R) operating environment, as well as Macintosh(R), DOS and leading Microsoft(R) Windows programs -- all for an entry price of $3,995. With its new 70MHz and 85MHz microSPARC II processors -- featuring a quadrupled cache, doubled floating point performance and enhanced memory management -- the SPARCstation 5 has twice the application performance of its predecessor, the Sun SPARCstation LX, at a lower price. The new workstation is rated at 64 SPECint92/54.6 SPECfp92 for the 85 MHz model and 57 SPECint92/47 SPECfp92 for the 70 MHz model. The SPARCstation 5 uses a new "pizza box" package, which gives users unmatched expandability: up to 2 gigabytes of internal storage, up to 40 gigabytes of external storage, and up to 256 megabytes of main memory. The workstation's packaging also gives users unprecedented functionality at this price with three SBus expansion slots, an optional internal slim-line CD-ROM drive, optional internal 3.5-inch floppy drive and high-quality audio. In addition, because the pizza box is identical to that used in the new SPARCstation 20, users can upgrade to the higher-performance workstation with a simple and inexpensive motherboard swap. The workstation can also accommodate SMCC's 2-D and 3-D graphics accelerators -- TurboGX(TM), TurboGXplus(TM) and the SPARCstation ZX card. "The SPARCstation 5 is the first universal desktop," said Jay Puri, vice president of product marketing at SMCC. "It's a powerful, expandable and elegantly designed UNIX(R) workstation that runs a wide range of diverse applications -- including Windows and Solaris -- and costs less than the majority of equally configured networked personal computers. It raises the bar for entry-level networked desktops in terms of feature set at an attractive price." The $3,995 model SPARCstation 5 desktop (based on a 70 MHz microSPARC II CPU) includes a 15-inch color monitor, 535-megabyte hard disk and 16 megabytes of memory. SPARCstation 5 configurations based on the 85 MHz microSPARC II start at $11,395 and include a 20-inch color monitor, 32 megabytes of memory, 1 gigabyte of storage and the TurboGX graphics accelerator. All prices are U.S. only. SPARCstation 20: The Leading MP Desktop The SPARCstation 20 family is SMCC's new flagship workstation line, with an unmatched combination of high-end workstation performance and functionality at a remarkably low price. Available in multiprocessor and uniprocessor versions, the SPARCstation 20 boasts up to a 75 percent price/performance improvement over the SPARCstation 10, the world's best-selling workstation and leading multiprocessor desktop. Entry level configurations of the SPARCstation 20 systems achieve better performance from a 25 percent faster motherboard, faster ASICs and from 50MHz SuperSPARC(TM) processors. Higher-performance versions of the workstations get a performance boost from the faster motherboard and ASICS and from 60MHz chips. This is the first Sun system to use 60MHz SuperSPARC processors in some of its models. The SPARCstation 20 is also the first workstation line in the industry to include -- as a standard feature -- the full complement of graphics computing capabilities: 24-bit true color; unmatched desktop image processing performance (panning, zooming, convolutions, etc.); 3-D, Gouraud-shaded, Z-buffered graphics; fast 2-D graphics; and accelerated video playback. "We've taken the best parts of our SPARCstation SX visual computing technology, added even better 2-D and 3-D performance, and included it all with the SPARCstation 20 at no extra cost," said Puri. "We are leading the way in making high-performance visual computing capabilities standard." For users needing more specialized graphics power, SPARCstation 20 systems can be combined with the full range of graphics accelerator options from SMCC, giving users the fastest 2-D workstation in its class (when combined with the TurboGXplus accelerator), the fastest 3-D workstation for under $25,000 (with the SPARCstation ZX accelerator) and fastest 3-D graphics workstation at any price (with Freedom Series accelerators from Evans & Sutherland). The functionality and performance of the SPARCstation 20 were achieved without sacrificing the modularity and expandability of the SPARCstation 10. Users can add faster -- and up to four -- CPUs, increase the memory to 512 megabytes, increase the internal storage to 2 gigabytes or add up to four SBus peripheral cards. And through the use of multiple processors on the SPARCstation 20, SMCC still possesses the fastest workstations in the industry, based on SPECrate benchmarks. The four-processor SPARCstation 20 model 514 offers performance of 6034 SPECrate_int92 and 6752 SPECrate_fp92. The SPARCstation 20 is available in six versions -- the single-processor model 50 (50MHz, no external cache), the single-processor models 51 and 61 (50MHz and 60MHz, respectively, and 1 megabyte of external cache per processor), the dual-processor model 502 (50MHz, no external cache), the dual-processor model 612 (60MHz with two megabytes of external cache), and the four-processor model 514 (50MHz with four megabytes of external cache). Pricing begins at $12,195 for the model 50 with performance of 69 SPECint92 and 78 SPECfp92. The model 61 system delivers 89 SPECint92 and 103 SPECfp92 at a price of $16,195. The entry level multiprocessing system is the model 502, costing $14,195 and delivering performance of 2833 SPECrate_int92 and 2995 SPECrate_fp92. New Workgroup SPARCservers In addition to its new workstations, SMCC introduced the SPARCserver(TM) 5 and SPARCserver 20 systems. The SPARCserver 5 has an entry price of $8,995 for a configuration that includes 32 megabytes of memory and 1 gigabyte of storage. The SPARCserver 20 has an entry price of $12,995 for a configuration that includes 32 megabytes of memory, 1 gigabyte of storage and a CD-ROM drive. These are powerful servers that can be used to increase a workgroup's file sharing throughput, service demanding applications (such as database) or connect a PC LAN or workgroup to the rest of the enterprise. The SPARCserver 5 and SPARCserver 20 complement SMCC's very successful mid-range UNIX servers, the SPARCserver 1000, and the SPARCcenter(TM) 2000 data center server, as well as the lowest-priced UNIX server in the industry, the SPARCclassic server. "We offer the best line-up of scalable, binary compatible UNIX servers in the industry. Our SPARCservers are ready to meet the needs of the entire enterprise," said Carl Stolle, manager of server product marketing at SMCC. SPARCclassic(TM) Price Reduction SMCC also announced that it is reducing the price of its entry-level SPARCclassic(TM) desktop to $2,995, making it the first fully configured color workstation to break the $3,000 barrier. SMCC has long led the industry by introducing breakthrough pricing without sacrificing functionality or stripping configurations. It was the first vendor to break the $4,000 barrier for a fully configured color workstation with the introduction of the SPARCclassic in 1992 -- a price point that remained unmatched by competitors until two months ago. The new $2,995 price for the SPARCclassic includes 16 megabytes of memory, a 15-inch color monitor and 207 megabytes of storage. Multimedia Workstations Multimedia versions of the new workstations are also available. The SPARCstation 20M, with the 50MHz SuperSPARC CPU, the SunVideo(TM) capture/compression card, video camera, and accelerated video playback with the SX technology, costs $14,590. The SPARCclassic M, equipped with a SunVideo capture/compression card and video camera, is now priced at $4,795 (quantity 12) making it the lowest-priced, fully configured multimedia workstation in the industry. In addition, any SPARCstation system can become a multimedia desktop with the addition of the SunVideo capture/compression card and video camera, together costing less than $1,895. Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation (SMCC), the world's top supplier of open network computing solutions, is an operating company of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Built on Sun's legacy of "The Network is the Computer(TM)," SMCC's SPARC(R)/Solaris(R) workstation and server family leads the UNIX market. The company has its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. # # # Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation, SunVideo, TurboGX, TurboGXplus, The Network Is The Computer and Solaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All SPARC trademarks, including SuperSPARC and the SCD/Compliant Logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. SPARCstation, microSPARC and SPARCserver are licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture develope by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX Systems Laboratories, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Novell, Inc. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. ********************************************************************** For information about SunFlash send mail to info-sunflash@Sun.COM. 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