12 COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Table 2. Using New Technology for Constant Price and Constant Performance Designs
|
Introduction (generation) |
Time |
|||
|
t |
t+1 |
t+1 |
t+1 |
|
|
Design style |
Base case |
Constant price/ increased performance |
Constant performance/ |
Constant performance/ decreased price |
|
Application |
Base |
Base |
Base |
New base |
|
Computer price |
1 |
1 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
|
Operating costs(range) |
2-4 |
2-4 |
2-4 |
1-2 |
|
Total cost |
3-5 |
3-5 |
2.5-4.5 |
1 .5-2.5 |
|
Performance(and improvement) |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
Improvement(in total cost) |
1 |
1 |
0.83-0.9 |
0.5 |
|
Performance/price(computer only |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Performance/ total cost |
0.33-0.2 |
0.66-0.4 |
0.4-0.22 |
0.66-0.4 |
|
Improvement(in performance/total cost) |
1 |
2 |
1.21-1.1 |
2 |
considers the high fixed overhead costs associated with the application (columns 1-3), there is a relatively small improvement in performance/cost, although there has been a cost savings of 17 to 10 percent. The greatest gains come in applying the computer with greater performance and getting the attendant factor of 2 gain in performance and in price/performance ratio.
To summarize, the constant price/increased performance design style gives a better gain be cause operating costs remain the same. Its gain can only be equalled by the constant-performance design style when operating costs are halved upon its application. This only occurs when a new application is tackled, such as that shown in column 4.
Computer Classes
Applying the three design styles shown in Figure 9 over several generations produces the plot given in Figure 11. These figures lead to one of the most interesting results of the Marketplace View, which is that computer classes can be distinguished by price and named as follows: submicro (to come in the next generation - say by 1980), micro, mini, midi, maxi, and super. The classes midi and maxi are sometimes referred to by the single, nondescriptive name, mainframe.
When one distinguishes computer classes by price, a new range of price can be made possible by new technology and create a new class. The