24 Jan
2017
24 Jan
'17
5:59 p.m.
On 01/24/2017 05:49 PM, Eric Smith wrote:
It actually wasn't *that* expensive. Well, the
development system
was hideously expensive, but the chips weren't. The General Data
Processor (GDP, the "main" processor) was two chips, which together
cost about $100 in modest quantities, and the Interface Processor
(IP, an I/O channel interface that worked in conjunction with a 8-bit
or 16-bit microprocessor) was about $50. While that's a lot more
expensive than an 8088, it was supposed to be a high-end processor,
not a low-end processor like the 8088. It's more appropriate to
compare it to the early pricing of the 80286 with 80287.
Admittedly, this was before the 432 was released in any form, but I
recall "Fast Eddie" our Intel sales guy quoting us about $1K for a
chipset--this would have been about 1982. That was expensive in
anyone's book.
--Chuck