3100 mix and match

[Eric Fielding]

In a recent article envbvs at epb2.lbl.gov (Brian V. Smith) wrote:
>What were the reasons for not using the GPX processor in the DS3100?
>To go to a dumb frame buffer driven by the CPU seems like a giant step
>backward.
>Brian V. Smith    (bvsmith at lbl.gov)

I can't comment on DEC's reasoning, but the people in the department next door
told me that the DS3100 seems to outperform the VAXstation 3540 at some
graphics tasks.  Especially since there is no documented way to access the 
special graphics processors in the 3540.  It would also seem like it would
agree with the 'RISC' philosophy to avoid putting complex operations into
hardware or firmware.
					++Eric Fielding
eric at geology.tn.cornell.edu