william l brandt wrote in message ...

>I'm still learning about MPE/ix but I believe that the performance
>improvements of the 9x8 series over the 9x7 is only a fairly small margin -
>although if different I'm sure there are enough people on this list with
>charts to correct me ;-)
>
Performance of the 917 unit is basically the same as a 918 unless Floating
Point computation
is done.  The Floating Point Unit is integrated into the CPU chip in a '918;
but on a '917, one
must have an optional Floating Point Co-Processor installed to equal the
'918 (got mine for
about $200 or so).  An advantage of the '917 is that is has on-board battery
backup for memory
and can survive a powerfail without having to buy a UPS.  Also, I think
memory prices seem
to be cheaper for the '917 in my experience.   The '917 and '918 machines
are considerably
more powerful than a Series '70 and are in the class with  '960s or '949s in
CPU performance--
with a much smaller footprint and power requirement.  Just load it up with
memory and and
a floating point unit,  and that '917 will still handle some tough chores.
The 917/927/937/947
boxes all have the same CPU and clock speed, and differ only in the User
License count.

Winston K.