Ken Hornstein wrote
> 
> So, I've been playing around with this AXPpci 33 machine lately ... and
> it seems to me that it's just not very fast at all.  It compiles a kernel
> about as fast as my 486/66DX2 (a mostly useless benchmark, I know, but
> still ... ).  It's just "feels" sluggish, and this machine has 48 MB memory.
> 
> Is it supposed to be reasonably fast?  The only thing that I can think is
> that since it only has 256KB of backup cache, it's getting lots of cache
> misses.  Would upgrading to 1MB of backup cache improve the speed greatly?
> 
> (Note that I'm sure this isn't a NetBSD issue, as it came installed with
> Linux, and even the "super-optimized" Linux felt just as sluggish).

The AXPpci isn't the fasted. I rate it as the entry level to the
DEC-Alpha platform for the monetary dis-advantaged ;)

Nevertheless, the DEC benchmarks were obtained using 1MB-15ns
cache. I have sourced a supplier but haven't bought them yet as I was
hoping that the prices are still on the move down (around DM330 ex tax
from a supplier in Berlin).

Besides this, it performs quite nicely as a fileserver on the LAN.
Its runs the mail exchange, news-server, web-server, web-cache,
msql etc. pp. and was very reliable so far. I use the intel-boxes as
terminal servers and workstations 8)

I wouldn't mind running XWindows but there are no XServers available
supporting PCI-VGA graphic cards on netbsd/alpha - doh. 

cheerio Berndt
-- 
Name	: Berndt Josef Wulf
E-Mail	: wulf@ping.net.au
Sysinfo	: DEC AXPpci33+, NetBSD-1.2