PC Magazine May 31, 1994 v13 n10 p160(1)
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(DeskStation Technology Inc.) (one of 14 evaluations of RISC workstations in 'RISC Workstations: Ready for the Desktop?')
Yegyazarian, Anush
DeskStation Technology's $8,479 DeskStation Tyne v4633x RISC workstation offers excellent performance for just a bit more money than Intel-based workstations. DeckStation's system suffers from the lack of native applications for RISC-based Windows NT systems, but its 133MHz R4600 chip is faster and offers more computing power than the MIPS R4400. The DeckStation Tyne v4633x features 32MB of RAM and a 512KB cache, along with two 525MB IDE drives and a single-speed Chinon CD-ROM. A Tyne VL-bus controller, an Appian video monitor and an SMC Ethernet card are also offered. The system provides only two free ISA slots, but four open drive bays leave ample expansion room. The Tyne RISC system places first among the Windows NT machines on many of the tests, and it places third among all the RISC-based NT systems and the Unix workstation combined in the 16-bit Excel test.
List price: $8,479. Processor/memory: MIPS R4600/133 CPU, 32MB RAM, 512K external cache. Data storage: Two Quantum L540AT 525MB IDE hard disks, Tyan S1345 VL-Bus IDE hard disk controller. Display: Appian Renegade 1280V video controller card with 2MB of VRAM, ViewSonic 7E 17-inch monitor with a 76-Hz refresh rate at 1,280-by-1,024. Software: Microsoft Windows NT.
DeskStation Technology Inc., 13256 West 98th St., Lenexa, Kansas 66215; 800-793-3375; fax, 913-599-4024.
Computational ability GOOD
Expandability EXCELLENT
Engineering/scientific/CAD GOOD
Graphics/publishing EXCELLENT
At $8,479, the DeskStation Tyne v4633x RISC workstation combines top-notch performance with a price not too far above that of Intel- based workstations. Though you should consider the current scarcity of native applications for RISC-based Windows NT systems when thinking of a switch from the familiar Intel platform, the MIPS R4600-based Tyne does offer potent enticements. The 133-MHz R4600 CPU is slightly faster and provides a little more computing power than the MIPS R4400.
DeskStation Technology aims its systems at high-end power users interested in a familiar interface, high-end performance, and value. The company sells only Windows NT-based systems.
Our unit came equipped with 32MB of RAM (expandable to 256MB with 64MB SIMMs), 512K cache, two 525MB IDE drives, a single-speed Chinon CD-ROM, a Tyan VL-bus controller, an Appian video card with 2MB of VRAM and a 17-inch monitor plus an SMC Ethernet card. The tower case leaves plenty of room to expand with four drive bays open, but slots are scarcer: only two ISA slots are free.
On many of our tests, the Tyne RISC system posted first-place scores among Windows NT machines. Naturally, the Intel-based systems were much faster in the 16-bit Excel test, but the Tyne did better than any other RISC-based NT machine and better than all but the top two Unix workstations--each selling for thousands more. On our applications tests, the unit had top scores among NT machines on both the Pro Engineer and PV-Wave tests, with scores in line with Unix systems in the latter. The only problem was a poor showing on the Picture Publisher test. Though other MIPS-based systems also did not fare well on this test, the Tyne was worst among them, perhaps due in part to its IDE disk subsystem (others had SCSI systems). It had the top scores under NT for Graphstones (the Appian card was a great help here), Khornerstones, and two of the Stanford tests but was bested by the Alpha-driven Carrera unit on the Dhrystone and floating-point portion of the Stanford tests. As in other NT RISC systems, the lack of optimized compilers hurt its performace on the double-precision Whetstone test.
DeskStation offers a standard one-year warranty and a
next-day on- site policy through General Electric. for an additional $499 per
year.
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Type
Hardware Review
Evaluation
Company
DESKSTATION Technology Inc.
Product
DeskStation Technology Tyne v4633x (MIPS-based microcomputer)
Topic
Evaluation
Workstations
Record #
15 350 622
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*DeskStation Tyne v4633x.
PC Magazine: May 31, 1994
COPYRIGHT Ziff-Davis Publishing Company 1994
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