Minis and mainframes: Superminicomputers push mainframe performance, mainframes operate at supercomputer speeds, and supercomputers reach 400 million operations per second

Bigger, faster, more powerful - those have been the acknowledged trends in computing for some time, and 1984 was no exception. Probably the most clear-cut development was in the area of superminicomputers, where the typical performance of a top-end machine increased from a little more than 1 million instructions per second to between 4 and 5 million. The most powerful new machines overlap the bottom and middle of the mainframe performance range.