View source for Power 6/32

[[Image:Young-sherlock-holmes-knight.jpeg|thumb|right|3D rendering by a Power 6/32 in Young Sherlock Holmes]]

The '''Power 6/32''', code named '''Tahoe''', from [[Computer Consoles Incorporated]], was the [[Central Processing Unit|CPU]] for a [[supermini]]; the [[Computer Systems Research Group|CSRG]] [[software port|ported]] [[4.3 BSD]] to it, in the '4.3 BSD Tahoe' release.

Although it was not very successful commercially (in part because CCI exited the computer business shortly after it was released), it was very influential as the first non-[[VAX]] machine that [[BSD]] [[UNIX]] was ported to. The Tahoe did help separate out a lot of VAX-specific code from the base, allowing BSD to become more portable, but the Power 6/32 machine quickly disappeared off the market, and not much is known about them.

It was re-sold (under other names) by several vendors: [[Unisys]] sold the 6/32 under the name 'Unisys 7000/40', using their own bastardized BSD+SYSV Unix. (Kuwait Petroleum in Denmark had one of them.) [[ICL]] had the 'Clan 7'. [[Harris]] had the HCX-5, -7, and -9 models (for which a bit survives - below), running the [[SysV]] derivative HCX/UX. 

Pixar used a Power 6/32 to render the stained-glass knight in the 1985 movie ''Young Sherlock Holmes''.

==Details==

The Power 6/32 [[CPU]] was implemented in [[transistor-transistor logic|TTL]]; it had a [[clock rate]] of 100nS.

All that I can find out about them is this table from [https://web.archive.org/web/20150123191735/http://www.dunnington.u-net.com/public/dhrystone.c http://www.dunnington.u-net.com/public/dhrystone.c] (archive link)

<pre>
 *----------------DHRYSTONE VERSION 1.0 RESULTS BEGIN--------------------------
 *
 * MACHINE      MICROPROCESSOR  OPERATING       COMPILER        DHRYSTONES/SEC.
 * TYPE                         SYSTEM                          NO REG  REGS
 * --------------------------   ------------    -----------     ---------------
 * CCI POWER 6/32               COS(SV+4.2)     cc              7500    7800
 * CCI POWER 6/32               POWER 6 UNIX/V  cc              8236    8498
 * CCI POWER 6/32               4.2 Rel. 1.2b   cc              8963    9544
 * VAX 11/780   -               UNIX 5.2        cc              1515    1562
 * VAX 11/780   -               UNIX 4.3bsd     cc              1646    1662
</pre>

Which may give some indication on the initial reasons why the Power 6/32 was chosen as the successor to the VAX by CSRG.

{{semi-stub}}

==See also==

* [[Harris CX series]]

==External links==

* [https://virtuallyfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/harris_hcx5.jpg Harris HCX-5] - ad
* [https://virtuallyfun.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Harris-HCX-9-print-ad.jpg Harris HCX-9] - ad
* [https://virtuallyfun.com/2017/02/24/the-harris-hcx-9-aka-tahoe-platform/ The Harris HCX-9 aka TAHOE platform]

[[Category: Superminis]]