VAXstation 3100 M30  ("PVAX" )

 
 
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General Technical Information

HOSTNAME GRYPHON
SYSTEM CPU DEC VAX, CVAX @11 MHz (KA42-A)
CACHE (2nd, 1st D/I) 32 KB, 0 KB / 1 KB
RAM  32 MB (Max. 32 MB)
SCSI BUS 2 x NCR5380 SCSI (5 MB/s)
OPTION BUS N/A
GRAPHICS Onboard mono video and GPX option board  8-plane 1024x864 @60Hz 
HARD DISK DRIVES 2 GB 5400 RPM and DEC RZ25 425 MB SCSI disks
CD-ROM DRIVE Matsushita CR-503 double speed*
NETWORK 10 Mbps ethernet LANCE AM7990, selectable AUI or BNC
OS ULTRIX V4.5 and OpenVMS 7.2
YEAR 1988
SPEED 2.8 VAX MIPS
COMMENTS ULTRIX on this system is slow. It has enough RAM but a VAX is always a VAX when it comes to speed. OpenVMS seems to be slightly faster than ULTRIX on this system.
ESTIMATED PRICE '89 $30,000
*= This SCSI drive is not DEC compatible enough to boot OpenVMS on this VAXstation, ULTRIX/VAX however, can use it.

History and other comments

I got this machine for free from a guy in Helsinki, Finland. I have no idea where he got it. It was probably serving as a VMS workstation. When I got it, it had an RZ22 hard drive and 16MB RAM. I replaced the hard drive and got the maximum amount of  RAM for the box from a very friendly computer enthusiast in Germany.

It is the first piece of VAX I've ever had, and also used to be the only VAX hardware I owned. Now I have some other VAXen too.

VAXen are very picky when it comes to CD-ROM drives, but not as picky as DECstations. For information to anyone that wants to try booting OpenVMS on system similar to this; I had to use a Toshiba 12x drive temporarily to get OpenVMS installed. An older Toshiba drive is probably a safe bet, if you don't have any DEC branded ones.

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Last updated:  31-5-2006