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
POWER CONSUMPTION (MAX.) 180 W
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