What is the average processor speed of a mini computer?

Answer 1

A "mini" computer was the standard of team computing back in the late 70's and through the 80's. I worked on a Prime system and a MassComp system during that time period. I don't recall the clock rate of the Prime 400, but the MassComp was based on the Motorola 68020 and ran about 20MHz. (I might be off a bit as it has been about 30 years...)

By comparison, today's micro-computer (laptops, desktops) boast speeds in excess of 1GHz - some over 2GHz. The problem with raw speed is that the faster you clock the processor, the more power you need to make it go and the hotter it runs. So, to get more power out of modern machines without desoldering the processor from the board, companies have limited the clock speed and gone to dual processors. In fact, my laptop has 4 dual-core processors each running at about 1.5GHz!

Answer 2

Originally the term microcomputer referred to any computer with a microprocessor as its CPU. It finally came to mean any personal computer, then fell out of use in the 80's. Nowadays it has been adopted by Sony and some other companies to describe computers that fit someplace between smart phones and "net books." The VAIO Micro PC runs a 1.2 GHz processor.

Smart phones run in the 60 - 250 MHz range. Some of the more expensive "net books" run 2.0 GHz+ dual processors. The primary factor in small computers is the ability to keep them cool, which limits the speed of the processor (speed=heat). Small computers mean small batteries, and fans reduce battery life while increasing size.

Answer 3

The processing speed of a certain computer is 10¹¹ instructions per second. Another computer has a processing speed that is 10³ times as fast. How many instructions per second can the faster computer process?

Answer 4

200-300 kilo instructions per second....