Look how far we have come with computing...

 

16MB (16 million bytes) of RAM in a main frame at 9,478 pounds in 1981 compared to 2GB (2 billion bytes) RAM in a typical notebook weighing under 8 pounds today in 2007, or a thumb drive that has 2GB on a key chain!  Put another way, I can hold in my hand a USB thumb flash drive which has 125 times more memory on it than an IBM state of the art main frame computer had in 1981.

 

I actually helped assemble these main frames in IBM Poughkeepsie in 1981 for 6 months (temp position).

 

From http://www.computermuseum.org.uk/fixed_pages/IBM3084.html :

 

The machine is a model K 3081 processor, containing 64K of fast buffer memory. It has 16 Megabytes of main memory. The 3082 Processor Controller undertakes initialization of the 3081 processor.

 

The machine has a memory cycle time of 312 nanoseconds and is 8 bytes wide. It is compatible with other S/370 machines.

 

The machine used 3.4KVA and weighs about 9478 pounds.

A major feature of the machine was the Multi-Chip modules called Thermal Conduction Modules (TCM), shown here. They are helium filled units. 8 can be seen in the top of the main unit, with the pipes for water cooling of the modules. Each module consists of a Multi-Layer Ceramic substrate with up to 118 chips mounted. These are smaller versions of the ones used in the Fujitsu supercomputer in the collection.