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{{short description|American computer manufacturer}}
{{Original research|date=November 2010}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Convex Computer Corporation
'''Convex Computer Corporation''' was a company that developed, manufactured and marketed [[Vector processor|vector]] [[minisupercomputer]]s and [[supercomputer]]s for small-to-medium-sized businesses. Their later '''Exemplar''' series of [[parallel computing]] machines were based on the [[Hewlett-Packard]] (HP) [[PA-RISC]] microprocessors, and in 1995, HP bought the company. Exemplar machines were offered for sale by HP for some time, and Exemplar technology was used in HP's '''V-Class''' machines.▼
| logo = File:Convex Computer logo.svg
| type = [[Private company|Private]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1982}} in [[Richardson, Texas]]
| founder = {{ubl|Bob Paluck|[[Steve Wallach]]}}
| defunct = {{End date|1995}}
| fate = Acquired by [[Hewlett-Packard]]
| key_people =
| products =
| num_employees =
| num_employees_year = <!-- Year of num_employees data (if known) -->
}}
▲'''Convex Computer Corporation''' was a company that developed, manufactured and marketed [[Vector processor|vector]] [[minisupercomputer]]s and [[supercomputer]]s for small-to-medium-sized businesses. Their later '''Exemplar''' series of [[parallel computing]] machines were based on the [[Hewlett-Packard]] (HP) [[PA-RISC]]
==History==
Convex was formed in 1982 by Bob Paluck and [[Steve Wallach]] in [[Richardson, Texas]]. It was originally named '''Parsec''' and early prototype and production boards bear that name. They planned on producing a machine very similar in architecture to the [[Cray Research]] [[vector processor]] machines, with a somewhat lower performance, but with a much better [[
[[File:BSC-Convex-240.JPG|right|thumb|250px|Convex 240 supercomputer]]▼
▲Convex was formed in 1982 by Bob Paluck and [[Steve Wallach]] in [[Richardson, Texas]]. It was originally named '''Parsec''' and early prototype and production boards bear that name. They planned on producing a machine very similar in architecture to the [[Cray Research]] [[vector processor]] machines, with a somewhat lower performance, but with a much better [[price/performance ratio]]. In order to lower costs, the Convex designs were not as technologically aggressive as Cray's, and were based on more mainstream chip technology, attempting to make up for the loss in performance in other ways.
[[File:Convex C-1 (1985) - Computer History Museum (2007-11-10 22.58.44 by Carlo Nardone).jpg|thumb|165px|Convex C-1 (1985)]]
Their first machine was the '''C1''', released in 1985. The C1 was very similar to the [[Cray-1]] in general design, but its [[CPU]] and main memory was implemented with slower but less expensive [[CMOS]] technology. They offset this by increasing the capabilities of the vector units, including doubling the vector registers' length to 128 [[64-bit]] elements each.<ref>{{cite web |
▲[[File:BSC-Convex-240.JPG|right|thumb|250px|Convex 240 supercomputer (1988))]]
The '''C2''' was a crossbar-interconnected [[multiprocessor]] version of the C1, with up to four CPUs, released in 1988. It used newer 20,000-gate CMOS and 10,000-gate [[emitter-coupled logic]] (ECL) gate arrays for a boost in clock speed from 10 MHz to 25 MHz, and rated at 50 MFLOPS peak for double precision per CPU (100 MFLOPS peak for single precision). It was Convex's most successful product.
The '''C2''' was followed by the '''C3''' in 1991, being essentially similar to the C2 but with a faster clock and support for up to eight CPUs implemented with low-density GaAs FPGAs. Various configurations of the C3 were offered, with 50 to 240 MFLOPS per CPU. However, the C3 and the Convex business model were overtaken by changes in the computer industry. The arrival of [[RISC]] microprocessors meant that it was no longer possible to develop cost-effective high-performance computing as a standalone small low-volume company. While the C3 was delivered late, which resulted in lost sales, it was still not going to be able to compete with commodity high-performance computing in the long run.
Another speed boost used in the '''C3''' and '''C4''', which moved the hardware implementation to [[Gallium arsenide|GaAs]]-based chips, following an evolution identical to that of the Cray machines, but the effort was too little, too late. Some considered the whole C4 program to be nothing more than chasing a business in decline.{{sayswho|date=July 2017}} By this time, even though Convex was the first vendor to ship a
In 1994, Convex introduced an entirely new design, known as the '''Exemplar'''. Unlike the C-series vector computer, the Exemplar was a parallel-computing machine that used HP [[PA-7200]] microprocessors, connected together using [[Scalable Coherent Interconnect|SCI]]. First dubbed '''MPP''', these machines were later called '''SPP''' <ref>{{cite conference|first1=R. |last1=Cataneda
[[File:BSC-HP-V-Class.JPG|right|thumb|250px|HP V-Class computer.]]
In 1995, Hewlett-Packard bought Convex. HP sold Convex Exemplar machines under the '''S-Class''' (MP) and '''X-Class''' (CC-NUMA) titles, and later incorporated some of Exemplar's technology into the '''V-Class''' machine, which was released running the HP-UX 11.0 release instead of the SPP-UX version which was sold with the S- and X-Class products.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weissmann |first=Paul |date=2024 |title=OpenPA.net PA-RISC Book |url=https://www.openpa.net/print.html |access-date=2024-12-08}}</ref>
==References==
<references />
==External links==
* [http://www.ex-convex.org/ Convex ex-employees website]
*
{{Hewlett-Packard}}
[[Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States]]▼
▲[[Category:Supercomputers]]
[[Category:1995 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1982]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1995]]
[[Category:Companies based in Richardson, Texas]]
[[Category:Computer companies established in 1982]]
[[Category:Computer companies disestablished in 1995]]
▲[[Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct computer hardware companies]]
[[Category:Defunct computer systems companies]]
[[Category:Hewlett-Packard acquisitions]]
[[Category:Vector supercomputers]]
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