3033 Press announcement

The following is the text of a March 25, 1977 IBM Data Processing Division press release announcing the IBM 3033.

New levels of economy and performance.

White Plains, N.Y., March 25. . .Users of large computers can obtain major performance improvements with a new top-of-the-line processor announced today by International Business Machines Corporation.

The new IBM 3033 Processor features internal operating speeds generally 1.6 to 1.8 times those of the fastest comparable System/370 -- the Model 168-3 -- at improved levels of price/performance.

The compact new computer -- a compatible member of the System/370 family -- is available with four, six or eight million characters of main storage. It is designed to enable large-scale users to handle their growing data base and data communications applications.

A new program product, announced today, offers 3033 users additional performance improvements by enabling the processor control program Multiple Virtual Storages (MVS) to operate more efficiently. This program product also is available for use on properly equipped Models 158 and 168.

Additionally, users operating with IBM's Virtual Machine Facility/370 (VM/370) processor control programming can achieve major operating improvements, enabling them to process greater workloads, through the use of another program product announced today.

Under a 48-month contract, the new 3033 Processor with four million characters of main memory, an operator's console and power and coolant distribution unit can be leased for $70,400 monthly. Monthly lease prices with six and eight million characters will be $77,480 and $84,400, respectively. Monthly rental prices for the four, six and eight million character versions are $77,430, $85,210 and $92,810. Purchase prices are $3,380,000, $3,605,000 and $3,825,000.

The System/370 3033 Processor uses an improved high-speed technology for logic circuitry that is significantly faster and has twice the density of the technology used in the 168-3. The 3033 also features as standard a high-speed buffer storage double the size of that available on the 168-3. These, along with other improvements in the 3033's instruction handling and data transfer capabilities, result in better performance.

The 3033 processor complex includes a new operator's console with two display stations, allowing an operator to continue processing production jobs through one of the display stations at the same time certain maintenance tasks are performed at the other.

Twelve channels -- or paths for the transfer of data -- are standard on the 3033. Since the channels are integrated within the processor mainframe, floor space requirements have been significantly reduced. For example, a 3033 processor with 12 channels and 8 million characters of main storage requires less than half the floor space of a similarly configured 168-3.

The 3033 Processor is supported by IBM Multiple Virtual Storages (MVS), Single Virtual Storage (SVS) and Virtual Machine Facility/370 (VM/370) system control programming.

First customer shipments of the new 3033 Processor are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 1978.

The program products announced today, called MVS/System Extensions and VM/System Extensions, will be available for monthly license fees of $1,250 and $1,200, respectively.

The 3033 was developed at the IBM System Products Division facility in Poughkeepsie, New York, and will be manufactured there.