| CDC 1604 | |
|---|---|
 CDC 1604 with a figure as scale | |
| Design | |
| Manufacturer | Control Data Corporation |
| Designer | Seymour Cray |
| Release date | 1960 |
| Units sold | 50+ |
| Price | $ 1,030,000 (192 kilobytes)[1] |
| Casing | |
| Dimensions | Height : 176 cm (69 in) Length : 227 cm (89 in) Width : 68 cm (27 in) [2] |
| Weight | 2,200 pounds (1,000 kg) |
| Power | 5.5 kW @ 208 V 60 Hz[2] |
| System | |
| Operating system | Co-Op Monitor (developed by the users' organization) |
| CPU | 48-bit processor @ 208 kHz[2] |
| Memory | 192 kilobytes (32767 x 48bits)[2] |
| Storage | - |
| MIPS | 0.1 |
| FLOPS | - |
| Predecessor | - |
| Successor | CDC 3600, 3800 and 3400 |
The CDC 1604 is a 48-bit computer designed and manufactured by Seymour Cray and his team at the Control Data Corporation (CDC). The 1604 is known as one of the first commercially successful transistorized computers. (The IBM 7090 was delivered earlier, in November 1959.) Legend has it that the 1604 designation was chosen by adding CDC's first street address (501 Park Avenue) to Cray's former project, the ERA-UNIVAC 1103.[3]
A cut-down 24-bit version, designated the CDC 924, was shortly thereafter produced, and delivered to NASA.[4]
The first 1604 was delivered to the U.S. Navy Post Graduate School in January 1960[5] for JOVIAL applications supporting major Fleet Operations Control Centers primarily for weather prediction in Hawaii, London, and Norfolk, Virginia. By 1964, over 50 systems were built. The CDC 3600, which added five op codes, succeeded the 1604, and "was largely compatible" with it.[6]
One of the 1604s was shipped to the Pentagon to DASA (Defense Atomic Support Agency) and used during the Cuban missile crises to predict possible strikes by the Soviet Union against the United States.
A 12-bit minicomputer, called the CDC 160, was often used as an I/O processor in 1604 systems. A stand-alone version of the 160 called the CDC 160-A was arguably the first minicomputer.[7]
- ^ 1964 Computer Survey, PDF
- ^ a b c d CDC 1604 Computer, Vol 1, Description and Operation (Dec 60, pdf)
- ^ Curiously, a very detailed 1975 oral history with CDC's computer engineers does not confirm this legend: when the "1604" question was asked, the insiders laughed and responded: "It was quite popular at the time that this was the origin" and "We've never been able to substantiate it. However, there's still lots of people who believe it." Page 21 of the oral history provides the official CDC explanation for 1604: the original goal was to support 16K of memory and 4 tape units.
- ^ "The BUNCH".
- ^ "Control Data Corporation". Computing History.
- ^ "Real Machines with 24-bit and 48-bit words".
- ^ Ed Thelen. "CDC 160A". Retrieved April 15, 2011.