Mainframes are the biggest
- Mainframes are powerful- they can perform hundreds of millions of instructions per second.
- They're very large, and generate a lot of heat- so they need big air conditioned rooms
- They're very expensive- typically costing around 3-4 million
- They are used to run large computer systems and networks in banks, insurance companies and e-commerce firms on the Internet
Minicomputers are in the middle
- Minicomputers are less powerful than mainframes but are more powerful than micros.
- As a result they cost less than mainframes, but still require a special operating environment.
- They are typically used to run medium sized systems in small businesses.
Microcomputers are the most common
- Microcomputers were used to stand alone, but…