<s>
A	O
superminicomputer	B-Device
,	O
colloquially	O
supermini	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
high-end	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
distinguish	O
the	O
emerging	O
32-bit	O
architecture	O
midrange	B-Device
computers	I-Device
introduced	O
in	O
the	O
mid	O
to	O
late	O
1970s	O
from	O
the	O
classical	O
16-bit	B-Device
systems	O
that	O
preceded	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
midicomputer	B-Device
had	O
been	O
used	O
earlier	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
these	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Architecture
memory	I-Architecture
was	O
often	O
an	O
additional	O
criteria	O
that	O
was	O
considered	O
for	O
inclusion	O
in	O
this	O
class	O
of	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computational	O
speed	O
of	O
these	O
machines	O
was	O
significantly	O
greater	O
than	O
the	O
16-bit	B-Device
minicomputers	B-Architecture
and	O
approached	O
the	O
performance	O
of	O
small	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
technology	O
improved	O
rapidly	O
the	O
distinction	O
between	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
and	O
superminicomputer	B-Device
performance	O
blurred	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Companies	O
that	O
sold	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
began	O
to	O
offer	O
machines	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
price	O
and	O
performance	O
range	O
as	O
superminicomputers	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
microprocessors	O
with	O
the	O
hardware	O
architecture	O
of	O
superminicomputers	B-Device
were	O
used	O
to	O
produce	O
scientific	O
and	O
engineering	O
workstations	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
industry	O
then	O
declined	O
through	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
is	O
now	O
considered	O
obsolete	O
but	O
still	O
remains	O
of	O
interest	O
for	O
students/researchers	O
of	O
computer	B-Architecture
history	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Notable	O
manufacturers	O
of	O
superminicomputers	B-Device
in	O
1980	O
included	O
:	O
Digital	O
Equipment	O
Corporation	O
,	O
Perkin-Elmer	O
,	O
and	O
Prime	O
Computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Four	O
years	O
later	O
there	O
were	O
about	O
a	O
dozen	O
companies	O
producing	O
a	O
significant	O
number	O
of	O
superminicomputers	B-Device
.	O
</s>
