Digital's New Alpha 21066A Chip With PCI Puts More Speed Into Embedded
Applications, Desktop PCs

MAYNARD, Mass. -- November 14, 1994 -- Digital Equipment Corporation today
announced a new, 0.50-micron version of its Alpha 21066 microprocessor.
The Alpha 21066A chip features increased speed for faster realtime
response in high-end embedded applications and higher performance in
desktop applications. It is the latest of Digital Semiconductor's highly
integrated microprocessors containing the industry's first on-chip
implementation of the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus.

"The new, 233MHz Alpha 21066A chip enables us to put the power of the Alpha
architecture into embedded, realtime control systems with more performance
than ever," said Tim Miller, Digital Semiconductor's marketing manager for
Alpha Microprocessors. "For the Windows NT desktop market, the highly
integrated design with PCI greatly simplifies the task of building
low-cost RISC PCs. We are well positioned for this market, with more than
750 native-mode Windows NT applications shipping for Alpha systems and
over 1,400 additional committed ports."

Miller added that Digital is an acknowledged leader in PCI technology, and
that in addition to PCI support for all Alpha microprocessors, Digital
Semiconductor offers a family of PCI peripheral products for Fast Ethernet
and Ethernet networking, graphics, and PCI-to-PCI bridging.

Like its predecessor, the Alpha 21066A contains an integrated on-chip
memory controller and graphics accelerator in addition to the PCI
interface. These features can substantially reduce the cost of system
implementations based on the Alpha 21066A and provide an easy link to
inexpensive, off-the-shelf memory and peripheral devices. The integrated,
richly functional design makes the product especially useful for
high-performance, small-form-factor applications.

The new chip also features programmable, software-controlled power
management, which can vastly reduce power consumption during periods of
inactivity and help qualify systems for Energy Star certification.

More Power for Embedded Applications

The Alpha 21066A microprocessor is the latest and most powerful in a family
of highly integrated chips for high-end embedded applications. The chip
has been chosen by Prime Option, Inc., as a controller for high-end print
engines. It will be used by Alpha Data Parallel Systems Ltd. in PC and
workstation accelerator platforms and as building blocks for parallel
processing systems, as well as by Alta Technology, Inc., in board-level,
ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Method)-linked parallel processors.

The Alpha 21066A chip also runs VxWorks for Alpha software, a realtime
operating system adapted from Wind River Systems' VxWorks application
development and runtime system. VxWorks software is popular for developing
and running embedded applications such as network routers, RAID
controllers, industrial process controllers, and telecommunication cards.

The chip will be the heart of Digital's AXPvme series of VMEbus
single-board computers (SBCs), used by embedded-application OEMs and
system designers in control systems for many military and industrial
realtime applications.

Choice for Desktop Systems

Like other members of Digital's Alpha microprocessor family, the new
product runs Digital's 64-bit DEC OSF/1 (UNIX) and OpenVMS operating
systems in addition to increasingly popular Windows NT software. The chip
will power new models of NekoTech's Mach 1 series of desktop PCs for the
Windows NT market.

Digital Semiconductor also announced the new EB66+ Evaluation Board, which
provides a reference PCI and ISA motherboard design using the Alpha 21066A
chip. The EB66+ is intended as a starting point for new designs and as a
platform for parallel development of hardware and software applications.
The board is packaged with a user's manual, full layout and mechanical
information, design database, material lists, debug monitor, and firmware
development tools.

Prices, Availability

The Alpha 21066A microprocessor is offered at two clock speeds: 100MHz and
233MHz. At 233 MHz it is estimated to deliver a SPECint92 rating of 94 and
a SPECfp92 rating of 110. Version 2.1 Dhrystone MIPS performance is 189.5
for the 233MHz version and 89.8 for the 100mhz version. The Alpha 21066A
Chip is priced at $175 for the 100MHz version and $360 for the 233MHz
version in quantities of 5,000. Samples are available now. Production of
both the Alpha 21066A Chip and the EB66+ Evaluation Board is scheduled for
the first quarter of 1995.

Digital Semiconductor, a Digital Equipment Corporation business
headquartered in Hudson, Massachusetts, designs, manufactures and markets
industry-leading semiconductor products including Alpha microprocessors
and PCI-based peripheral chips. Digital Semiconductor also operates
fabrication facilities in Hudson and South Queensferry, Scotland, and
design centers in Hudson; Palo Alto, California; Austin, Texas; and
Jerusalem, Israel. A new, $450-million semiconductor fabrication facility
with sub-half-micron capability is nearing completion in Hudson.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, the industry's sixth largest
semiconductor manufacturer, is the second source for Alpha
microprocessors.

Digital Equipment Corporation is the world's leader in open client/server
solutions from personal computing to integrated worldwide information
systems. Digital's scalable Alpha platforms, storage, networking, software
and services, together with industry-focused solutions from business
partners, help organizations compete and win in today's global
marketplace.

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