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Slot B pix arrive as API confirms AMD collaboration

One GHz chips in volume by this time next year

Updated Alpha Processors Inc (API), mostly owned by Samsung but with Compaq holding a minority share, has now confirmed details of its 750MHz and 1GHz Alpha processors. It will formally introduce the 750MHz flavour at PC Expo this coming Tuesday, and Miles Chesney, enterprise business development manager at API, confirmed that by this time next year the 1GHz processor will appear in volume. Slot B technology Chesney also confirmed that AMD and API are collaborating on processor and chipset development. The 750MHz Alpha 21264 is the first ever slot architecture for the Alpha (Slot B), and Chesney claimed that it is the world's fastest commercially available 64-bit processor, competing directly against Intel and other vendors. Slot B technology AMD, Compaq and Samsung are API partners. AMD is an EV6 bus licensee and the licence provider for the K7 chipset core logic. Samsung is providing Alpha processor expertise in the copper, SOI, and flip chip technologies. There are plans to move the Alpha to .13 micron technology. A presentation we have seen shows how API positions its products against the Intel Xeon, Slot one architectures and Merced. You can find foils on the roadmap and API's benchmarks comparing the chip to Coppermine and Merced at these locations. (NB, about 250K each). This latter roadmap is interesting in its own right and we intend to explore its implications, particularly in regard to Intel's own roadmap, tomorrow. On Monday, API will roll out the UP 2000 motherboard. It will support one or two Slot B Alpha cartridges, 2-4Mb of late write level two cache, and has a chipset which supports a 333MHz data rate system bus, a 256bit memory bus and two 64-bit PCI bus. The motherboard will have six PCI slots, and one shared ISA slot. Two of the PCI slots are 64-bit/33MHz slots. Up to two Gb of memory is supported, using SDRAM. In addition, the UP 2000 has an extended ATX form factor, a 1Mb flash ROM, and the Alpha BIOS supports Linux Milo, Netboot and Windows NT. As we write, we're also scanning in a picture of the commodity motherboard, which you will find here. Chesney said that API is positioning its Slot B products initially at the high end volume server market, but over the next year or so will bring the architecture down to the commercial desktop. As reported here yesterday, API will demo its 1GHz chip at PC Expo Tuesday, with the processor running at room temperature and without any additional cooling. Chesney said API intends to produce hundreds of thousands of the products by the beginning of next year. He said the 750MHz parts will be in volume by July, and not immediately, as we reported yesterday. He said he was unable to either confirm or deny speculation that Compaq wanted to offload its Alpha share to Samsung in its entirety. He also said API had generated $100 million in revenues since its inception this time last year. But he claimed that API and the Alpha chip would be greatly enhanced in the future. ®

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