The EV6 system bus in the AMD K7 means both it and Compaq will benefit from the use of its slot architecture. According to a very reliable source close to Digital in the US, AMD gets an extremely fast bus out of the deal, while in the future, Compaq will be able to use the same motherboards for their products. The source added that K7 systems will be upgradeable to Alphas just by swapping CPUs while Compaq will benefit from AMD's ability to leverage its motherboard contacts in Taiwan and elsewhere. But the downside (for Compaq) is that Alpha systems will get dramatically cheaper. Although it and its partners -- such as Samsung -- are selling 600MHz EV6 systems for $10.5 thousand currently, it is likely they will drop to a sum more like $2.5 thousand by the end of this fateful year. AMD was reluctant to comment on the implications of the deal, although a representative The Register spoke to said that the deal with Motorola offered promise for the future. ®