Hewlett Packard confirmed today that it will introduce an eight-way system on Monday next which will have the full support logic and chipset for the Merced processor. But until silicon arrives, in mid-2000, the system will use PA Risc chips, said Hugh Jenkins, server manager at HP, UK. He said: "We're now close to releasing a machine which will be the first properly ready Merced machine. "It will begin with a PA Risc chip but will have support logic built in which will give Merced support when the microprocessor arrives. From our understanding, that is still on target for the middle of next year." He said HP had an inherent advantage because of its close cooperation with Intel since 1994 on the IA-64 platform. "That knowledge was always going to allow us to build chipsets earlier," he said. The eight way system will have a standard configuration apart from the microprocessor complex, said Jenkins. That will come on a module which will allow swapping the PA Risc processors with Merced. "It will support standard things like the PCI bus," he said. "The premise is that it is truly a IA-64 ready." ®